Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
There is one thing I have always hated about The Great British Baking Show and it’s that the judges have to send one of my sweet baker buddies home every week. I understand that’s how a competition works, but it always feels cruel for a show otherwise renowned for its kindness. And so, week by week, lovely human beings (I have projected intense imaginary friendships upon) leave the tent and return to their perfectly quirky British lives. It sucks! I hate it! But those are the rules of The Great British Baking Show.
The only thing worse than bidding adieu to bakers on The Great British Baking Show is saying goodbye when it’s clear that baker deserved more time in the tent. In the past, judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith have made their fair share of controversial choices — justice for Hermine! — but so far, they’ve been making the right calls this season. Instead of penalizing a baker for a freak mistake, the judges seem to be deliberately eliminating the contestants who have struggled through all three challenges. They are giving weight to flavor over design, championing consistency, and giving the bakers with the most potential a (brief) grace period to tidy up their acts. Overall, I think so far the right bakers are going home on The Great British Baking Show, and that’s a relief to my Bake Off loving heart.
Only two new episodes of The Great British Baking Show have dropped on Netflix so far this year and I’m already madly in love with this season of the show. There’s a sweet rivalry brewing between two immigrant dads in the tent — two-time Star Baker Jürgen and the Italian Stallion Giuseppe — as well as a horse girl vegan, stunning Showtoppers, and a slew of fabulous accents bopping around. The competition is stiff this year and it makes complete sense why poor Tom and dear Jairzeno were the first two to go. They both were consistently shaky in their Signatures, middling in Technical, and flopped during their Showstopper. What’s interesting to me, though, is how their eliminations shed light on what Paul and Prue are looking for this season: great flavors, big imaginations, and following the rules.
If last week’s episode of The Great British Baking Show promised a stiff competition for Star Baker, this week’s showed us a number of bakers stumbling. Jairzeno failed to impress with his barely done Ginger Snaps and underwhelmed Prue with his gingerbread “barge.” However, Maggie also struggled with her execution while Amanda’s sugar cookie horse fell apart. Elsewhere Lizzie drew cheeky comments from Paul for her “paint the van yourself” concept. And yet, it was obvious to me that Jairzeno would be going home. Why? He failed to inspire the judges with his flavors or his concepts two weeks in a row. Moreover, while other bakers added motors or playable parts to their Showstoppers — something that was in the brief — Jairzeno failed to make his boat anything more than a square full of cookies.
So, yeah, I think Jairzeno was the right one to go home. Amanda attempted something really difficult and managed to make it taste good. Maggie was on the edge, but she impressed last week. Lizzie needs to stop watching Harry Potter in the practice tent. But Jairzeno hadn’t pulled it together in a big way yet. So it made sense that the show would see him go. I’m sad to see the charming, laid back man who likes to jog with his dog go, but it was his time.
Circling back, though, it is interesting that so far, neither the Signature nor Technical Challenges have weighed too heavily on the judges’ decision. If anything, attempting to follow the Showstopper brief seems to be the most important thing to Paul and Prue this season. Emphasis on the word “attempt.” Last week, Tom wildly misinterpreted the “gravity-defying” part of his cake and just gave the judges a slightly leaning tier. He was out. This week, Amanda might have had a disaster, but her rocking horse idea was obvious. Jairzeno’s concept, on the other hand, was extremely muddled.
So if we’re looking for more clues in the weeks ahead for who will be in and who will be in danger of being kicked out of the Bake Off bubble, look at the Showstopper Challenge. See whose flavors underwhelm, ideas lack dazzle, and most importantly, don’t follow the brief.
