I heard about this show through the Daily Mail. I like to skim that site and read about the Baked Alaska affair on it. I watched a clip of the meltdown, then the whole episode and was instantly hooked. It's one of my favourite shows. I live in Canada.
It airs on PBS in the US. I missed the first season but really enjoyed the second. Looking forward to the next one.
I liked all the contestants except maybe one. I can't remember her name but it was the woman with the perfect hair and make up. She lasted nearly till the end.
Since i wasn't familiar with the show i thought she was some celebrity contestant. She just looked completely out of place with the rest of the contestants and i found it very distracting having her there.
But i loved the two judges and the two hosts. I also loved the contestants, how skilled they were for amateurs, how committed they were to the competition (especially considering it didn't have a big $$ prize), their camaraderie, and their support for one another.
What a great show.
Fraaaank. FRANK! Get my jean bin. Susie wants my jeans. No she doesnt.
I think that's her. I didn't like anything about her. She didn't seem real and genuine like the others.
I loved the teen girl (can't remember her name). But i actually did love most of them.
There was that guy that had the temper tantrum and threw his cake away. I didn't get that but i was glad they voted him out. I understand the intensity of the competition, but there was no place for that behavior.
Fraaaank. FRANK! Get my jean bin. Susie wants my jeans. No she doesnt.
The teenager was Martha; yes, she was great especially competing against people with decades more experience. The guy with the temper was Iain. He did himself in with that stunt.
I live in the United States and discovered the 2014 show (Season 5) on PBS last year. I love baking competitions in general and I love the fact that this one just gets right down to business and they do 3 challenges per show. I especially love the fact that there are blessedly no commercials to gum up the works.
Since finding the show last year, I've found the ones from previous seasons on YouTube. I didn't know it was coming back on last night until I just happened to see it on my cable grid. I'll keep watching this show as long as PBS airs it.
I just found this show today. I'm American. It's interesting to see how different it is from American baking. I don't know what season I'm watching but today they aired the third episode soon going to watch the first two on the pbs app.
If you're watching the one that aired on PBS tonight where they did desserts (trifle, floating islands, and petit fours), that's from 2013. Some of the bakers on it are Ruby, Deborah, Ali, Frances, Howard, Christina, and Glenn.
The season that's apparently airing in the UK now (Series 6) can be found on YouTube; that's where I've watched Episodes 1-7 (some of the bakers on that one are Dorret, Ugne, Tamal, Ian, Nadiya, and Alvin). That one's NOT airing on PBS and probably won't until 2016 or later. God bless the Internet!
I'm American too and I love watching this show. It's so different from standard American "reality" shows that rely on endless manufactured/scripted drama to keep the viewers watching. I really prefer the genteel quality of this show and the good sportsmanship of the competitors. My only problem is understanding the measurements they use... grams instead of cups or ounces and setting the oven to 160 (which I presume is equivalent to us Americans baking most things at 350 degrees).
I know it really is different. It almost feel like a documentary film...the narrators tone and how they just observe. I really enjoy it.
And that is the season I'm watching with the triffles and floating islands. It's funny how the Americans and Brits make the same things but focus on different things. Like I have made triffles before, but not very often. American don't love them. And my Brtis friends tell me the triffle is their typical holiday dessert. They also seem to love custards and creme anglais. It seems like they pour it over all their desserts and Americans serve a lot of things with ice cream which is just cold creme anglais. It's funny.
I'm from Sweden and I've followed the show since series 1. I absolutely love it and all the baking they do. I truly hope they won't cancel it any time soon.