Spring Baking Championship - General Discussion

[Ohmo]

On 5/13/2023 at 6:48 PM, CheshireCat said:

Being an excellent pastry chef doesn't automatically make you an excellent cake-baker though.

Both Romy and Clement were much better bakers than Luke or Jelessa.  That's the point I was making.

 

On 5/28/2023 at 10:39 PM, rlc said:

I was just coming here to post about Jaleesa. Shocker- she had time management issues and didn’t make her Italian meringue in time. 

Interesting...and supports the point that the Baking Championship competitions should be judged differently than they currently are judged.  I'm waiting to see what happens with Summer Baking Championship.

[Grizzly]

March 4!!!!!!

I'd like to see them do a show of the Halloween, Holiday, Spring and Summer champions facing off. Call it Seasonal Wars? John and Jessie could co-host.

[CrazyInAlabama]

Best Bakers (or something like that) had a lot of the seasonal contests competitors, and they have had some with the top contestants, but only once.  I think they only had one season of the show, maybe two, but I'm not sure.  They didn't have twists either. 

I would like to see the top 3 or 4 compete against other seasonal contest winners.   I wonder if the bakers are so specialized that they wouldn't be able to compete?  

I love that Spring Baking is coming back on 4 March.  

Edited February 23, 2024 by CrazyInAlabama

[mojoween]

Raise your hand if you giggled and/or rolled your eyes at the commercial showcasing Nancy saying “now this is spring on a plate!”.

[CheshireCat]

On 2/16/2024 at 9:49 PM, Grizzly said:

March 4!!!!!!

I'd like to see them do a show of the Halloween, Holiday, Spring and Summer champions facing off. Call it Seasonal Wars? John and Jessie could co-host.

I'd prefer to call it something along the lines of "Best of the Seasons" but I really like the idea. They had all of the past winners on Christmas Cookie Challenge this past season and they came up with some awesome creations.

I would also enjoy seeing how they have grown as bakers.

[JudgeyMcJudgyPants]

That French dude’s cake looked like something I’d see on the kids baking championship.  I don’t see why the judges were all going gaga over his decorations.

[Grizzly]

I don't know know how the judges chose a winner in the preheat. Everyone seemed to hit it out of the park taste-wise. Except, of all people, the French guy. Is it me, or are a lot of the contestants Canadian?

[libgirl2]

24 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

I don't know know how the judges chose a winner in the preheat. Everyone seemed to hit it out of the park taste-wise. Except, of all people, the French guy. Is it me, or are a lot of the contestants Canadian?

It's not you, I thought the same thing. 

So far everyone seems to be on game. I called the one who went home pretty fast. 

[mlp]

There seems to be a lot of talent this season.  The woman who went home was the obvious choice.  She didn't even get the "adventure" part of the assignment.  Her decoration was meaningless without an explanation.  

I didn't like Kardea on the Elf on the Shelf show before Christmas but she's doing fine here.  Nancy is her usual PIA and her hair was a mess.

[Ancaster]

58 minutes ago, mlp said:

There seems to be a lot of talent this season.  The woman who went home was the obvious choice.  She didn't even get the "adventure" part of the assignment.  Her decoration was meaningless without an explanation.  

I didn't like Kardea on the Elf on the Shelf show before Christmas but she's doing fine here.  Nancy is her usual PIA and her hair was a mess.

She looked really odd/off I thought - something more than just the hair being a mess.

Edited March 5, 2024 by Ancaster

[Salacious Kitty]

Dammit Ericka, as the contestant most local to me, I was rooting for you. What a pitiful showing. 

Too early for favorites. Give me a couple weeks when they have to branch out from cakes. 

[Irlandesa]

I feel like they really want a French winner.  Isn't this the third Spring Baking Championship in a row they've had a French contestant? 

But otherwise, it was a solid showing and some very impressive contestants.  I probably would have sent the guy home but alas. 

[libgirl2]

3 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I feel like they really want a French winner.  Isn't this the third Spring Baking Championship in a row they've had a French contestant? 

But otherwise, it was a solid showing and some very impressive contestants.  I probably would have sent the guy home but alas. 

Ever since the whole Romy situation, it seems they have. 

I kind of liked Anna, the Greek one, but hopefully she doesn't remind us of that every 5 minutes. 

Edited March 5, 2024 by libgirl2

[laredhead]

8 hours ago, Ancaster said:

She looked really odd/off I thought - something more than just the hair being a mess.

It wasn't just Nancy's hair, but the eye makeup as well.  It looked like she was wearing those spider lashes that are so popular now, and the eyeliner was very black in contrast to her white hair.  Also, the blue eye shadow looked garish next to the black.  When you are older, it is advised that you tone down the makeup a bit.  Yes, it's a TV show, but a little bit of all of that would go a long way.   

[mojoween]

Nickey is kind of a lot, but hopefully it’s just nerves because otherwise she seems a delight.  Awesome that she finished top three.

If Nickey opened a restaurant with her husband and called it Nickey & Rickey I would go there every week.

Michael needs to get his shit together.  He cannot make another mistake or he’s out next.

I counted four Canadians from the chyrons - after noticing the first two I started paying attention, heh.

Edited March 6, 2024 by mojoween

[CheshireCat]

With the exception of Michael's (I felt so sorry for him), I thought all of the first round desserts looked amazing. Some were a bit more spectacular than others but they all looked like restaurant desserts.

While Sabrina's (it was Sabrina, wasn't it, I was doing something else while watching?) was one of the less spectacular ones, the dessert was rolled so cleanly and evenly and I thought the colors were appetizing, too.

From the look of the dessert alone, I probably would have given the win to the baker who made the coconut. That was incredible, she even put some of the dessert in the top.

I was really surprised by the winner of the cake challenge. It wasn't that the cake looked bad, it just looked rather simple in comparison. It must have tasted beyond amazing to have won.

The waterfall cake was stunning! And I think it was even more stunning by the fact that she had originally wanted to do something else and then had to do damage control.

I don't know if they changed the application criteria or if they are giving the bakers more time now but I feel like the talent of the bakers has gone up for the past few championships. I was really impressed by all of them.

I also appreciated the constructive criticism the judges gave. Yes, Nancy did mention "it looks like spring" several times, still, she also said other things. I was pleasantly surprised by that as she normally doesn't give that kind of criticism or it's edited out of her criticism.
I don't know if she's changed her approach or if that's due to the two hours but I actually liked that they had more time for the judging. The judging didn't feel like "blink and you miss it"; there was time for the judges to say more than one sentence and time to take in the cake. To me, the entire show felt a little calmer and less rushed and I wouldn't mind if it was always like that.

[carrps]

1 hour ago, mojoween said:

I counted four Canadians from the chyrons - after noticing the first two I started paying attention, heh.

I think there's four Canadians and four Floridians. Don't people in other states (countries) bake?

48 minutes ago, CheshireCat said:

From the look of the dessert alone, I probably would have given the win to the baker who made the coconut.

Me, too. I liked it a lot. How smart to "paint" the inside of the "coconut shell" and "lid" with the coconut cream.

I was underwhelmed by Preheat winner Anna's Swiss roll. I thought it looked childish.

[mojoween]

I hated that Swiss roll.  Hopefully the editors got it out of their systems to have her tell us she’s not classically trained every cheffessional.

I loved that coconut too.

[Ohmo]

1 hour ago, CheshireCat said:

I don't know if they changed the application criteria or if they are giving the bakers more time now but I feel like the talent of the bakers has gone up for the past few championships. I was really impressed by all of them.

I think they are giving the contestants more time It seems like they got 11/2 hours for pre-heats in previous years and 2 hours for the main heat.  This year, it's 2 and 2 hours respectively.

It seems like more than 4 Canadians.  I thought I counted 5 or 6.

So far, I like most of the people.  Ericka was the obvious choice to go home.

[bilgistic]

I'm pulling for Anna because she's from my hometown and she isn't wearing ridiculous fake eyelashes.

Speaking of weird styling choices, what's the story behind Sabrina's hair?

Edited March 6, 2024 by bilgistic

[kathyk2]

I really like Anna her cake looked amazing. I would have eliminated Michael neither of his desserts looked good. I wish they would find a replacement for Nancy. 

[Rammchick]

There are no home bakers this time around.  The closest thing they have is Anna, so when she does well, you can bet they'll bring up that she isn't classically trained.  Fortunately for the producers, that also works as an excuse if she doesn't do well 😉

[libgirl2]

10 hours ago, carrps said:

I was underwhelmed by Preheat winner Anna's Swiss roll. I thought it looked childish.

I think it probably looked better in person. It sounded yummy. 

[rlc]

While I don't have any early favorites, I have an early not-favorite: Robert. 

[libgirl2]

13 minutes ago, rlc said:

While I don't have any early favorites, I have an early not-favorite: Robert. 

Why is that? He seemed okay. 

[mojoween]

Is Robert the one who said he’s a nerd because he understands the science of baking?  Like, that’s not special dude.

[carrps]

3 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

Why is that? He seemed okay. 

Both my sister and I had an immediate negative reaction to him for the same reason. He looks like Elon Musk.

 

[Splashy]

18 hours ago, Ohmo said:

I think they are giving the contestants more time It seems like they got 11/2 hours for pre-heats in previous years and 2 hours for the main heat.  This year, it's 2 and 2 hours respectively.

They gave them 3 hours for the main heat. I remember because I was astonished that they gave them that much time!

[MoonKitty]

Three hours for the main bake and NO TWIST! I did not miss it in the least. Do they always just leave them alone for week one? 

[libgirl2]

5 minutes ago, MoonKitty said:

Three hours for the main bake and NO TWIST! I did not miss it in the least. Do they always just leave them alone for week one? 

Wow, I didn't miss the twist either. Maybe they dropped it? No, more likely, they gave them a week to settle in. 

[TVbitch]

Nancy did not look like spring. 😬

I wish they had spent the money they saved by not having the beloved Baker's Cam 🙄 and hired a better stylist and make up artist for her. She was downright garrish, and I know she can look so much better. ...Oh, and there were cakes! 🤣😇

[Splashy]

Oh, another thing that bothered me: Tangerines are not a spring flavor. They are in season during the winter. I always eat them at Christmastime.

Ok, a quick google shows most sources citing November - January, but one extended it to May. I still think of them as a winter flavor.

 

[carrps]

1 hour ago, Splashy said:

Oh, another thing that bothered me: Tangerines are not a spring flavor. They are in season during the winter. I always eat them at Christmastime.

Huh, that's right. We always got them in our Christmas stockings.

 

[ruffy666]

As usual my hubby doesn't want to hear me talk about this show (he is usually a good sport and will at least half-heartedly watch it with me lol) so I have to come here for the snark!

On 3/5/2024 at 6:49 PM, bilgistic said:

I'm pulling for Anna because she's from my hometown and she isn't wearing ridiculous fake eyelashes.

She's giving me Kathryn Hahn vibes and that makes me immediately like her (deserved or not!)  

On 3/6/2024 at 7:14 AM, rlc said:

While I don't have any early favorites, I have an early not-favorite: Robert. 

Honestly I felt the same way, he's a little too show-offy for my tastes.  And when he came out and goes "HELLO YOU BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE" to the judges I just rolled my eyes extra hard.  But at least he seems to be a decent baker.

I think the right person went home.  She seemed super nice and I would've loved to see more of her but when she goes "My cake is too bitter!" and her solution was to add MORE of the ingredient that was making it bitter, in BIG OL' JUICY CHUNKS, welp, I question that thought process.

 

[carrps]

4 hours ago, TVbitch said:

Nancy did not look like spring. 😬

I wish they had spent the money they saved by not having the beloved Baker's Cam 🙄 and hired a better stylist and make up artist for her. She was downright garrish, and I know she can look so much better.

I know. She looked like she was auditioning for the Halloween edition of this show. That eye makeup? Just no.

[Ohmo]

5 hours ago, TVbitch said:

Nancy did not look like spring. 😬

I wish they had spent the money they saved by not having the beloved Baker's Cam 🙄 and hired a better stylist and make up artist for her. She was downright garrish, and I know she can look so much better. ...Oh, and there were cakes! 🤣😇

I wish we could have Carla, Kardea, and Duff as judges.

 

1 hour ago, ruffy666 said:

She's giving me Kathryn Hahn vibes and that makes me immediately like her (deserved or not!)

She's giving me Justine vibes from HBC minus the accent.  Justine got tiresome quickly. Also some Ashley vibes (also HBC), and she also became tiresome.

[CheshireCat]

On 3/5/2024 at 9:15 PM, Ohmo said:

I think they are giving the contestants more time It seems like they got 11/2 hours for pre-heats in previous years and 2 hours for the main heat.  This year, it's 2 and 2 hours respectively.

On 3/6/2024 at 3:52 PM, Splashy said:

They gave them 3 hours for the main heat. I remember because I was astonished that they gave them that much time!

I'm happy they gave them more time. I still think a little more time for the second bake wouldn't hurt but it already makes a difference to have 3 hours for it.

 

On 3/6/2024 at 4:20 PM, MoonKitty said:

Three hours for the main bake and NO TWIST! I did not miss it in the least. Do they always just leave them alone for week one? 

They may not be showing it. I remember that during one of the championships last year, we all thought that there was no twist and I believe one of the posters then found something online that there was and they had apparently edited it out or something along those lines.

I wouldn't have remembered the twist if you hadn't mentioned it; I'm so with you. I didn't miss it at all.

12 hours ago, Splashy said:

Oh, another thing that bothered me: Tangerines are not a spring flavor. They are in season during the winter. I always eat them at Christmastime.

Ok, a quick google shows most sources citing November - January, but one extended it to May. I still think of them as a winter flavor.

 

Yes, you can get tangerines until well into spring but I know them as a winter flavor as well. I'd never associate them with spring. (I find spring tricky in general. The first strawberries come out in late May and carrot cake is popular for Easter but all the other berries are summer or late summer fruit as are peaches, nectarines and cherries and I can't think of anything else for spring).

[MagicEyes]

On 3/5/2024 at 1:02 AM, Ancaster said:

She looked really odd/off I thought - something more than just the hair being a mess.

Maybe her glam squad hates her. Or she does her hair and makeup herself, with ideas from TikTok videos. Also, she's done a little pregaming in her dressing room, but that probably happens on every episode. 

[RoxiP]

Did they specify that the fruit was spring fruit or was it simply citrus flavors?  

I kinda like Nancy although her hair and makeup were a little extra in this episode.  

[2soon2tell]

We use Dish tv and for some reason the show scheduled in the time slot for episode 2 of this season is showing up as a repeat of a season 5 show, so our automatic recording scheduler didn’t work. I set the recording up manually since I am assuming this is a mistake on Dish’s part. Don’t know if anyone else is affected, but you might want to check.

[tennisgurl]

I always feel awful for the first person who gets sent home, but they made the right call. Not only did her cake apparently not taste good, but it didn't have anything to do with the theme. I know that the judges can get nitpicky about what is "on theme" and what isn't, but that had nothing to do with spring break adventures, even if it was pretty. 

Seems like a good start to the season, its my first time watching Spring Baking!

[CrazyInAlabama]

My Spectrum cable guide says the same thing, I'm watching the rerun of Season 10, Episode 1, and the 7 to 9 p.m. is listed on the cable guide is listed as Season 5 Episode 1.   Food Network says 7 to 9 p.m. is Season 10, Episode 2. 

I love Kardea's dress.   But what did Nancy do to her hair?    

[Grizzly]

I love Nancy's bracelet. And all the judges wearing purple was a nice touch. Most of the preheat desserts looked gorgeous. I've never had ube but I'd give those a try.  Not much suspense in the main heat. I like Steven. 

[Frost]

I can't believe there was even a discussion about who would go home.  I would have been embarrassed to serve that mess of a cake, and I am not on a baking show!

There are too many people so I don't know who I'm rooting for yet.

[mojoween]

Rochelle’s cake would have had to come to life and smother the judges to death for her to go home over Michael.

Kardea’s dress was very pretty.  Springy, you might say.

[MerBearHou]

Michael was absolutely the only call to send home tonight, but I’m so sorry because I really, really enjoyed him and what a delight he was to the other bakers.  Wishing him well!

[kathyk2]

Michael deserved to go home. I felt sorry for anyone who got thyme as a cake flavor. I hate the twists if a baker is ahead of schedule and has their cake in the oven it can be difficult to add the ingredient. If you are running behind it's easier.

[mojoween]

Hey that’s right didn’t Robert get praise for his almond soil but Rochelle’s was “an afterthought” and “not well done”?

[Ohmo]

1 hour ago, Grizzly said:

I like Steven.

Me too.  I think because he's calm.  Several other contestants seem overly-energetic.  Watching Steven is sort of soothing.  I'm also warming to Nikki.

[mlp]

Michael was fun and quirky and I liked him but he was the obvious choice for elimination.  He wasn't a bit surprised.

FN must have hired new hair and makeup people.  Nancy looks she went to Guy Fieri's barber and there was something very weird going on at Kardea's right temple.  I coulldn't tell if it was hair or some kind of stenciling.