Spring Baking Championship - General Discussion

[CrazyDog]

Aww, Val. I really liked her and she just had an off night. I thought she'd be a finalist for sure. Overall, I thought it sounded like her flavors were right there with Tati's and she did more, IMO.

Tati is talented but wow, that was underwhelming. She could have done so much more with beautiful peacocks. Not a fan of the wings. 

Loved Sohrob getting a win! His pool was gorgeous. I really would be happy with him or Arin taking it, even though Tati staying tonight leads me to think she may win.

I had to laugh at Clinton pointing out the issues Tati and Sohrob had during the season, but he was still very nice about it, lol. 

[Brookside]

I liked Val too, but what she made looked to me like an under-baked, undecorated cross between a swan and the Loch Ness Monster.  

Edited April 28, 2020 by Brookside
Because a loch by any other auto-correct name is lock

[littlebennysmom]

9 hours ago, mlp said:

My favorite has been Arin since the beginning but I was very happy to see Sohrob get a win.  I like him and his flamingo dessert looked great.  I could see the problems with both Val and Tati's desserts so I would have accepted either being eliminated.  I wonder what tipped the scale.

Probably the fact Arin's idea for a pool was a splash of what looked like blood under his "swans".  It looked terrible on a couple of different levels.

[laredhead]

I laughed out loud a few times during this episode.  When Clinton and Tati were talking about Mother's Day and not having children, their exchange was increasingly funny.  Clinton's reaction to taking a sip of the tequila with the hot peppers was wonderful.  Even the judges were more light hearted tonight.

[springbarb]

17 minutes ago, laredhead said:

I laughed out loud a few times during this episode.  When Clinton and Tati were talking about Mother's Day and not having children, their exchange was increasingly funny.  Clinton's reaction to taking a sip of the tequila with the hot peppers was wonderful.  Even the judges were more light hearted tonight.

Yes! LOVED the exchange between Tati and Clinton about being parents, with their realization that it's the Mother's Day episode--"We love kids!" Especially since it came right after Clinton's reaction to the pepper tequila.

[crazycatlady58]

21 minutes ago, springbarb said:

Yes! LOVED the exchange between Tati and Clinton about being parents, with their realization that it's the Mother's Day episode--"We love kids!" Especially since it came right after Clinton's reaction to the pepper tequila.

Whenever they do these mothers day things I wonder what would happen if  a Baker said, in reply to " What are you doing for mothers day"? " Well I can't have children and my mother was an abusive alcoholic so...not much." Not everyone had a great mom.

[CrazyInAlabama]

Arin's 'pond' was awful.     It did look like Swan hunting season.    

 

Val's wasn't up to the decorating challenge.    It looks awful. 

Edited April 28, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[TexasTiffany]

9 hours ago, Brookside said:

I liked Val too, but what she made looked to me like an under-baked, undecorated cross between a swan and the Lock Ness Monster.  

My first thought was the Loch Ness Monster, too. They said Val's dessert tasted good but what a fail at decorating, especially going into the final 3. 

I was disappointed in Tati's interpretation of a peacock and making what looked like a cupcake. I would have baked a domed cake, iced it in peacock blue, then stood up all those peacock feathers in the icing.

What was Arin thinking? Blood spatter for his swans! I'm not a fan of the splatter style. Duff was right that it looked more like swan hunting season. 

We've seen some awesome cakes this season. I'm, surprised the 3 baker's who are usually in the top 3 made such dismal efforts. 

Sohrob's flamingo cake was adorable. The pink feathers, the color, the pool. Inspiring. 

I wanted Clinton's twist to be that the bakers had to WEAR their floaties while working.

Tati still reminds me of Rosie the Riveter.

 

Edited April 28, 2020 by TexasTiffany

[Guest]

1 hour ago, springbarb said:

Yes! LOVED the exchange between Tati and Clinton about being parents, with their realization that it's the Mother's Day episode--"We love kids!" Especially since it came right after Clinton's reaction to the pepper tequila.

I also liked when Sohrob started another producer-driven conversation about mothers with Tati, asking her if she wanted to talk about her mother, and Tati just said "No" XD Obviously she was kidding and did eventually, but I loved that initial reaction. She's been very off the beaten path of the way contestants usually are on this show, and I love it.

[CrazyInAlabama]

2 hours ago, TexasTiffany said:

I wanted Clinton's twist to be that the bakers had to WEAR their floaties while working.

That would have been so hysterical to watch.   However, I suspect there would have been floaties stuck to ovens, melted on stoves, and it would have been a massacre of floaties. 

[Guest]

3 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

That would have been so hysterical to watch.   However, I suspect there would have been floaties stuck to ovens, melted on stoves, and it would have been a massacre of floaties. 

And perhaps some PTSD on Arin's part.

[jcbrown]

I was sorry to see Val go. I suspect we'll see her on FN again. They are generally good at recognizing telegenic personalities and cycling them through their other shows.

[Maya]

1 hour ago, jcbrown said:

I was sorry to see Val go. I suspect we'll see her on FN again. They are generally good at recognizing telegenic personalities and cycling them through their other shows.

Val was my favorite, but that weird seahorse cookie thing she made was not OK. 
 

[LabScientist]

On 4/2/2020 at 10:16 AM, 3outta5 said:

For some reason this season is not On Demand with Spectrum and since it airs at the same time as Better Call Saul I am missing it. Ok, they air the old one an hour before the new, so I figured I'd catch up that way. NOPE. This Monday it was GGG with "Guy and Hunter From Home" commentary spliced in. I just want to watch SBC! I hate being behind but now it's two weeks instead of one. Anyone else having this issue?!

I agree with the PP; I need this lighthearted escape, where cake is crucial...

We have Spectrum and I am able to watch it On Demand. I keep forgetting to add it to my DVR so I've been binge watching it On Demand.

[jlc]

2 hours ago, LabScientist said:

This Monday it was GGG with "Guy and Hunter From Home" commentary spliced in. 

I feel like Guy is really pushing Hunter on us all if a sudden. Hunter is cohosting everything and talking about taking o er triple D as his own show. It is kinda making me a little mad. 

[springbarb]

2 hours ago, jlc said:

I feel like Guy is really pushing Hunter on us all if a sudden. Hunter is cohosting everything and talking about taking o er triple D as his own show. It is kinda making me a little mad. 

Agreed. Stop trying to make Hunter happen, Guy/Food Network!

On topic, I was impressed with Val's dessert--making a cookie that large and seemingly delicate isn't easy. I also think seahorse was the most challenging design. But I like all the remaining bakers, so it's all good.

[Insert Username]

Val made the mistake of having an idea (for the swan) and trying to make it fit into the seahorse theme. It's hard to shift once you are wedded to an idea. I would have done seahorse shaped eclairs filled with that pineapple and dulce she made...or made those cookies but instead of one large one, make individual ones in a seahorse shape (or with a piped seahorse on top)

[Eliza422]

I also thought that Val's looked like the loch ness monster! I kept forgetting what her animal was because not one bit it made me think seahorse.

[3outta5]

16 hours ago, LabScientist said:

We have Spectrum and I am able to watch it On Demand. I keep forgetting to add it to my DVR so I've been binge watching it On Demand.

They finally added it about 10 days ago so I did get caught up that way

[Ilovecomputers]

On ‎4‎/‎28‎/‎2020 at 12:42 AM, LittleIggy said:

Val’s seahorse looked more like a chicken of the sea!

I thought it looked like a very flat hobby horse.

[RoxiP]

I haven't really taken a particular liking to any of these final contestants - and I usually have one that I root for but these finalists are meh to me.  I don't think any of them are as good a decorator as some finalists in the past.  I'm sure their creations taste wonderful but unfortunately we'll never know!

[Guest]

Well my favorites never win the adult baking championships, so that was not a surprise. Shame that Tati's cake didn't bake right, because the judges seemed to like her flavors, and her decorating blew the other two away, in my opinion. Oh well, another light, diverting season of generally pleasant people on the books.

[springbarb]

Totally agree. I discovered I was rooting for Arin or Tati more than Sohrob; possibly the combination of him being in the bottom so many weeks and then not really doing anything with the kindergarten theme after not letting Tati get it. His decorations were also a bit lackluster--the details on the flower were amazing, but his lettering isn't great and the music notes didn't impress. Tati's design was amazing; too bad the cakes weren't done.

Ah well. Bummed to not have another baking championship next; I don't think I'll be watching the Martha Stewart thing.

[LittleIggy]

Tati’s prom cake was gorgeous. I really wanted her to win. 

[CrazyDog]

Tati's cake was pretty (I loved the year lettering) but up close, it seemed a little messy. I do think if her flavors had been a little better and the cake had been done, she would have won. But, I do think she had the easiest decade to tie into a spring theme.

Arin had the hardest to do spring with all the black and red.

And the judges seemed more in love with both Arin and Sohrob's flavors.

I want to try that milkshake cake SO much. Lorraine seemed blown away and it sounded delicious.

I really like Arin, but (maybe just my own TV viewing habits) it reminded me of a Jughead /Riverdale cake, lol. 

I did love both Arin and Sohrob going with the prom king and king theme.

I'm very happy Sohrob won! They were all a little underwhelming for a finale, decor wise, but still a solid season.

No clue as to when we'll see another baking championship:(

[Maverick]

 They had a new promo for the Martha Stewart thing coming up that makes it look like a total shit show.  The weather apparently hates Martha more than Buddy hates Duff and looks to have wreaked havoc.   Martha vs. Amy Schumer, I'll take Martha and her chopsticks any day.

 Any of the final 3 would have been fine but I thought Schrob's was fairly plain.   And pink by itself doesn't make 50s.   That cake was screaming for a poodle silhouette.  Although since these guys didn't get a Joan Collins in Dynasty reference they probably had to be coached in their decade.

 

 Food Network well in advance.   I think I read one time this is about the time of year they film the Holiday Baking Championship so maybe there's a slim chance they had already filmed the Halloween one.  

Edited May 5, 2020 by Maverick

[GaT]

So glad Arin didn't win, I dislike him in the last episode as much as I did in the first.

[SHD]

I was really surprised Tati didn’t go with those mod/hippie flowers like the ones on the Laugh-In set. That would’ve been such a fun cake and still looked spring-like.

[mlp]

I was rooting for Arin all season but I also liked Sohrob a lot.  In the end, I was very happy that he won.  Tati's cake was pretty but cluttered.  I suspected the texture would be off when she discovered it wasn't done inside and put it back in the oven.  Arin's cake was sort of ugly IMO.  It didn't remind me of prom or spring.  Sohrob's cake was rather plain but it met the criteria and apparently was delicious.  I enjoyed seeing him so happy.

26 minutes ago, Maverick said:

 Martha vs. Amy Schumer, I'll take Martha and her chopsticks any day.

Commercials for both shows have been on ad nauseam.  I've heard of Amy Schumer but I'd never seen her before.  I'll be happy if I never see her again.  I'll probably watch Martha's show.  I have no interest in Amy's.  

"I was really surprised Tati didn’t go with those mod/hippie flowers like the ones on the Laugh-In set. That would’ve been such a fun cake and still looked spring-like."

Tati is too young to have watched Laugh-In.  Those flowers would have been fun but she probably never saw them.

 

Edited May 5, 2020 by mlp
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[TexasTiffany]

I was underwhelmed with the bakes in the last few episodes. Arin is very talented and did really well most of the season, but even he was stumbling. 

I expected the bakers to produce more spectacular pieces in the finale. Sohrob's cake felt only half decorated, and he did the pink color again. ITA about it needing a poodle, and a jukebox, some vinyl records. I haven't liked his attitude for several episodes. 

Arin's didn't say 80's to me. Red and black harlequin? I don't remember those colors. And, Arin's decoration was lacking quite a bit, too. The 80's was the decade of bright colorblock prints with pink orange purple turquoise, angular shapes, etc. Sitting at home I was able to come up with several ideas that would have been way better than what these bakers produced. 

Tati's cake had the prettiest decoration and fit in with Spring Baking Championship. I'm really surprised she didn't win. 

I'm glad this show is over really. It seemed like the bakers were over it all, too. It's like they didn't even put forth that much effort. Maybe Arin expected to win and decided to coast. The whole season left a bad taste.

I'm ready to watch one of these new shows. I like Carla Hall so I will definitely watch that episode, I hope it's the first show. I might watch Amy Schumer and her hubby just to see what it's like. Doubtful it will hold my interest after a show or two. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I think if Tati had baked her cake properly, instead of having a gummy, underbaked cake, she would have won.  Gummy, underdone cake is not only disgusting, but can make you sick.   

 I think the two men were ahead because of flavors.    Arin's certainly did the theme with his prom person's suit, and did a great job in spite of the difficulty of replicating the patterns and textures. 

  I wish they had a few hours longer to decorate, and in Tati's case, bake the cake to proper texture.      Underdone cake can hurt you, and I'm not surprised Tati's underbaked cake did her in.        With more time, then Sirhob (spelling?) would have added more to his cake.    I think a few more hours should be added to the final bake and decorating time.   

I didn't like the costume on Arin's prom king either, I think for Spring Baking, it should have been more springy than the silver suit.    

Edited May 6, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[lh25]

3 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I didn't like the costume on Arin's prom king either, I think for Spring Baking, it should have been more springy than the silver suit.    

I agree.  He was in a bit of a tight spot.  If he didn't use the colors in the date's suit, he risked getting in trouble for not following the challenge.  They could have done great 80's bright colors.

To me, he came across too much like he was auditioning for his own show though.  His very detailed talking heads, explaining what he was doing, just hit me wrong for some reason.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I suspect if they have another season of Best Baker, that we'll see Arin, and maybe Tati.    If they want to participate, and I'm betting Arin will. 

[Morgana]

I wasn't sure if the bakers were supposed to replicate the costumes on their " dates" or be inspired by them... Tati seemed to go with the inspiration route, and her cake benefited from it.  But since the judges didn't see the "dates" they had no idea what they looked like or how closely the cakes matched.

[BusyOctober]

25 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

 

I suspect if they have another season of Best Baker, that we'll see Arin, and maybe Tati.    If they want to participate, and I'm betting Arin will. 

 

Oh, Arin will definitely be resurfacing on Food Network.  He’s a “character” and has “personality”.  Remember Col. Cornpone Jason? He showed up everywhere they couldn’t squeeze another Guy Fieri show.  Food Network execs like to keep shoving these wanna be’s into almost anything.  Maybe they can get al lot of mileage out of them for low cost?  

[Rammchick]

By the time these baking competition shows end, I'm generally sort of over it.  This year was no exception.  Between Nancy's, "It's not springy enough!", or "I'm not getting xyz flavor", or "It doesn't have enough booze in it," etc., and (some of) the bakers' mugging for the camera, or pushing each other out of the way, or making poor decisions, I'm glad to be done with it for now.  So the three prom themes were 50's, 60's, and...80's??  What happened to the 70's?

All that being said, it's very easy for us to armchair quarterback and say what we would have done for the theme, but in the heat of the moment and in front of cameras, not to mention the fatigue that must set in during filming (after all, how many ways can you be creative with the same thing?), I'm sure it's much harder than we think.  I enjoyed watching Tati create the flowers on her cake -- I'd watch a show on how-to cake decorating, Food Network 😉 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I think 70's would have been great.    I was disappointed no one did a silver disco ball top layer, or something like that.   The would have worked so well for 70's / 80's.     

[Ilovecomputers]

Arin was between a rock and a hard place. His prom date was wearing red and black but I’m sure Nancy dinged him because those colors were not springy enough. Seems to me guys in the 80s were emulating Miami Vice suits with tropical colors, no socks and a stubble. I don’t recall the argyle look shown. Arin seemed to think he had it in the bag. 

[MerBearHou]

I was delighted for Sohrob and felt he deserved the win last night.  Loved the Sir-Rob on the cake — can only imagine how many times a day he needs to explain how to say his name.  

Arin’s cake didn’t say 80s at all to me.  I do like him — seems like a good fellow.

Apologies to all who love Tati — I absolutely cannot stand her.  So negative, whining multiple times in more than one episode about those guys who got whatever item she wanted, seems really impressed with herself — I was very glad she didn’t win.  I even hated her kitschy headscarf — reminds of those competitors who wear kitty headbands and big bows — ugh.  

Nevertheless, it was a fun diversion show during quarantine.

I’ll give the Martha show a try but will not spend one second watching Amy Schumer’s show.

[trudysmom]

Arin's cake just made me think of a deck of cards, all black and red.  

Other bakers have done disco balls in the past, that would have been cool.  I like alot of the ideas posters have offered here, poodles, mod flowers.  But if they only had minutes to decide on design, they did the best they could.  Not a terrible season, but I'm glad it's over, lol.  

[Eliza422]

I thinking previous seasons they had more time for the finale pieces. Give them 5 hours or something....then you might get better cakes then these 3 mediocre ones.

[ruffy666]

Arin's take on the 80s was strange, I guess you could draw a connection to like early 80s punk?  And then when describing it to the judges he talked about the bright funky colors of the 80s-- so that made his final cake even more perplexing.  -shrug-

I definitely prioritize flavor over fancy decorations when I bake, so I really can't fault any of them for that.  And I'm generally ok with Sohrob winning, but he seemed like a little bit of a jerk in this episode.  I don't know if he and Arin have that kind of fun, smart-ass relationship so it's not fair of me to judge but some of his comments seemed less jokey and more just plain mean.  What do I know.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

Apologies to all who love Tati — I absolutely cannot stand her.  So negative, whining multiple times in more than one episode about those guys who got whatever item she wanted, seems really impressed with herself — I was very glad she didn’t win.  I even hated her kitschy headscarf — reminds of those competitors who wear kitty headbands and big bows — ugh.

Well I have to defend my girl XD

Obviously this is all subject to interpretation, but where you see negativity and whining, I see a low-key, dry sense of humor. Particularly in this episode, her comments about wanting the kindergarten theme but "these two big humans ran faster than me" - I thought that was cute and funny, and everyone else there seemed to, also. And it's been discussed here that they always have Contestant A "complaining" because Contestant B beat them to an ingredient. It's almost never serious. (Sohrob, for example, seemed quite out of sorts when Christine "took" something from him, but I don't think he was really that mad about it.)

And Tati's headscarf may have been kitschy with its Rosie the Riveter style, but at least it was functional - keeping her hair out of her face and her food. Much more so than kitty ears lol

I will say that I didn't see her being "really impressed with herself" at all. On many occasions, including this episode, she seemed somewhat overwhelmed by the judge's compliments.

But hey, she's become one of my favorite contestants ever on these baking shows, so I'm somewhat biased. She tended to zig where usually contestants zag in how she acted and reacted, and I grew quite fond of her.

[laredhead]

I liked Clinton a lot last night.  I really loved his comment about his being a fashion stylist in the past.  Of all of the hosts this show has had, he's my favorite.  I thought the judges were a little looser in all of their comments, both complimentary and negative, and some were pretty funny.  I would have been happy for any of the final 3 to have won.  With regard to the 80's and decor and colors, all I can remember is Miami Vice and it sure wasn't red and black. 

[springbarb]

50 minutes ago, tracyscott76 said:

Obviously this is all subject to interpretation, but where you see negativity and whining, I see a low-key, dry sense of humor. Particularly in this episode, her comments about wanting the kindergarten theme but "these two big humans ran faster than me" - I thought that was cute and funny, and everyone else there seemed to, also. And it's been discussed here that they always have Contestant A "complaining" because Contestant B beat them to an ingredient. It's almost never serious. (Sohrob, for example, seemed quite out of sorts when Christine "took" something from him, but I don't think he was really that mad about it.)

I agree that Tati just has a very dry sense of humor. I think, like us, she rolls her eyes at the producer-directed conversations ("Tati, did you go to prom?"), though she always winds up going along with them. The conversation with Clinton about kids will probably go down as an all-time favorite moment for me.

[Bunnyette]

Oh Aerin, Spring baking show, yes Miami vice colours, blue, peach, yellow...no need to change the decorations...

5 hours ago, Ilovecomputers said:

Arin was between a rock and a hard place. His prom date was wearing red and black but I’m sure Nancy dinged him because those colors were not springy enough. Seems to me guys in the 80s were emulating Miami Vice suits with tropical colors, no socks and a stubble. I don’t recall the argyle look shown. Arin seemed to think he had it in the bag. 

 

[ExplainItAgain]

If they wanted to use the guy as a model, I wonder why they didn't do 70s and have him in a powder blue suit or tux? What he was wearing didn't scream 80s to me. Arin should have ignored the date and went with neon colors and angular shapes.

[dleighg]

9 hours ago, ExplainItAgain said:

If they wanted to use the guy as a model, I wonder why they didn't do 70s and have him in a powder blue suit or tux? What he was wearing didn't scream 80s to me.

As someone whose senior prom was in 1979 I wondered that as well. And yes, my date wore powder blue (to the junior prom; the senior prom he wore off white).

[RoxiP]

I can't believe Arin hasn't seen any of the 80s John Hughes movies - I can imagine doing a great 80s Pretty In Pink inspired cake, or 16 Candles.  

[TVbitch]

I was underwhelmed with the final bakes. I thought all of them could have reflected their decade better, and none of them were showstoppers.  (TM)Great British Bake Off

The bakers know the challenge ahead of time, yes? Could they not have googled?