I’ve been bingeing on the Great British Bake Off since visiting a friend’s house. It’s become a problem for me. I’m bringing a dessert to another friend’s house this weekend and unless I can come up with something Bake Off worthy I can’t go!
Sorry but a cheesecake or an apple pie just won’t do anymore. Perish the thought of buying and bringing!
It has to be something light and airy, not “claggy or stodgy.” It has to be Signature or Showstopper grade and I’m locked in indecision.
Now, until I watched this show, I’ve never been particularly impressed with British food. Yes, a roast beef and Yorkshire pudding does bring back wonderful memories. And I wouldn’t turn down a good Chelsea bun if one was offered. But in general, I make a bee line for any kind of restaurant except one that features typical British fare when I’m in the UK.
Oh I’ve tried toad in the hole, bangers and mash, colcannon, and bubble and squeak. I can’t imagine a cooking show featuring those menu items would do much for me.
I’m a foodie anyway, but the Great British Bake Off takes my love of all things culinary to a whole new level.
What is the US equivalent of a Battenberg cake, the Eton Mess, a Spotted Dick, Singing Hinnies (my pancakes are good but they don’t sing!) or Barm Brak?
Maybe it’s the contestants trying to do impossible things in an impossible amount of time and more often than not managing to do it. Maybe its because if you gave me a week and hours of relaxing meditation in between challenges, I couldn’t come close.
The premise is that the producers choose 12 contestants per season from thousands of non professional applicants across the UK. Each week the contestants compete to make the best Signature Dish, Technical Dish and Showstopper caliber baked good. Week after week, a contestant is eliminated until the final week, three contestants remain to compete. And each week the judges get more demanding and irritating. They do all of this baking in a tent that looks like the Denver airport and it doesn’t matter if its 100 degrees outside, their chocolate has to remain firm and whipped cream delicately piped.
If they can do that, I can’t let a 90 degree temperature here in St. Louis with high humidity get in the way of my perfect Baked Alaska! Troubles be damned!
The contestants themselves are a hoot. There is such a mix of nice, quirky people that you root for everyone. I can't explain how two of the most down on themselves contestants ended up winning their season but they did. And at the eliminations they would all hold hands. What's with that? Wait, Ms. Universe contestants do that too.
The show is not without its controversies, one year the channel airing the show sold the show to another larger channel and one of the venerated judges, Mary Berry left. Although I have to say I think the other judge, Paul Hollywood cracked a few too many age jokes to make her want to stay. But she was replaced by another well known British chef and restauranteur who gets teased a lot about how she likes anything with alcohol baked in. On one episode, one contestant left a freezer door open too long affecting the firmness of another contestants bavarois that was setting up and a commentator dropped a baked piece of pastry key to the finished look of the baked item. What to do? What to do?
Now that I’ve watched all 6 seasons what am I supposed to do until the 2020 season airs? I know that applications are closed for next years shows and I’m guessing they are filming right about now. I’m also guessing they keep their location a secret so some new over zealous fan doesn’t crash their party. Well, Martha Stewart did just start a new season so all is not lost.
Sorry but a cheesecake or an apple pie just won’t do anymore. Perish the thought of buying and bringing!
It has to be something light and airy, not “claggy or stodgy.” It has to be Signature or Showstopper grade and I’m locked in indecision.
Now, until I watched this show, I’ve never been particularly impressed with British food. Yes, a roast beef and Yorkshire pudding does bring back wonderful memories. And I wouldn’t turn down a good Chelsea bun if one was offered. But in general, I make a bee line for any kind of restaurant except one that features typical British fare when I’m in the UK.
Oh I’ve tried toad in the hole, bangers and mash, colcannon, and bubble and squeak. I can’t imagine a cooking show featuring those menu items would do much for me.
I’m a foodie anyway, but the Great British Bake Off takes my love of all things culinary to a whole new level.
What is the US equivalent of a Battenberg cake, the Eton Mess, a Spotted Dick, Singing Hinnies (my pancakes are good but they don’t sing!) or Barm Brak?
Maybe it’s the contestants trying to do impossible things in an impossible amount of time and more often than not managing to do it. Maybe its because if you gave me a week and hours of relaxing meditation in between challenges, I couldn’t come close.
The premise is that the producers choose 12 contestants per season from thousands of non professional applicants across the UK. Each week the contestants compete to make the best Signature Dish, Technical Dish and Showstopper caliber baked good. Week after week, a contestant is eliminated until the final week, three contestants remain to compete. And each week the judges get more demanding and irritating. They do all of this baking in a tent that looks like the Denver airport and it doesn’t matter if its 100 degrees outside, their chocolate has to remain firm and whipped cream delicately piped.
If they can do that, I can’t let a 90 degree temperature here in St. Louis with high humidity get in the way of my perfect Baked Alaska! Troubles be damned!
The contestants themselves are a hoot. There is such a mix of nice, quirky people that you root for everyone. I can't explain how two of the most down on themselves contestants ended up winning their season but they did. And at the eliminations they would all hold hands. What's with that? Wait, Ms. Universe contestants do that too.
The show is not without its controversies, one year the channel airing the show sold the show to another larger channel and one of the venerated judges, Mary Berry left. Although I have to say I think the other judge, Paul Hollywood cracked a few too many age jokes to make her want to stay. But she was replaced by another well known British chef and restauranteur who gets teased a lot about how she likes anything with alcohol baked in. On one episode, one contestant left a freezer door open too long affecting the firmness of another contestants bavarois that was setting up and a commentator dropped a baked piece of pastry key to the finished look of the baked item. What to do? What to do?
Now that I’ve watched all 6 seasons what am I supposed to do until the 2020 season airs? I know that applications are closed for next years shows and I’m guessing they are filming right about now. I’m also guessing they keep their location a secret so some new over zealous fan doesn’t crash their party. Well, Martha Stewart did just start a new season so all is not lost.
RSS Feed