Spring Baking Championship - General Discussion

[HyeChaps]

Frenchy wuz robbed!

[CrazyInAlabama]

I love that during the Alex and Nickey bake off, Robert and Steven are saying it's so hard not being able to help them.   I think Nickey's Key Lime dessert looks messy.  Alex did have issues with the crown around his dessert, Nancy and Duff have criticisms.   Alex's looks yummy, in spite of the cream coming out the bottom of the chocolate swirl on his Tiramisu.     So sad to see Alex go.   Alex did great work almost every week. 

So, Robert, Steven, and Nickey. They are to use a favorite dessert of the judges, and put their own spin on it.  

Robert's looks nice, cookie linzers with pistachios. I think it's a little messy looking.    They criticize the guava jelly thickness.   

Steven's take on Lemon Lime soda Bundt cake is now Madeleines with lemon-lime glaze.   It looks lovely. Nancy says not enough filling. 

Nickey's Tea Cake Cookies for Duff.   Rock Cake Tea Cookies shaped like Tulips.  The icing is thick, but gloppy looking.  Nancy says it looks like Christmas with the icing.  

Congratulations to all three finalists. 

Next week is the final challenge.   It looks amazing from the previews.   

Edited April 30 by CrazyInAlabama

[Grizzly]

I ate 5. Lol, never change Steven. With Alex out, Steven is who I'm rooting for.

[kathyk2]

I don't understand why this episode wasn't two hours long and the finale. I'd rather see two hours of the Paris Baking Show so that we can meet everyone.

[ChattyCathyLA]

Ridiculous that they sent Alex home when his tiramisu was a masterpiece compared to that jumbled nightmare that Nikki presented.  Has to be political.  They likely didn’t want three men in the final!  If there wasn’t money involved, I wouldn’t care … but Alex busted his butt all season and got dumped right before the end so a female could be represented in the final?  I call FOUL!  His dessert was CLEARLY superior to hers, which had way more criticism!  His was “a little wet” and Duff wanted a dusting of chocolate cravings over the pristine white flower on the top?  That’s an aesthetic preference, not a baking “error”!   I’M IN SHOCK OVER THIS AND DON’T EVEN CARE WHO WINS AT THIS POINT!  This show is RIGGED!

[Backwards999]

Super surprised by the outcome, but I could tell that Alex soaked the cakes too much.  It’s crazy that the classically trained European chefs never win.  They go far, do incredibly well but never win.  Anyways, I like them all so I’m good with any of them winning. I’m looking forward to the glass stain concept.

Edited April 30 by Backwards999

[dleighg]

I guess I'm an outlier because I thought Nikki's was a lot more creative that Alex's. I loved the idea of a pavlova. And his accent doesn't particularly impress me (duck).

I think Steven is going to get the advantage. Definitely not Nikki.

[Rammchick]

12 hours ago, HyeChaps said:

Frenchy wuz robbed!

...again. Sigh.

[joanne3482]

17 minutes ago, dleighg said:

I guess I'm an outlier because I thought Nikki's was a lot more creative that Alex's. I loved the idea of a pavlova. And his accent doesn't particularly impress me (duck).

I agree. I think that's what got her the win. He made a tiramisu cake but it was basically the same thing as a tiramisu. She made something completely different that gave the idea of a key lime pie without being an actual pie.   

[RoxiP]

I agree - not to mention that despite the looseness of his cream I just thought his dessert sounded like it would taste delicious.  

I'm rooting for Steven.

[meep.meep]

1 hour ago, joanne3482 said:

I agree. I think that's what got her the win. He made a tiramisu cake but it was basically the same thing as a tiramisu. She made something completely different that gave the idea of a key lime pie without being an actual pie.   

This!  They were supposed to put their own spin on the recipes and he just made a tiramisu.  If there was anything to criticize about that, he wasn't going to win.

You can see that in the finale pre-heat where no one just made the recipe from the judges, they adapted them.  Bundt pound cake turned into madelines, tea cakes into rock cookies, and sandwich cookies into linzer cookies.

[tennisgurl]

I did not expect Alex to go, he's been a front runner from the start, but the show does tend to not end with classically trained chef's winning the whole thing. It seems like it was a rough call, Alex's looked a lot better but Nikki's were more creative, I guess this time creativity won over technical skill. Of course, next time technical skill will probably win over creativity, you never know with this show. 

Those were some sad cookies, but the pavlova was a cool idea. 

I like all of the finalists, but Steven is my top choice. 

[libgirl2]

17 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

I did not expect Alex to go, he's been a front runner from the start, but the show does tend to not end with classically trained chef's winning the whole thing. It seems like it was a rough call, Alex's looked a lot better but Nikki's were more creative, I guess this time creativity won over technical skill. Of course, next time technical skill will probably win over creativity, you never know with this show. 

Those were some sad cookies, but the pavlova was a cool idea. 

I like all of the finalists, but Steven is my top choice. 

Yea, you never really know from week to week. 

I am also picking Steven for the win. 

[joanne3482]

18 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

I did not expect Alex to go, he's been a front runner from the start, but the show does tend to not end with classically trained chef's winning the whole thing.

I wonder if it is because the classically trained chefs have a hard time with being creative. (Well with the exception of the year the chef who rightfully got mad about sprinkles left). It seems they often have a harder time "putting their own spin" on dishes. 

[KittyMom4]

2 hours ago, dleighg said:

I guess I'm an outlier because I thought Nikki's was a lot more creative that Alex's. I loved the idea of a pavlova. And his accent doesn't particularly impress me (duck).

I'll hide under the table with you, I thought Nikki's dessert looked way better than Alex's. His was a mess but then I haven't been impressed with him as much as most on here and the judges have been. 

[storyskip]

This is why, to me it feels scripted. Alex showed week over week that he could execute creative, clean work. The caterpillar for example.
 

But as they got to the end it feels like the producers went “oh, wait we can’t have a final three of all men, we need the remaining woman in the finale” and so Alex was told to make amateur mistakes. 

It feels like this every time there is a classically trained pastry chef, who is obviously head and shoulders over the rest of the competition but doesn’t fit the producers’ “narrative.”

Putting my tinfoil hat on, I wonder if that’s why the French chef from the Molly Yeh debacle walked off. I’m sure the sprinkles were a large part of it, but he was also told to “make glaring mistakes” he might have said “no.”

I would be more willing to just go along with it, if I hadn’t been following Valerie’s exit from Food Network and things she’s said about behind the scenes stuff. Food Network executives aren’t interested in actual cooking skills anymore, they just want competition shows with the right “story.”

[libgirl2]

6 minutes ago, storyskip said:

I would be more willing to just go along with it, if I hadn’t been following Valerie’s exit from Food Network and things she’s said about behind the scenes stuff. Food Network executives aren’t interested in actual cooking skills anymore, they just want competition shows with the right “story.”

I'm not ready for the tinfoil hat quite yet, but yes, I do agree with that last part. 

[carrps]

My sister said that Nikki's tulip cookies looked like they were from the Kids' Baking show. So clunky and blah. No decoration other than that shiny glaze? And, no, the luster dust does not count. The flavors she described didn't appeal to me at all, but that's just taste. The look though was massively underwhelming.

Nikki's "pavlova" was more creative, but it didn't look like something I'd want to eat. I don't like having to scrape bits of "streusel" off a plate in order to corral a decent bite. Deconstruction -- not my jam.

 

 

[Maya]

3 hours ago, KittyMom4 said:

I'll hide under the table with you, I thought Nikki's dessert looked way better than Alex's. His was a mess but then I haven't been impressed with him as much as most on here and the judges have been. 

I agree. His dessert was boring, brown and not creative. Plus apparently the cake inside was a wet mess. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

3 hours ago, storyskip said:

It feels like this every time there is a classically trained pastry chef, who is obviously head and shoulders over the rest of the competition but doesn’t fit the producers’ “narrative.”

Putting my tinfoil hat on, I wonder if that’s why the French chef from the Molly Yeh debacle walked off. I’m sure the sprinkles were a large part of it, but he was also told to “make glaring mistakes” he might have said “no.”

I would be more willing to just go along with it, if I hadn’t been following Valerie’s exit from Food Network and things she’s said about behind the scenes stuff. Food Network executives aren’t interested in actual cooking skills anymore, they just want competition shows with the right “story.”

When I think of producer shenanigans, I think back to Jaleesa winning her season.    That stunned me.   And I can see the manipulations when a competitor with a more compelling story is kept over other chefs who seem to be putting out a better product.   One week it seems to be flavor and creativity over decorating, and the next week it's reversed.      

I'm looking forward to the stained glass challenge for next week, and see who gets the title.   

[Rammchick]

4 hours ago, storyskip said:

Food Network executives aren’t interested in actual cooking skills anymore, they just want competition shows with the right “story.”

Long ago, I read that the emphasis on competition shows was to get men to watch.

[Splashy]

5 hours ago, storyskip said:

I wonder if that’s why the French chef from the Molly Yeh debacle walked off. I’m sure the sprinkles were a large part of it, but he was also told to “make glaring mistakes” he might have said “no.”

But I can't imagine any baker agreeing to purposely making glaring mistakes. 

 

5 hours ago, storyskip said:

they just want competition shows with the right “story.”

Yep, I think that plays into it. I also was suspicious of the not-wanting-3-men-in-the-finale thing. I don't CARE whether it's 3 men, 3 women, a mix of both, doesn't matter to me. I just want the 3 best bakers, period. 

 

1 hour ago, Rammchick said:

Long ago, I read that the emphasis on competition shows was to get men to watch.

I can believe it. This is why it's become the Guy Feety Network. 

Nickey's cookies really were really visually underwhelming. I could tell they weren't going to look good while they were baking, and even while she was cutting them out. I think it wasn't the type of dough that works well with cookie cutters. I can't remember what she put in them for flavors, but I think they were probably one of those things that tastes way better than it looks. 

I'm rooting for Steven. I like his even-keeled demeanor and he's been consistently good. I just hope he doesn't do the teeth thing again with the whipped cream. He's done it a couple of times. 😜

 

[mlp]

1 hour ago, Splashy said:

I also was suspicious of the not-wanting-3-men-in-the-finale thing. I don't CARE whether it's 3 men, 3 women, a mix of both, doesn't matter to me. I just want the 3 best bakers, period. 

Yep.  I liked all four of them but I think Alex had a much better season and deserved to stay.  Nickey had too many "I never did that before" moments to be called a champion.  I noticed that Alex was overdoing his soak but I didn't really get Nickey's plate.  The judges immediately started praising her dessert (which didn't look cohesive to me) so I knew they'd decided she'd be staying.   That same sort of thing happened the year that Jaleesa won - which still makes me angry.

I like both Robert and Steven but I think Steven is most deserving of the win.

 

[Mellowyellow]

Perfectly happy with Nikki moving forward. I liked Alex too but he’s been dinged a few times: not enough sugar last week, not enough sugar the passion fruit week, weird combo with the mango and dates that even Jesse thought was odd

 Nikki has put forward some yummy bakes and knows her stuff (that smokey flour she has last week that she handled really well). Both have done exceptionally well in some weeks and had a hiccup or two in other weeks. I HATED Jaleesa’s win (I considered quitting after that season) but Nikki’s skillset is far superior and she’s nothing like Jaleesa.

I am usually annoyed with the judges but the judging this season overall has been better than previous seasons imo.

Edited May 1 by Mellowyellow

[statslady]

Seems every season there's a classically trained European who makes it almost to the end and doesn't quite get there.  I knew though the minute they each said what they were making that Alex would go unless Nikki made some huge mistake.  The one thought I had was maybe the meringue would be underdone given the time but no one commented on that.  It looks similar to a dessert I make - Thomas Keller's meringues - that's a riff on a deconstructed pavlova very similar to Nikki's.  That is my hands down favorite dessert I make. 

[2soon2tell]

I thought that, if decorated slightly differently, the tulip cookies would look like baby Groot. 

[Pi237]

I like Nikki and Alex, but I think Alex is more talented. However, you all made good points about how he just made tiramisu without originality, and oversoaked his cake. So,  if it’s judged challenge by challenge vs overall season, I get it.

Robert kind of gets on my nerves with his playing for the camera, but maybe it’s his genuine personality. And Nikki said he’s really nice off camera gets her a coffee every morning. But he’d be A lot for me every day lol 

And I agree-if he keeps away from the teeth motif, Steven is a strong contender for the win. 

[libgirl2]

Alex is the baker you would hire for a classy, traditional and delicious array of baked goods. Think and afternoon tea. Nikki is more out of the box. 

Honestly, I liked Alex the best but this was a really good season. Really, any of those four could have won. 

[carrps]

42 minutes ago, Pi237 said:

And Nikki said he’s really nice off camera gets her a coffee every morning.

Actually, she said he bought her a coffee every morning. And I thought "FN is too cheap to even give them coffee???"

[libgirl2]

13 minutes ago, carrps said:

Actually, she said he bought her a coffee every morning. And I thought "FN is too cheap to even give them coffee???"

Considering the prize is only $25K, they probably aren't. 

[RoxiP]

Or maybe Nikki likes bougie coffee (I speak because I resemble that remark!).

[libgirl2]

49 minutes ago, RoxiP said:

Or maybe Nikki likes bougie coffee (I speak because I resemble that remark!).

Good point. They probably provide the usual coffee you would get at a breakfast buffet at a hotel. 

[littlebennysmom]

On 4/30/2024 at 3:02 PM, carrps said:

My sister said that Nikki's tulip cookies looked like they were from the Kids' Baking show. So clunky and blah. No decoration other than that shiny glaze? And, no, the luster dust does not count. The flavors she described didn't appeal to me at all, but that's just taste. The look though was massively underwhelming.

Nikki's "pavlova" was more creative, but it didn't look like something I'd want to eat. I don't like having to scrape bits of "streusel" off a plate in order to corral a decent bite. Deconstruction -- not my jam.

 

 

That pavlova looked like an over easy egg -- blech!!

[Ohmo]

On 4/30/2024 at 9:42 AM, Rammchick said:

...again. Sigh.

It will never happen, but I want "The French Baking Championship" Romy, Clement, and Alex.  Game on!

My issue is that Nancy said something in Nikki's was wet and raw.  Alex oversoaked the tiramisu, which to me, wasn't an error.  I love tiramisu, and my pet peeve is there's rarely enough coffee.

Alex didn't serve raw anything to the judges.

Edited May 3 by Ohmo

[AZChristian]

1 hour ago, Ohmo said:

It will never happen, but I want "The French Baking Championship" Romy, Clement, and Alex.  Game on!

They could call it "Food Network Baking Championship:  Frenchmen's Revenge"  LOL.

[Shermie]

I just figure they don’t want a French baker winning an American baking show because many Americans think anything French is too elite and European and all that cliched nonsense. So why let a French baker compete? Because it’s interesting to see their skills and techniques, and maybe because they like the storyline that the fancy French baker always gets beaten by a plain ol’ ‘Merican.

On 4/30/2024 at 10:42 PM, Mellowyellow said:

Perfectly happy with Nikki moving forward. I liked Alex too but he’s been dinged a few times: not enough sugar last week, not enough sugar the passion fruit week, weird combo with the mango and dates that even Jesse thought was odd

Nikki had enough dings too; she didn’t even win a round until near the end. I didn’t understand why mango and dates would be a weird combo, though. They’re both fruits and sweet, and the show has asked bakers to combine flavours that were way weirder and incomplatible.

[TVbitch]

I was bummed Alex didn't go through. Nothing against Nikki, she just always seems like a sourpuss in her talking heads, so I'm guessing she does not win. Oh well, I always figured it would be one of the boys winning. All in all, a pretty talented season. 

Looking forward to this new show starting Monday. Would someone be so kind as to remind me where I've seen Ludo before. Was it Masterchef Australia, maybe? 

[Salacious Kitty]

Ludo was most recently the head chef co-host on Rat in the Kitchen. That show was hilarious. 

Edited May 4 by Salacious Kitty
Autofill got me again! Didn't like Ludo.

[kathyk2]

11 minutes ago, TVbitch said:

I was bummed Alex didn't go through. Nothing against Nikki, she just always seems like a sourpuss in her talking heads, so I'm guessing she does not win. Oh well, I always figured it would be one of the boys winning. All in all, a pretty talented season. 

Looking forward to this new show starting Monday. Would someone be so kind as to remind me where I've seen Ludo before. Was it Masterchef Australia, maybe? 

Ludo was in Rat in the Kitchen on TBS. 

[TVbitch]

Thanks, I haven't seen that show, but that enabled me to get his full name and google him. It was The Taste I was thinking of, where he was a judge along with Anthony Bourdain and Nigella. That was a weird show! 

[kathyk2]

18 minutes ago, Salacious Kitty said:

Ludo was most recently the head chef co-host on Rat in the Kitchen. That show was hilarious. 

Rat in the Kitchen was great it should have been on Food Network instead of TBS.

[carrps]

Ludo was also on one of the Iron Chef competitions ages ago...i.e. the competition to be an Iron Chef, not a competition between Iron Chefs.

 

[Grizzly]

I think of Ludo as the French Ray Romano. 

Hope someone starts a thread for that show since it looks interesting. 

Edited May 5 by Grizzly
Extra thought

[RoxiP]

I could care less about their nationality - just let the best baker win.  Shoot, half the time these days it seems the winners are from Canada...LOL!

Don't forget the cute Italian guy who won one of the shows and then went on to be a judge (and was always kind of a jerk in my opinion - he looked good, obviously baked well but never seemed to have a great personality).

[Rammchick]

34 minutes ago, RoxiP said:

Don't forget the cute Italian guy who won one of the shows and then went on to be a judge (and was always kind of a jerk in my opinion - he looked good, obviously baked well but never seemed to have a great personality).

Oh yes, that was Nancy's pet, Damiano.

[HyeChaps]

But he was a good judge on Holiday Cookie—as opposed to letting Ree and Eddie do it on their own. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I like how Nickey, Robert and Steven are still tasting food for each other, making suggestions, and being nice.   I really like the stained glass wedding cake challenge.   Not liking that Nickey and Robert have the same color scheme though.   

How can Nickey come to this contest knowing it's mostly cakes, and not practice cakes and decorating?   

Nickey's is pretty, and the judges love the taste.   But her dragonflies were horrible.  

Steven's is spectacular.  Nancy is conducting music at Steven's cake's taste, and texture.   They do say the bottom layers are kind of dense.  

Robert's is spectacular too, but doesn't look like stained glass.   Black lines would have been better, the brown looks like vines.   I love the flowers, birds, and all of the decorations. I love how he did a hummingbird theme, with a hummingbird cake.  They criticize the size of the coconut.  Why didn't he put nuts in it?   That's a traditional ingredient.  

For best decoration, I would pick Steven.  Robert's was fantastic too.  Nickey's wasn't as good in my opinion.

Congratulations to all of the finalists, and to the winner,  Steven.  

Edited May 7 by CrazyInAlabama

[Frost]

Nikki's dragonflies were crap.  Maybe it tasted good but the decorations were bad.

Robert's decoration looked too busy for me.

Stephen's cake was stunning.

Yeah!  The right person won!

[libgirl2]

3 minutes ago, Frost said:

Nikki's dragonflies were crap.  Maybe it tasted good but the decorations were bad.

Robert's decoration looked too busy for me.

Stephen's cake was stunning.

Yeah!  The right person won!

The right person won. That looked like stained glass, the others not so much. 

[Starry-Eyed]

I would have rioted if Stephen hadn't won. His cake looked stunning and wedding worthy.

Robert's was fine, but the stained glass effect was just okay, not really the focus. It would have been a sweet anniversary cake or something for his husband, but didn't really say wedding to me.  (I'm currently planning my own wedding, so maybe I'm extra judgmental.)

Nikki's was downright embarrassing. I was totally fine with her winning her way into the finale, but her performance really did not reflect well on the judges' decision. The stained glass aspect was one few people could have seen coming, but how could she have possibly thought there wouldn't be any stacked cakes for the Spring Baking Championship? She kept saying she hadn't done it before like that would make her look better (because the cake did NOT look good. I did like the isomalt dragonflies on the top, though. If she had done all of the dragonflies like that, it would have been a big improvement, but not enough to outdo Stephen), but it really just made her look worse because she was so unprepared.