Racing Towards The Baking Line
Image from unsplash, Creator: Nik
The Great British Baking Show is my nail-biting world series playoff.
There are those who watch their favorite sports teams on the edge of their seats, tension building from the action, outbursts happening when their favorite player fumbles, and joyful exclamations when it all works out. I experience all of this with every season of The Great British Baking Show.
The show has been on for 14 seasons, and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight, which is amazing for me because of how much I enjoy it. Every year, home bakers in the UK apply to be on this show in the hopes of being chosen to bake in the famous white tent. It’s become so popular that there are spin-offs for kids, celebrity episodes, an American version, and a handful of holiday shows that feature some of the past, beloved bakers. Some of the winners have gone on to star in their own baking shows, or have become judges for baking shows.
The original series, which was exclusively shown in the UK before Netflix started showing the series, was called The Great British Bake Off, and is lovingly just called Bake Off by fans. The original judges, Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry, are world renowned bakers. The early Netflix seasons feature these judges, but Berry exited the show a handful of years ago. Once this shift happened, Bake Off was changed to Baking Show, and Prue Leith took over for Berry. Leith, like Hollywood and Berry, is a well-known baker and chef.
I don’t remember how I came across the show; Netflix probably suggested it for me because I was watching other baking shows on the streaming service. I thought I’d give it a whirl even though I’m not a huge fan of competition shows. I’ve seen lots of competition shows that are fabricated and snarky, which bothers me. Most competition shows have players that evilly strategize to outdo or sabotage each other, which is the exact opposite of Bake Off. So, when I noted that the competitors had camaraderie, I was intrigued, and when I saw what kinds of bakes they were producing, I was all in.
There are three parts to each episode: the Signature Bake, the Technical Challenge, and the Showstopper. The winner of each episode gets the title of Star Baker up until the finale, where the final winner is determined. Each episode also focuses on one specialty such as bread, pastries, or cakes. The Technical Challenge is usually the most difficult because the bakers don’t know what the recipe will be and they don’t get to practice. They have a finite amount of time to complete their creations, and it usually comes down to the last second for most of them.
With these challenges, every baker is hoping to get the “Hollywood Handshake” from Paul for their bakes, which is like winning a gold medal, because it’s a sign that he is extremely impressed. Every time a baker does get this famous handshake, it’s always exciting for the bakers and the audience.
But, the handshake can be deceiving! A baker might get the handshake with their Signature Bake, but then do terribly for the other two bakes, and this leaves them in line to possibly go home. The Hollywood Handshake doesn’t guarantee anything. I’ve seen a lot of excellent bakers get the handshake, or win Star Baker the previous week, but then be taken out of the competition because they struggled with making a gingerbread house.
I laugh at myself because sometimes I’ll yell out loud when a baker who clearly should’ve been eliminated isn’t and one of my favs is tossed out instead. This was something that happened during Season 11 when Hermine, a crazy talented woman, was axed over Laura, who had a tendency to fumble her way around the oven for many episodes. When a baker drops something on the floor, which happens regularly, I gasp as if they’ve dropped a baby. I’m on pins and needles for some of these episodes!
It’s all in good fun, though. The winner of Bake Off doesn’t win any money; the competition is purely for the love of baking. They get a cake stand that’s engraved, a giant bouquet of flowers, and the bragging rights to say that they won the competition. I think the fact that there isn’t a cash prize involved helps to keep Bake Off’s contestants from turning on one another and acting more like a team that roots each other on.
This show is one of my favorites. I look forward to every new season, have rewatched every old season at least once, and have even watched the spin-offs. Bake Off is a well-played game, and one that I hope goes on for a long time.