Holiday Baking Championship - General Discussion

[mojoween]

I love Eva.  She seems so fun and I want her to bake me some gingerbread cookies.

I cannot even imagine eating Bavarian cream that tastes like egg.  One of them called it an omelet and I can’t get over how gross that sounds.  

[rlc]

I’ve seen a number of comments about Meghan and her use of booze. Though I’m not a big fan of hers (or her eyelashes), the week that she asked someone else to taste something to let her know if there was enough booze in it, it was something she wasn’t used to working with, and it was uncooked. In her other recipes, she’s adding small amounts in recipes she’s likely made many times, then cooking out the alcohol.

It looks like I’m the only one who was pleasantly surprised to see Leshonda and her oversized ego and messy desserts go.

I love Eva and her low-key confidence, but would be happy to see Lorenzo win as well. Meghan has done consistently well, and they do seem to like a perky baker, so she’ll probably win. Not sure why they’ve kept Juliana around, but she could be the dark-horse in the race. 

[dleighg]

Just now, rlc said:

It looks like I’m the only one who was pleasantly surprised to see Leshonda and her oversized ego and messy desserts go.

 

no I was not a fan either. I generally dislike HUGE PERSONALITIES. 

 

1 minute ago, rlc said:

I love Eva and her low-key confidence

me too

[theatremouse]

9 hours ago, Maya said:

Orange jam on a coffee trifle sounded (and apparently tasted) gross, but I wonder what  kind of fruit would have tasted good with coffee trifle? Any ideas? 

But they said they couldn't taste the orange at all. So I think it's not that it's gross but that she said it was in there and it wasn't detectable. 

I was slightly surprised LaShonda went because Juliana did not meet the brief. I understood why she wanted to do square for theme reasons, but that's not the challenge. They both had bad Bavarian. They both looked super messy. One did not taste like the required ingredient. The other was under baked. I suspect on the main challenge, it might've even been a toss up. Maybe that sable that actually had complimentary flavors to the main thing was what put Juliana over the edge.

[CrazyDog]

1 hour ago, MerBearHou said:

It was Lorenzo's Peruvian cookie (alfajores) that Duff went back and snuck an extra!  

Oh, thank you! Seriously, how did I forget that? lol. Go Lorenzo!

[Maya]

2 hours ago, theatremouse said:

But they said they couldn't taste the orange at all. So I think it's not that it's gross but that she said it was in there and it wasn't detectable. 

I was slightly surprised LaShonda went because Juliana did not meet the brief. I understood why she wanted to do square for theme reasons, but that's not the challenge. They both had bad Bavarian. They both looked super messy. One did not taste like the required ingredient. The other was under baked. I suspect on the main challenge, it might've even been a toss up. Maybe that sable that actually had complimentary flavors to the main thing was what put Juliana over the edge.

Maybe I’m confusing it with whoever combined orange and peppermint and Carla said it tasted like drinking orange juice after brushing your teeth 😂

[MerBearHou]

12 minutes ago, Maya said:

Maybe I’m confusing it with whoever combined orange and peppermint and Carla said it tasted like drinking orange juice after brushing your teeth 😂

That was Juliana.  Ugh.  Carla was like “and you put that in my cake?”  

[mojoween]

I mean.  Orange and peppermint?  I could be biased because I hate peppermint but that sounded awful.

[trudysmom]

4 hours ago, rlc said:

It looks like I’m the only one who was pleasantly surprised to see Leshonda and her oversized ego and messy desserts go.

Not the only one. But I would have been fine if they'd sent Juliana, too.  But LaShonday put orange slices in her trifle, and I said to trudysdad, didn't they just sent Jon home for his unpeeled oranges that were inedible?  (To which he said huh? who's jon?) 

 

4 hours ago, dleighg said:

I generally dislike HUGE PERSONALITIES. 

Makes me think of Desiderata "avoid loud and aggresive persons, they are vexations of the spirit".  Amen.  I think in the end it will come down to Lorenzo or Meghan. They like the taste of Eva's bakes, but in the end it has to be pretty and she's a quality baker more than a decorative one.  Still love her though.

[kirklandia]

[ladyscorpio]

I just got done watching this episode tonight instead of Monday night so I'm late commenting on it. I was surprised that they cut Lashonda and not Julianna. I think it was Duff that said Julianna didn't meet the requirement because she made a square Charlotte Royale instead of circle. Plus it looked horrible like someone sat on it and it was really sloppy. It does seem like she always gets a pass no matter how bad she messes up. I don't get it. I really think she should have been cut for just the fact that it was supposed to be shaped a certain way and she made up her own shape. I like Eva but I have a feeling Lorenzo or Megan will win the finale. Megan doesn't really bug me or Lorenzo. Julianna does bug me and so did Kess. I thought there was only supposed to be 3 people in the finale too, not four. It bugged me this season that some people got dinged for things that other people didn't and they do the same thing as the one who got dinged! It should be consistent with everyone and that would make it more fair.  I was sad to see John go, I knew it was going to be him. It was bugging me that the judges kept saying the contestants should've thought of doing "this and this" instead of what they picked because they had no time left to do anything more than what they had done, like a sugar cookie. They don't have enough time to do all these extra things and flavors an decorations in that short of a time. I'm surprised nobody has told them yeah they would've done more but they ran out of time .

[Toothbrush]

I can't believe Julianna is still around. I get the feeling that the judges regard her as very creative, and want to see what she'll come up with next. It definitely seems that she's being favored.

On 12/14/2020 at 11:51 PM, LittleIggy said:

It’s pronounced “prah-leen,” people. It’s a French word. It grates my ears to hear “pray-leen.” 😖

This x infinity. Between that & eXpresso, the cringe factor was high. 

11 hours ago, mojoween said:

I love Eva.  She seems so fun and I want her to bake me some gingerbread cookies.

I cannot even imagine eating Bavarian cream that tastes like egg.  One of them called it an omelet and I can’t get over how gross that sounds.  

A sweet omelet, which is even more gag-worthy. 

[dleighg]

1 hour ago, ladyscorpio said:

I think it was Duff that said Julianna didn't meet the requirement because she made a square Charlotte Royale instead of circle.

That's not quite right- he said that if she WAS going to do a non-traditional shape, it needed to be PERFECT, with sharp corners. And yes, it looked like someone sat on it. 

[tennisgurl]

As much as I like Lashonda, I can see why she was sent home. Her last few things just did not look nice, which is especially bad for a holiday competition, and that last Bavarian Cream sounded gross. I did think that Juliana would be the one going home, but the judges really appreciate her out of the box thinking and I guess that saved her for now. 

I think that the game will go to Lorenzo or Eva, and I would be happy with either of them winning but I am rooting for Eva. I have loved everything she's made, and she seems like such a nice person to bake cookies with. 

[bilgistic]

On 12/14/2020 at 11:38 PM, CheshireCat said:

What annoys me about Megan is that she pointed out that she couldn't taste the dough when they gave her an alcoholic ingredient at the beginning and she's included alcohol in her baking almost every week ever since.

THANK YOU. She's used alcohol SEVEN times. I can't stand her and her giant fake caterpillar eyelashes.

[Rammchick]

On 12/14/2020 at 9:51 PM, LittleIggy said:

It’s pronounced “prah-leen,” people. It’s a French word. It grates my ears to hear “pray-leen.” 😖

Except if you're from New Orleans, and then you'd pronounce it "praw-leen" 😉

[bilgistic]

On 12/15/2020 at 8:26 AM, Maya said:

Orange jam on a coffee trifle sounded (and apparently tasted) gross, but I wonder what  kind of fruit would have tasted good with coffee trifle? Any ideas? 

I thought strawberries would be nice.

On 12/15/2020 at 12:51 AM, LittleIggy said:

It’s pronounced “prah-leen,” people. It’s a French word. It grates my ears to hear “pray-leen.” 😖

Unlike "maRscapone", which is just wrong, "pray-leen" is a dialectical pronunciation.

[LittleIggy]

15 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

I thought strawberries would be nice.

Unlike "maRscapone", which is just wrong, "pray-leen" is a dialectical pronunciation.

No, “pray-leen” is a mispronunciation of a French word. It is wrong and bugs the 💩 out of me.

 

23 minutes ago, Rammchick said:

Except if you're from New Orleans, and then you'd pronounce it "praw-leen" 😉

That is in no ways as bad as “pray-leen.” I’m from Louisiana originally, BTW.

[tennisgurl]

51 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

THANK YOU. She's used alcohol SEVEN times. I can't stand her and her giant fake caterpillar eyelashes.

Maybe because Megan is pregnant, she just really missing alcohol and is living vicariously through the judges, or just wants it around even if she cant drink it? If she cant drink it, she can at least smell it!

[Adeejay]

I can't believe Julianna is still there.  Based on her critiques, she should have been cut.   She was last in the preliminary and made a flavorless square cake with hard edges.  Watch her win the whole darn thing.  I've been side eying these judges since they placed the four people of color in the bottom three weeks ago.    

[MerBearHou]

2 hours ago, Adeejay said:

I can't believe Julianna is still there.  Based on her critiques, she should have been cut.   She was last in the preliminary and made a flavorless square cake with hard edges.  Watch her win the whole darn thing.  I've been side eying these judges since they placed the four people of color in the bottom three weeks ago.    

I'll tell you what irritates me about Julianna and it has for weeks.  She BS's her way through questionable judging with quips, giggles, stories about why her bake or presentation looks less-than.  I think her schmoozing has kept her because she makes the judges laugh with her BS explanations.  Bugs me to no end.  

Edited December 16, 2020 by MerBearHou

[lh25]

22 hours ago, mojoween said:

I cannot even imagine eating Bavarian cream that tastes like egg.  One of them called it an omelet and I can’t get over how gross that sounds.  

I know it's not the same thing, but there is a sushi called Tamago, which is a somewhat sweet omelet on rice.  It's pretty good, esp. with a little soy sauce for salty.

[springbarb]

I think Megan and Lorenzo are the best two bakers left, though that doesn't mean Juliana or Eva couldn't pull it out in the finale. Juliana keeps squeaking through on her originality, I think; the judges are awarding inventiveness. I do hope that they bring Lorenzo back for other shows; he has a good personality but isn't terribly over the top. (I loved him answering Jesse's "You remember our judges?" with a "Yes," because I had JUST commented that no, the bakers don't remember the judges. It makes me appreciate the Great British Bake Off more; there's none of the weird stories for why they have to make whatever the assignment is, no introducing the judges each week. It's just "Paul and Prue would like you to make..." Stop pretending the judges don't know what's coming!)

Eva annoys me for no discernible reason; I think she must remind of someone I don't like, but am not quite sure who. She's also a bit too folksy for me, I think.

[GaT]

2 minutes ago, springbarb said:

Eva annoys me for no discernible reason; I think she must remind of someone I don't like, but am not quite sure who. She's also a bit too folksy for me, I think.

Do you think she tries to make herself look like an elf by pulling down her headband to make her ears poke out on purpose? I can't decide if it's deliberate or not.

[bilgistic]

6 hours ago, springbarb said:

Eva annoys me for no discernible reason; I think she must remind of someone I don't like, but am not quite sure who. She's also a bit too folksy for me, I think.

I don't like her either, and I don't know why. I mean, the headband, obviously, but otherwise I'm not sure.

Y'all know I don't dig on Megan, and here's another reason why: she has her hair down. I cannot deal with baking/cooking shows with people with long hair all over the place. I keep waiting for the judges to pull a long hair out of what they're tasting. I get that people want to look cute on TV, but put your hair up! Jon had his up. Lashonda has (mostly). Juliana has hers mostly up. I just wish she'd get the front bit out of her eyes.

Edited December 17, 2020 by bilgistic

[Starscream]

I think Julianna's the only one I couldn't tolerate winning.  Lorenzo and Megan have both put out many high quality efforts and Eva has been solid if unspectacular.  Julianna seems like she's had more bad bakes than good bakes and has skated by because someone else screwed up worse that day.

[BigBingerBro]

I totally was not expecting Lashonda to be sent home.  Julianna's bake was by far the worst.  I do think had Lashonda stepped up her decorating, she'd have been safe.  I also found it a bit interesting that she used pre-baked lady fingers for her trifle.  

Lorenzo certainly has a natural falr for baking and decorating.  I won't be shocked if he wins.

Eva is a great baker, but she tends to make poor decisions given the time-pressures it seems.

Megan grew on me over the course of the series.  She definitely knows what she doing.

Julianna should have gone a long time ago.  Perhaps they are keeping her for being a "home" baker.

It appears that Carla has flat-ironed hair in the preview for the finale.  I loved seeing all of her creative hairstyles this season.  I still miss Lorraine.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, BigBingerBro said:

I totally was not expecting Lashonda to be sent home.  Julianna's bake was by far the worst.  I do think had Lashonda stepped up her decorating, she'd have been safe.  I also found it a bit interesting that she used pre-baked lady fingers for her trifle.  

But apparently Julianna's was not "by far the worst". She had flavor and structure issues, yes, but it seemed that Lashonda's was actually somewhat unpleasant to eat, since the Bavarian cream had an omelet texture, on top of the decorating issues. Plus Julianna's holly cookie was a hit.

Obviously personal preference can differ, and if people like Lashonda better than Julianna, or even think that overall Lashonda was a better baker, that's understandable. But in this specific challenge, I don't think it's accurate to say that Julianna's was by far the worst.

[BigBingerBro]

25 minutes ago, tracyscott76 said:

I don't think it's accurate to say that Julianna's was by far the worst.

You're right.  I was mainly thinking about appearance, which is the only thing a viewer can go by aside from the judges comments.

[CrazyInAlabama]

Actually, I would have sent Lashonda and Julianna home.   Lashonda's wasn't a good product to eat, and Julianna's appearance was awful.     It is also a decorating contest too.   But one more repetition of my biggest pet peeve with this show, give them an extra hour or more to put out their best product, and stop doing the stupid twists.   

Edited December 19, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[mauras]

21 hours ago, BigBingerBro said:

Julianna should have gone a long time ago.  Perhaps they are keeping her for being a "home" baker.

Earlier in the season I thought Julianna deserved points for creativity, even if a lot of her creations were hot messes, but I've come to think she's just not a very good baker, and she seems to have trouble understanding flavors. I was okay with Lashonda going home despite liking her all season, because that was just a bad effort, but I don't get how Julianna has lasted this long in the first place. I'll be fine with anyone else winning, just not her.

(And just saying, pray-leen is a perfectly acceptable and common US pronunciation, unlike "marscapone" and "expresso," which reverse and substitute letters, respectively. American pralines and French praline also aren't exactly the same thing.)

[jrzy]

On 12/16/2020 at 5:34 PM, bilgistic said:

I don't like her either, and I don't know why. I mean, the headband, obviously, but otherwise I'm not sure.

Y'all know I don't dig on Megan, and here's another reason why: she has her hair down. I cannot deal with baking/cooking shows with people with long hair all over the place. I keep waiting for the judges to pull a long hair out of what they're tasting. I get that people want to look cute on TV, but put your hair up! Jon had his up. Lashonda has (mostly). Juliana has hers mostly up. I just wish she'd get the front bit out of her eyes.

I keep waiting for Megan 's false eyelashes to land in something.  This isn't Bravo,  try looking like a real person maybe?

[Christina]

Saturday Night Live did two spoofs of these shows last year, but I just saw them. Since there isn't a Small Talk, I'm adding them under the spoiler tab.

Spoiler

Extreme Baking Championship 5:14

Holiday Baking Championship 4:45

 

 

[Brookside]

.

Edited December 20, 2020 by Brookside

[Koalagirl]

Last night’s episode was interesting, even though it was a recap of the season as a lead up to the finale.  It showed behind the scenes and some of the covid precautions.

[RoxiP]

I actually liked last night's episode a lot.  I thought it gave a unique perspective on why the four finalists were there, despite the fact that overall Lashonda's offerings were by far the judge's favorites taste-wise.  It was also interesting to see where they were living and what their inter-personal dynamics were (although I would have liked to have seen more behind the scenes interaction between the contestants).  And congratulations to Duff and his bride on their pregnancy!

[Claire85]

I liked the behind the scenes episode. Bloopers always make me giggle. 

[Grizzly]

I can't believe the kitchen set is in a tent! Glad to hear Nancy and Duff really like each other. I wish they had given Jesse a talking bit. I'd like to see what he does in his free time. Wonder if Carla's specs are prescription? That's a lot of money.

[emmawoodhouse]

Yes, Carla needs glasses. She's worn them since her season on Top Chef.

Edited December 21, 2020 by emmawoodhouse
Typo

[MerBearHou]

8 hours ago, RoxiP said:

I actually liked last night's episode a lot.  I thought it gave a unique perspective on why the four finalists were there, despite the fact that overall Lashonda's offerings were by far the judge's favorites taste-wise.  It was also interesting to see where they were living and what their inter-personal dynamics were (although I would have liked to have seen more behind the scenes interaction between the contestants).  And congratulations to Duff and his bride on their pregnancy!

Sorry I missed this!  I thought it was just a re-run so I skipped it.  Will it be shown again -- anyone know?

[emmawoodhouse]

2 minutes ago, MerBearHou said:

Sorry I missed this!  I thought it was just a re-run so I skipped it.  Will it be shown again -- anyone know?

I also missed it and looked to see if they'd re-air it during the marathon today. The answer is no.

[dleighg]

If you have a tablet or smart phone you can watch it on the Food Network app. Or of course if you have an AppleTV or other streaming device.

[Darian]

A sincere thank-you to those who posted about the special. I saw it had recorded and thought it was just a clip show, so I deleted. When I read here, I was able to recover it. I love Duff for still being salty about Jon's carrot cake being voted the winner over Lashonda's (two of her desserts were in the top for the whole series!). It was such a good special, though I am still a little skeptical about how much they're like a family. They hit that pretty hard. It's just...Nancy seems so abrasive and my-way-or-the-highway. Then again, there's always that one family member...But it's good they get along. I love Lorraine, so I wish they'd have done a show like this when she was on. I do like Carla, though. 

If your prescription isn't crazy, glasses can be somewhat inexpensive (grumbles the lady who needs all kinds of prisms and stuff and can't get a pair of glasses under seven hundred bucks. And I am someone who would have dozens in all different colors if they were a lot cheaper). I like that Carla can have so many. Oh, boo, now I'm getting Warby Parker and Zenni ads. 

[Spunkygal]

54 minutes ago, MerBearHou said:

Sorry I missed this!  I thought it was just a re-run so I skipped it.  Will it be shown again -- anyone know?

I have DirecTV and it is available On Demand on channel 1231. 

[mojoween]

4 hours ago, Grizzly said:

I wish they had given Jesse a talking bit. I'd like to see what he does in his free time.

Jesse doesn’t have any free time.  When he’s not doing this he’s beholden to ESPN to talk about college football all year, heh.

I loved this wrap up so much!  Usually when they do these types of shows on other reality series (Big Brother, ahem) they’re boring or don’t show anything new but this one had new stuff and a lot of fun behind the scenes.

Duff is stupidly charming I can’t stand it.  He is too adorable.

There was a quick clip of Jon with his hair down and holy moly the man bun is SUCH a good idea.

I was going to watch the football game but after seeing the preview I don’t think I can wait until tomorrow.

[CrazyDog]

I love the candid stuff, and the behind the scenes. Duff and Nancy do seem to have a fun friendship going.

And Jesse keeps growing on me. I will always miss John, but Jesse also has a fair amount of charm and fun with the show. And I really didn't care for him much during The Bachelor, so I'm a little surprised, lol. 

Can't wait to keep checking here for spoilers! 

[CrazyInAlabama]

So tonight's finale is a little different.   They have the four finalists, Lorenzo, Eva, Julianna, and Megan, they have to do a pre-heat, and then the bottom two will have a bake off, and one will be eliminated.  

So Megan and Julianna are in the finale, and Eva and Lorenzo face off.    I'm amazed it's Lorenzo in the bottom two.

So the third in the finale is Lorenzo.   Poor Eva.    She seems like a great baker, and a lovely person.  

Lorenzo's cake is so tilted even I notice it.  Cracking marzipan is bad, but the decorating is wonderful.

Megan's looks like Christmas future, but the mirror glaze being see through is a fail.  

Julianna's cake is spectacular.  However, between layers she needed to put something to cover it up. 

And the winner is: Julianna.   

What I hated was Eva was often the person Jesse asked about some baking question, since she was so experienced, and knowledgeable.      I was sad to see her go.     I think they should have cut Lashonda, and Julianna last week, and allowed the other three to do the finale without the ridiculous advantage.   

I wish Julianna had taken a minute to cover the seam between layers.    Also, her tree top layer was too round for me.   

Edited December 25, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[Guest]

Hooray! I've liked Julianna all season, but never thought she'd win. Thought Megan or Lorenzo had it locked. But over the course of the two hours, I really found myself rooting hard for Julianna. So I'm happy! Poor Eva seemed like an afterthought to be dispensed with, unfortunately.

I cracked up when Jesse wheeled out the cookies for the sudden death elimination, and all four bakers leaned over and squinted, trying to read what the little signs said XD

Good season! Good ending.

[CrazyDog]

Well. I'm a bit less excited to watch the finale now. Oh well.

[MerBearHou]

Sorry to be a grump, but my least favorite baker for weeks actually won the whole thing.  I am in disbelief.  Her horrible bake last week just barely squeaked by and tonight’s final cake of 3 tiers looked horrific IMO.  I would not pay $1 in a bakery for that cake.  Very, very disappointed.  I wanted Lorenzo to win but would have accepted Megan or Eva.  Not Juliana.