Holiday Baking Championship - General Discussion

[littlebennysmom]

1 hour ago, BigBingerBro said:

Cinnamon Caw Fee cake 🙄

Egg naaaahg

[BusyOctober]

After hearing “Cawwwww-fee cake” eleventy hundred times in the first 5 minutes from Little Miss I’m a whole 6% Jewish  and I love pisTAAAAH CHEE Ohs and PEEEE-Cans and AigNAWGH, I stopped watching.  I will wait to FF thru it tomorrow when my ears and brain have recovered.

[MerBearHou]

2 hours ago, BusyOctober said:

After hearing “Cawwwww-fee cake” eleventy hundred times in the first 5 minutes from Little Miss I’m a whole 6% Jewish  and I love pisTAAAAH CHEE Ohs and PEEEE-Cans and AigNAWGH, I stopped watching.  I will wait to FF thru it tomorrow when my ears and brain have recovered.

I’m watching now and muting every time Sarah is speaking/auditioning for her own show.  Makes this show much more enjoyable.

So glad for low key, steady, warm, talented Melissa.  She has such a sunny smile.  Just thrilled for her and that blue/green plaid cake was impressive. 

Edited December 24, 2019 by MerBearHou

[Brookside]

On 12/17/2019 at 11:22 AM, CoderLady said:

 Nancy feeding Jesse bits of her food is adorable. It fits the family vibe I get from this show.

Sorry, we'll have to do that whole "agree to disagree" thing!  I find it nauseating and creepy.

[LittleIggy]

2 hours ago, susannot said:

Vey well deserved winner!  Her cake was unbelievable and perfect.

No kidding! The inside of that plaid cake was amazing 😮, and those jingle bells were delightful. I’ve been rooting for Melissa. BTW, is a pap-over a pastry you get after having a Pap smear?

[Emkat]

On 12/10/2019 at 5:34 PM, Rammchick said:

All they would have to do is pair her with Jason "Captain Cornpone" Smith and I'd run for the hills for sure!

Captain Cornpone OMG I can't stop laughing!!!

[Rammchick]

Have to share, this is from this past week's Saturday Night Live:

https://youtu.be/tebBj42

[dleighg]

I wondered how Lorraine was going to handle the (common) mispronunciation of "scone" (at least as far as the people from its country of origin do it). I noticed she gently said it the "proper" way without making a deal of it. ("scon" not "scone")

[dleighg]

10 hours ago, BigBingerBro said:

If she hadn't done matcha, she would not have won.  Bold move.

I think she was smart to combine it with something else (pistachio, dairy) to soften that strong flavor. Even though I hate matcha, the combo with pistachio sounds appealing.

And do you think they were given advance notice that they'd need to do a "checkerboard" type thing? That's something that one would need to have done before, or at least read about, in order to pull off.

Edited December 24, 2019 by dleighg

[libgirl2]

As soon as I saw her cake, I had a good idea she was going to win. Her cake looked elegant and those bells! Inside was tight and gorgeous. The other cakes were okay but her's looked more professional. Plus, I really did not want Sarah to win.

[dleighg]

12 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

Her cake looked elegant and those bells!

I wish they had shown how she did them! 

[BigBingerBro]

14 minutes ago, dleighg said:

And do you think they were given advance notice that they'd need to do a "checkerboard" type thing? That's something that one would need to have done before, or at least read about, in order to pull off.

I'm wondering if many they got a briefing on all the possibilities they might have to do.  Choux pastry, igloo cakes, checkerboard cakes, etc.  They just don't know when or what the details will be.

It's interesting how they never really referred to the cakes as "checkerboard" but only "plaid".  I guess they wanted to keep the theme in mind.

Sara was really laying in on thick with the CAW Fee cake and PAAAAP overs.  When they cut to Melissa talking about what she was going to make, the difference in accent was striking.

I don't know how they were able to judge the pre-heat.  They all did so well.  

I wonder is Sarah, even though she didn't win is angling on being the "breakout star" of the season.

2 minutes ago, dleighg said:

I wish they had shown how she did them! 

They did in sort of a hap-hazard way.  She made chocolate domes by pouring tempered chocolate in molds, then she fused the two halves together with tools and a blow-torch (after filling them with candies).  Then she used heated tools to create the holes, airbrushed them silver.  The showed it all in pieces.

[BigBingerBro]

I wanted to add one more thing...  The judges this season....

Nancy seemed a bit off.  Usually she has more critical comments but she seemed to only give OTT facial expressions and exclamations and not much substance.  I wish her stylist would find a good color for her and stick with it.

Duff seemed less silly and commented much more on the bakes.  Maybe I am just seeing the difference from when he judges the Kids shows.  On those shows he tends to be the resident demented circus monkey.

Lorraine has changed the most over the years.  She was much more laid back almost to the point where it seemed like she might be "checked out".  She handed out far more compliments than on previous seasons.  I guess these bakers were possibly better than most.

[lh25]

9 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

I’m watching now and muting every time Sarah is speaking/auditioning for her own show.  Makes this show much more enjoyable.

I was thinking she was auditioning/practicing for the show she thought she was going to get as well.  It was distracting.

[TomGirl]

Melissa’s bakery:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/quailandcondor/quail-and-condor-bakery

 

[eleanorofaquitaine]

I would have been fine with any of the three winning but I do think that Melissa's cake was the best of the bunch, so I am glad she won.  Sarah doesn't bother me, and I liked Jennifer, though she seemed to lose steam a bit near the end of the season. 

[Guest]

13 minutes ago, eleanorofaquitaine said:

I would have been fine with any of the three winning but I do think that Melissa's cake was the best of the bunch, so I am glad she won.  Sarah doesn't bother me, and I liked Jennifer, though she seemed to lose steam a bit near the end of the season. 

This last episode in particular, she didn't seem herself. Duff even asked her if she was alright. I'm sure doing these shows can be exhausting. Unless you're Sarah, of course. She feeds off all the exploding heads every time she pronounces a flat vowel XD. It was seriously like she was reaching forward through time and trolling this board, saying every word that would get a reaction. It amused me.

[trudysmom]

I found myself slightly disappointed that Jennifer didn't win.  I think she ended up feeling intimidated by the others as the field narrowed down to 3.  I liked her cake the best of the 3 plaid cakes, it was only slightly 'off' as Duff kept pointing out, but stunning anyway.  

I have to say one think I don't like about this show is the judges saying "I liked this or that flavor, but I wanted more."  Well what can I do about it now?  The bake is done, can't change it.  Seems unnecessary to me.  

[Chit Chat]

3 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

This last episode in particular, she didn't seem herself. Duff even asked her if she was alright.

Jennifer said that she tends to second guess herself, so I'm sure it was stressful to hear the judge's critique of her and everybody else's food.  One judge wants more of an ingredient,  while another judge wants less of said ingredient.  It's hard to please them all.

I thought that all 3 were deserving of the title.  All of their cakes looked good inside and out!  I was waiting for one of them to be a big fail on the inside, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that they all looked good.  I think this was a better final 3 than we've seen in other seasons.  The only thing that bugs me is the pronunciation of 'pecan.'   I know, I know, potato, potahto, but I hate hearing it pronounced 'pee-can,' seeing as how there aren't two 'e's in it.  It will always be 'peh-can' to me - not that my opinion matters more than anybody else's!  😉

And why can't Jesse pick up a fork and feed himself?  Is that the same fork that Nancy is eating from?  Yuk.   Nobody wants to see a grown man spoon-fed.  

 

 

[mlp]

6 hours ago, BigBingerBro said:

And do you think they were given advance notice...................

I think all the competitors on all the baking shows know in advance what they're going to be told to do.  You never see anyone pause and, you know, think.  They just run and grab what they need and start right in.  They may not know assigned flavors beforehand but I'm reasonably sure they must have designs in mind.

Maybe it's because I grew up in Buffalo but I never noticed Sarah's accent.  Maybe I sound like that myself and don't know it.  :0

[littlebennysmom]

15 hours ago, Brookside said:

Sorry, we'll have to do that whole "agree to disagree" thing!  I find it nauseating and creepy.

I'm with you, it's gross and borderline pervy on her part.  I've said it in earlier comments, if it was a male judge feeding the female host/eye candy off his fork like a creepy uncle, there'd be a lot more negative commenting.  

[CheshireCat]

 

9 hours ago, dleighg said:

And do you think they were given advance notice that they'd need to do a "checkerboard" type thing?

I said the same thing when they had blueberries on hand for the pre-heat. At the very least, I think they get hypotheticals, kind of like "if this were the task, what would you be most likely to do".

 

9 hours ago, dleighg said:

That's something that one would need to have done before, or at least read about, in order to pull off.

Weren't they all professional bakers? I'd expect a professional baker to know how to do a checkerboard cake. (I'd even expect that a home baker who applies for the show is well-versed and has a certain knowledge, otherwise, I don't think they should apply).

 

2 hours ago, mlp said:

I think all the competitors on all the baking shows know in advance what they're going to be told to do.  You never see anyone pause and, you know, think.  They just run and grab what they need and start right in.

That could be how they edit it. (Although, I don't think that they just decide what to do on the spot either).

[Spunkygal]

2 hours ago, littlebennysmom said:

I'm with you, it's gross and borderline pervy on her part.  I've said it in earlier comments, if it was a male judge feeding the female host/eye candy off his fork like a creepy uncle, there'd be a lot more negative commenting.  

Triple amen to this!

[TVbitch]

Melissa was the right winner.

Sarah definitely went to the School of Jason Smith hoping to make a career out of her, um, distinct personality.

Jennifer seemed to know she did not stand a chance.

All in all, for me, a forgettable season. 

Totally agree Nancy feeding the host is squick. 

Edited December 25, 2019 by TVbitch

[Starscream]

I don't know if it was sitting under the hot TV lights or what but Melissa's plaid decoration was messy as hell by the time she had won and they did the close-up of her cake.  It wasn't just fingerprints.  I thought the other two were more impressive on the outside (part of it is better color combos to begin with) and she benefited from using a unique flavor combo.

[LittleIggy]

4 hours ago, Starscream said:

I don't know if it was sitting under the hot TV lights or what but Melissa's plaid decoration was messy as hell by the time she had won and they did the close-up of her cake.  It wasn't just fingerprints.  I thought the other two were more impressive on the outside (part of it is better color combos to begin with) and she benefited from using a unique flavor combo.

The inside pattern of Melissa’s cake was amazing. I gasped at the reveal.

[MerBearHou]

32 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

The inside pattern of Melissa’s cake was amazing. I gasped at the reveal.

I did too.  I was watching All by myself and said out loud to no one in particular “That is incredible!!”  It was beautiful.

[TrixieTrue]

One thing I enjoyed seeing was the nice camaraderie all three finalists had. I know it's a competition, but they were all nice, enthusiastic toward each other's bakes, and seemed genuinely happy for the winner. 

[laredhead]

I would love for someone who has competed on one of these shows to comment on how it works as far as knowing in advance what they will be required to make, etc.  I've seen aritlcles about House Hunters, and other decorating shows, but nothing about cooking shows.  Sarah didn't bug me until the last couple of episodes when it seemed she was auditioning for her own show in the future.  Melissa said she was going to spend her winnings on a wedding.  That must be some wedding she has planned.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I hope Melissa had her wedding, and is enjoying doing her web series for the Kitchen network (that was part of the prize I believe).      She seemed like a really nice person, and was so happy to win, and the other contestants seemed happy for her too.    

[LittleIggy]

5 hours ago, laredhead said:

I would love for someone who has competed on one of these shows to comment on how it works as far as knowing in advance what they will be required to make, etc.  I've seen aritlcles about House Hunters, and other decorating shows, but nothing about cooking shows.  Sarah didn't bug me until the last couple of episodes when it seemed she was auditioning for her own show in the future.  Melissa said she was going to spend her winnings on a wedding.  That must be some wedding she has planned.

No kidding. She said “weddings are expensive.” I guess they are if you want them to be. It would be better to have a modest wedding and save the money for the future. They have another baby on the way, for Pete’s sake! Anyway, just my opinion.

[hookedontv]

Happy that Melissa won though I thought all 3 cakes looked lovely. 

Sarah’s pronunciation of “almond” in this episode-what in the actual f*ck? I cannot begin to phonetically spell what she was saying. Very odd. She’s too OTT for me and is exhausting to watch. 

[dleighg]

4 minutes ago, hookedontv said:

Sarah’s pronunciation of “almond” in this episode-

was it sort of like "awel-mond"? I did notice it. Along with the aforementioned "caw-fee"

[Writing Wrongs]

On 12/24/2019 at 2:52 PM, littlebennysmom said:

I'm with you, it's gross and borderline pervy on her part.  I've said it in earlier comments, if it was a male judge feeding the female host/eye candy off his fork like a creepy uncle, there'd be a lot more negative commenting.  

What I got tired of was the female contestants creaming themselves over everything Jesse Palmer said or did. He's attractive, we get it.

[Pallida]

I feel like defending Melissa’s wedding comments. She lives in a destination wedding location. I grew up in that county  and still have family there. It’s a fortune to get a basic venue, and there are no discounts for locals. 

[veronicamers]

I was very happy Melissa won. She's very talented and comes across as very genuine. I loved Jennifer too, but I also noticed she seemed to be doubting herself toward the end and lost some of her spark. Sarah...I mean, I can't. I hardly ever actively dislike anyone on these shows, but she just pressed all my buttons in the wrong way. I could tell Melissa and Jennifer were over her too. I think she deliberately gave Jennifer the worst options two weeks in a row (the oat crust and black/white cake). Which I mean, okay, play the game how you want. But it came across to me as unnecessarily pointed and mean. And then to have her go on this week about her Scottish heritage when last week we had to hear her opine about her six percent Jewish ancestry. Obnoxious.  

[RoxiP]

14 hours ago, Pallida said:

 

Of these three Melissa is the only one I would care to watch on any kind of show - internet or otherwise.  I think they all three were great bakers but Sara was uber annoying and Jennifer really didn't have much of a personality, although I suspect she is very good at what she does.  

10 minutes ago, veronicamers said:

I was very happy Melissa won. She's very talented and comes across as very genuine. I loved Jennifer too, but I also noticed she seemed to be doubting herself toward the end and lost some of her spark. Sarah...I mean, I can't. I hardly ever actively dislike anyone on these shows, but she just pressed all my buttons in the wrong way. I could tell Melissa and Jennifer were over her too. I think she deliberately gave Jennifer the worst options two weeks in a row (the oat crust and black/white cake). Which I mean, okay, play the game how you want. But it came across to me as unnecessarily pointed and mean. And then to have her go on this week about her Scottish heritage when last week we had to hear her opine about her six percent Jewish ancestry. Obnoxious.  

LOL - do you think she was humming "I'm every woman" while she baked?

[Jesse]

1 hour ago, RoxiP said:

Of these three Melissa is the only one I would care to watch on any kind of show - internet or otherwise.  

Agreed, and I thought that the whole season. She's so low-key and great! I didn't notice her talking fast, but that's probably because I'm from Boston and lived in New York for a long time?  

[RoxiP]

21 minutes ago, Jesse said:

Agreed, and I thought that the whole season. She's so low-key and great! I didn't notice her talking fast, but that's probably because I'm from Boston and lived in New York for a long time?  

Heck, I'm from Texas and I didn't notice her talking quickly...and you all know how slow we talk!

[proserpina65]

Ugh, I refuse to believe that sloppily decorated, nasty-ass matcha cake was the best.  I think they wanted Melissa to win and found excuses for her to win.  Just like they did with Erin in season 1.

I thought Jennifer's cake sounded the best and looked the best, even though it was leaning a little.

On ‎12‎/‎23‎/‎2019 at 10:11 PM, susannot said:

disagree.  It wasn't the matcha.  Her plaid layers were perfectly square and aligned and her cake colors perfectly matched her blanket.  Those colors were difficult to do. 

Her layers were even, but I thought the decoration looked sloppy as hell.

[omgtv]

On 12/24/2019 at 12:15 AM, MerBearHou said:

every time Sarah is speaking/auditioning for her own show

 

On 12/25/2019 at 8:03 AM, laredhead said:

Sarah didn't bug me until the last couple of episodes when it seemed she was auditioning for her own show in the future. 

 

On 12/25/2019 at 3:04 PM, hookedontv said:

Sarah’s pronunciation of “almond” in this episode-what in the actual f*ck? I cannot begin to phonetically spell what she was saying. Very odd. She’s too OTT for me and is exhausting to watch. 

All of this. Like, stop auditioning and your schtick is NOT cute.  Stop making up ways to mispronounce things. it was NOT cute.

[Jesse]

I finally got dessert at the restaurant where Josh from Season 4 works! It was outstanding and kind of abstract, as you'd imagine.

[trudysmom]

Wow.  I have found so many heated opinions around the internet, here and other places, surrounding the decision to award Melissa the winner of this season, and mostly they are negative in the extreme.  One person said on Food Network Gossip that this sort of thing is happening too often and something 'should be done about it'!  What exactly?  It's their show!  It's definitely a love her or hate her thing with Sarah.  Either she has strong, almost fanatical support or extreme dislike bordering on hate.  I find that deeply disturbing.  I watch these shows for the entertainment value, and maybe learn something new along the way.  I was entertained, I learned a couple things, like it's a bad move to pair lemon and chocolate after all, who knew? 😃 I didn't like her particularly, and early on didn't like Jennifer, but would have been fine with either of them winning. I didn't taste their food, who am I to say?  I don't think Melissa will do amazingly well with a web app series or whatever it's called, she talks way too fast in my opinion.  But hey, I've been wrong before.

[40Love]

On 12/17/2019 at 12:25 PM, libgirl2 said:

Why in the heck is he hosting this? he is the last person I expected to see on this network. Does he cook? Does he bake? 

Doubt it... probably just has a good agent... capitalizing on the success/popularity of the cheesy "Sharknado" movies.

[Guest]

15 hours ago, omgtv said:

 

 

All of this. Like, stop auditioning and your schtick is NOT cute.  Stop making up ways to mispronounce things. it was NOT cute.

Whether or not Sarah was being overly cute or “auditioning” is certainly a defensible opinion, but she wasn’t “making up ways to mispronounce things”. It’s her accent. It’s how she talks. People from different parts of the country and different parts of the world say things differently. It annoys people? Ok. But she isn’t making it up, and it doesn’t justify wanting to “slap her”, which I’ve seen people here say.

[Jillybean]

I'm firmly in the "have the wedding you can afford" camp, but if Melissa wants to blow that $25K -- or what's left of it after taxes -- on a wedding, that's her prerogative. "Weddings are expensive" is not a statement of fact. It's simple to get married without spending lots of money, but she apparently has a vision of her wedding that requires spending plenty.

[veronicamers]

8 hours ago, trudysmom said:

It's definitely a love her or hate her thing with Sarah.  Either she has strong, almost fanatical support or extreme dislike bordering on hate.  I find that deeply disturbing.  I watch these shows for the entertainment value, and maybe learn something new along the way.  I was entertained, I learned a couple things, like it's a bad move to pair lemon and chocolate after all, who knew? 😃 

I get what you are saying. I don’t think it is a good thing that the show is selecting such polarizing contestants. Like, this isn’t Big Brother. I’m not watching for drama, fights, and crazy personalities. Something is off with casting. Maybe the show is just at a level of popularity now where it’s attracting folks who see it as a stepping stone to an on-air Food Network career. 

On a side note, my husband and I refer to Sarah as Kimmy Schmidt. 

[Iseut]

22 hours ago, omgtv said:

 

 

All of this. Like, stop auditioning and your schtick is NOT cute.  Stop making up ways to mispronounce things. it was NOT cute.

Yeah, we usually got a kick out of her and she is talented, but you could tell she was kicking up her accent schtick at the end ("Ahwwwl-monds?" Um, you got some fake Brooklyn in your fake Wiscaaansin/Rochesta/Boston/whatever, there, hon.), which is probably more on the producers than on her. It reminded me of Food Network Star when they kept forcing Damaris to be more Southern and down-home, and she ultimately won the whole thing with that affect. 

I liked Melissa throughout, so I was happy she won. None of the final cakes were perfect, but I did like hers the best. Those jingle bells were amazing, and a perfect complement to the colors of her blanket. 

 

[LittleIggy]

On 12/27/2019 at 2:50 PM, veronicamers said:

I get what you are saying. I don’t think it is a good thing that the show is selecting such polarizing contestants. Like, this isn’t Big Brother. I’m not watching for drama, fights, and crazy personalities. Something is off with casting. Maybe the show is just at a level of popularity now where it’s attracting folks who see it as a stepping stone to an on-air Food Network career. 

On a side note, my husband and I refer to Sarah as Kimmy Schmidt. 

I said a while back that Sarah reminded me of Elly Kemper.

[trudysmom]

On 12/27/2019 at 2:31 PM, Iseut said:

you could tell she was kicking up her accent schtick at the end ("Ahwwwl-monds?"

Maybe she was, maybe, like me when she gets excited or tired, the accent gets stronger. My southern hick accent gets stronger and more pronounced the more tired or excited I am.  It's like I forget the filter that allows me to speak normally for a while and the drawl gets worse, the cutesy southern sayings slip out, I sound like a bumpkin.  

I don't dislike Melissa, or any of them really, but when I looked at her bakery page, and saw there's a Kickstarter to help the business, I was...puzzled? Miffed? It put her competing in this competition in a whole different light for me. Not sure how I feel about it.  Maybe it's a smart move, to ask others to support the building of a business, to compete to win money for a wedding.  Maybe my thinking 'work hard, save up for what you want' is outdated, that's not the way people do things anymore.  It's the "I want it NOW" mentality that fuels these types of things.  Not trying to open a whole new can of worms on an already polarizing topic, just thinking 'out loud'. Like I said, not sure how I feel about it.