I’ve been bingeing this (among other shows) this month. Of the three challenges that the bakers face each week, they are given advance notice of two.
My question: are the bakers told how much time they’re going to be given on these two challenges?
I think they are, because they often talk about practicing the challenge, and that conversation often is like, “Did you complete the bake in time?” and they say, “No, but I’m jolly well sure I’ve got it this time!” and Paul Hollywood sneers at them and walks away.
I’m pretty sure they are. They are given a heads up as to what the two bakes will be and practice their recipes during the week, so it’s only fair they are given how much time they have. I’ve occasionally seen the judges ask if they could do it in the time allowed in their practice bakes.
I was under the impression that the ‘signature’ and ‘technical’ rounds are filmed on the Saturday, with the ‘showstopper’ on the Sunday, leaving them Mon-Fri to prepare for the next lot.
I think I’ve watched every season of this programme, despite not liking cake. Curiously watchable.
Sort of related: How much time do the contestants on “Chopped” have between seeing their ingredients and commencing to cook?
I assume they have some time to prepare. The editing on the show implies that they glance at their bowl of Rice Krispies, their can of pickle juice, and their package of chorizo and immediately decide to make dill-infused chimichangas with puffed rice rosemary risotto.
mmm
I would figure they have some idea. Either that, or they give them a few minutes to think things out before starting the clock.
Similarly, on Beat Bobby Flay, the crew has to know what the challenger’s dish will be; otherwise, they may not have the right ingredients. It’s possible that Flay doesn’t know, though.
All the shows have cut-ins with the contestant telling about what they’re thinking. Either they stop the clock for it (unlikely) or it’s taped after the results are in.
No cite for this, but I read once that the GBBO* producers finalise all the challenges well ahead of the show being filmed, and that all the bakers get the complete list up front (apart from the technical challenges, of course).
*Great British Bake-Off, the original name for the show. It was renamed for the US.
So you’re telling me that the contestants know beforehand what’s coming up in the next challenge? So didn’t they (some of them) learn how to open an avocado during Mexican week, rather than peeling it like a potato? At least learn how to pronounce “guacamole”.
I think the gwock-a-moll was part of the technical challenge (tacos)–the one aspect of the show the contestants don’t learn about in advance.
Because Pillsbury had a trademark on “Bake-Off” in the US.
I missed this. What was the controversy with the avocado? It’s not exactly a mysterious ingredient in British kitchens.
The whole thing came into my radar when the producers announced that they would no longer be doing episodes like Mexican week. It was arguably borderline racist, but their bigger offense was against Mexican food. I’ll let Uncle Roger present the horrors. (Jump to ~8:50 to see the bit with the avocado.)
OMG, I feel their pain. Years ago, Bristol only had one Mexican restaurant and my ex’s son warned us not to go there. Since he was a chef, we followed his advice. I’m so glad we did.
Paul Hollywood, you ought to be ashamed.
And for Americans, check out the “Halloween” episode where they made s’mores (because of course we eat s’mores on Halloween) as the technical challenge, and one baker was dinged because their marshmallow was a little melted and gooey. The problem wasn’t that it wasn’t gooey enough, mind you, it was that he’d melted the marshmallow at all, instead of just lightly browning it with a torch.
If you haven’t watched the finale of this latest GBBS series, read no further.
For those of you following the series, the question is: Was Josh robbed of a win he deserved, being the most consistent baker throughout the series? Lots of people in Britain think so, and it’s created quite a stir. Matty, a more “marketable” but inconsistent baker, won the prize, much to his own astonishment. Josh, with his more quiet and reserved personality, lost out.
I have my own opinion, which I’ll refrain from positing for now. What say ye?
I just literally watched the finale and I was So happy and thrilled that Matty won! Star baker is only based on the last episode and yes, Matty struggled more than Josh did throughout the series but I thought that made his victory even more sweet. Though he lacked in the technical (my least fav part of the show) and his cake leaned a little, he clearly had the best show stopper in an admittedly lackluster group of cakes. I would have been fine with any of the three finalists winning but I was rooting for Matty who really did make a strong effort to turn his results around midseason
Right! And that’s what most people don’t understand. Any of them couId have won. I was disappointed with the result for the same reasons many people have stated, but Matty did outdo Josh in the clutch, when it mattered most.
Each episode of the show is self-contained, in that what you did in previous episodes doesn’t count for anything. Results aren’t cumulative. You could win Star Baker eight times in a row, but if you mess up the ninth, you are out.
Not entirely true - there are plenty of episodes where the performance of two bakers was equally poor, and they specifically said they would look back at their whole work that season to make a decision.
YES, JOSH WAS TOTALLY ROBBED! His showstopper cake was NOT boring ( 
Lookin’ at you, Paul!). The piping not being precise was part of the charming design. Josh’s cake was PERFECT. Matty’s cake looked like it was about to topple over, and that should have counted against him Big Time. I was really pissed at the outcome. 