I hope you've all had a great weekend! As it's been a Bank Holiday weekend, I've found myself a bit disorientated as to what day it actually is but after a certain baking show started back yesterday, I am now back up to speed.
So without further ado, here's my review of the return of The Great British Bake Off!
When the Great British public heard the news that their much loved baking show was going to make the move to Channel 4 with a new format, presenting and judging lineup, it's safe to say there was a little kick back. Maybe it was the fiasco of Top Gear that struck fear into those not wanting to lose the creature comforts of the familiar in Mel and Sue and of course the savvy soggy bottom spotter, Mary Berry. It'd be a huge change and would signal a reluctant move to the unknown and we all know how that went down for Top Gear! However, despite all the grumbles from the general public, the deal was done and all was to move to Channel 4 leaving the rest of us praying that this new recipe would rise to expectations.
So fast forward from late 2016 to 29th August 2017 and the big day. The debut. The time had come for this long awaited cake to come out of the oven for judging. Much to the relief of (almost) everyone, the new Channel 4 recipe for the show went down a treat with many proclaiming that the new hosts, Sandy Toksvig and Noel Fielding along with the new judge Prue Leith was a roaring success with some others even saying that this format proved better than it's predecessor. Tweet's from viewers of the show were saying how the new hosts worked a dream- even better than Mel and Sue! I'd be inclined to agree with these viewers. The show felt calmer and more contestant-focused and while the constant bounding energy from Mel and Sue may have been missing from the show, I liked the toned down, more subtle approach to the banter with the contestants and the judges. I have to admit, throughout watching the programme I can't say I felt short-changed by the new hosts or judges and in fact, I felt like there was somewhat of an improvement. When it comes to the Mary Berry shaped hole, I can't say I was left pining for her return and overall the show felt calmer and more homely as a result of Noel and Sandy's subtle approach. There were still jokes and mickey-taking but it didn't overly distract from the show. Over 5.8 million tuned in to see Channel 4's grand unveiling of Bake Off. Channel 4 had big shoes-or should I say choux's- to fill and from what I've seen and heard, Channel 4 have really seemed to strike the nail on the head here restoring the faith in a show that has become part of the furniture in many British homes since it begun. The only criticism that I would have, and it seems like many others agree on this too, is the new and quite frankly unwelcome presence of adverts. There's always a catch isn't there. With a move to Channel 4 comes the addition of adverts and to be honest, it does make the show a bit fragmented and it feels disruptive, especially when you're used to watching the show advert-free for so long. Fortunately, the adverts did come just before the judging stages so it wasn't as bad as it could've been but it still felt a bit of a shock. However, Channel 4= adverts and as GBBO is here to stay, adverts are just something we're going to have to get used to.
As if new hosts, a new channel and a new judge wasn't enough to get us all brimming with anticipation and excitement, we were all going to meet 12 shiny new contestants. With a new series comes new contestants each with their own personalities and baking styles, and the first episode is the time to really get to grips with exactly who is going to be on our screens for the coming weeks, and if you're that way inclined, you can even start to spot a potential winner. This years contestants are quite a mixed bag with Liam, 19 being the youngest ever Bake Off contestant, to Flo, 71 being the oldest contestant in Bake Off history again showing that Channel 4 were stopping at nothing to make their recipe for GBBO one for success.
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| Bakers dozen: GBBO contestants. Photo credit: iNews |
Alongside Liam and Flo we have:
Chris, 50 from Bristol who is a software developer and cancer survivor.
James, 46 from Essex who is a proud self proclaimed bald baking banker.
Julia, 21 from West Sussex who came over to the UK from Siberia 3 years ago.
Kate, 29 from Merseyside who is the Jack of all trades from being a Health and Safety inspector, to a blacksmith, yoga enthusiast and a furniture restorer.
Peter, 52 from Essex who is an IT programme manager and takes his home baking to those at his local church.
Sophie, 33 from Surrey who is a former Royal Artillery Officer, former trainee stunt woman, and a graduate in psychology. Maybe she can detect a soggy bottom before the judges?
Stacey, 42 from Hertfordshire who is a former school teacher.
Steven, 34 from Hertfordshire who was taught by his mother and now bakes everything he eats. He gave up his career in marketing to focus on baking full time.
Tom, 29 from Edinburgh who was also tutored in baking by his mother.
Yan, 46 from London who was born in Hong Kong and trained as a biomedical scientist.
Once we'd been welcomed to the show by our new hosts, met our new judge and had been briefly introduced to the new contestants, it was time for the competition to begin. The format of the competition itself hadn't changed with the signature baking round first, technical second with the final flourish of the showstopper round to conclude the show.
The signature bake was a family fruit cake and they had 2 hours in which to complete their bakes. A British classic to start off the very British show. Again, I commend you Channel 4. Four of the contestants chose to use apples in their first bake with others choosing to take on this first bake with a slight quirk in their method and ingredients. Chris decided to bake his cake without any butter and Julia decided to bake her cake with lemon and courgettes! Time keeping and preparation is paramount to success in the Bake Off tent and we've seen many examples of intuitive prep in Bake Off history with contestants making their own tools at home to aid in their baking success in the tent. Kate had come to the tent with her own stencil for the topping of her cake, while Chris used spreadsheets to aid his organisation. Like many contestants before her, Yan had fallen into the 'I forgot to put the oven on' trap and decided to redo her cakes while Flo was working hard on a triple layered citrus cake and Tom was adorning a pear in gold for his pear and blackberry cake.
Time was soon up which meant it was time for the first of the judging. Well, after the ads of course...
As usual, the hosts and judges walked round to each contestant tasting each of their bakes. Very strangely, Noel didn't try any of the cakes but contrary to the rumours and scandalous reports of him not liking cake, it has come out to everyone's relief that he DOES like cake! Panic over *wipes brow* Fielding did in fact, jokingly stick a decorative flower from Kate's cake in his mouth with Kate having to tell him they weren't edible. Steven and Sophie came out on top with their bakes which got them both the coveted Paul Hollywood handshake leading to Sophie fearing she had 'peaked too soon'.
Soon it was time for the first technical challenge of the series after another ad break and this one was delivered by Prue who offered them some words of caution: "They're a bit fiddly." Mini rolls was the challenge for this week and after seeing the rolls Paul and Prue were tasting, the rolls were more massive than mini. 12 mini rolls with a perfect peppermint swirl in the centre of a deliciously soft sponge with chocolate on top. Simple. With Noel's cue to bake, the contestants pulled back their tea towels to reveal the ingredients and ambiguous instructions beneath. Sponges were soon in everyone's oven and their focus then switched to the peppermint filling. How much essence to use was the big conundrum in the tent with contestants eyes wandering around the tent. Half way through the bake and along came a little Sandy and Noel double act banter with Sandy passing Noel a mixing bowl and Noel pretending to fall down. "He's bowled over" Sandy says with a grin and with that, the action then quickly went back to the baking. The humour was still there but in small bite size and palatable chunks which added light to the baking tension without demanding all attention.
After another ad break came the judging. Across the board, the judges thought the contestants had cracked in with only 1 or 2 contestants under-baking slightly or decorating haphazardly. Kate won the challenge with a well balanced bake and an even pattern of white chocolate on top.
The showstopper round was up next after another round of ads and the brief was an illusion cake where every part of the decor had to be edible. This was a tough challenge and one which I thought, seemed very 'Pinterest.' With a trend for cakes to look like other things, Bake Off was proving to everyone that it had it's finger on the pulse.
Sophie was baking a champagne bottle cake which looked very impressive from the initial pictures shown. I thought this would be a winner from the off. Stacey decided to bake a designer clutch bag cake to which Noel jokingly said "I'm looking forward to a moist clutch." A few of the contestants had decided to mould their cakes into their favourite breakfasts with James baking a coffee cake in a shape of a coffee cup and croissant, and Liam deciding to make a stack of pancakes. Peter and Steven tried to appeal to Paul with their bread inspired bakes. Peter was making a loaf while Steven was recreating the British classic of a BLT sandwich. Flo and Chris were creating their illusions with colour and Yan set out to make a 'banana ramen' cake. Time was soon running out and with sponge and decorating montages to create the sense of urgency, time was soon up.
Judging time (more adverts- they were really cramming them in!)
Yan was the first to carefully carry her creation to the judges table. Both judges liked her decoration and commended her on the creative name of 'banana ramen' but regrettably informed her that her cake was a little dry.
Chris was given similar feedback with his cake being too dense.
Flo was next to show off her watermelon cake to which the judges wowed at the vibrant and realistic colours and design. Paul even told Flo he loved her as he tried her cake.
Sophie's champagne cake was next but it didn't get the reaction expected as the cake itself was a bit dry despite the design being good. This was a shame as she and I had high hopes for this cake.
Steven was next with his BLT which Paul, after silence and a gleaming smile, said was "perfect."
The pancakes were last with the judges telling Liam they looked very realistic and tasted delicious.
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| Steven's showstopping BLT- photo credit: The Sun |
The baking was now complete for week one and all the contestant's could do now was wait patiently for the judges final verdict on the 'Star Baker' and who would unfortunately be the first to leave the competition.
Another ad break.
It was now time to hear the final verdict from the judges. Sandy had the easy job this week of telling the contestants who had won 'Star Baker'. Steven had won the first Star Baker accolade with his "perfect" BLT. A well deserved winner there I say, it did look lovely!
Now for the bad news. Delivery of this news fell to Noel to reveal and after a brief pause for dramatic effect, he announced that Peter was the first contestant to leave the Bake Off tent. The constants, judges and hosts all came in for a group hug and the show was then over. While the credits rolled, I reflected on how much Channel 4 had hit the right marks here and gave us something that was so very well baked, and a new format that, to everyone's relief, has legs. I can't wait for next week.....psst, it's biscuit week!
That's all from me this week. Come back on Monday for more. Have a lovely weekend!
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