Rumour Has It
I read somewhere that there's gonna be The Great American Bake Off and I believe that they want Mary Berry in the line-up. unusual as she's 80 years old but she's the master.
Not sure if this is true.
They did an American version a couple years ago and if I'm remembering correctly, Paul Hollywood was one of the judges (can't remember if Mary was too) and it was hosted by Jeff Foxworthy. The setting was the same... outdoors in a tent. I watched it and enjoyed it but it only lasted 1 season. Once I saw the British version, I realized that I liked it better, maybe because of the British accents and the way they pronounce some words differently (American bakers pronounce genoise as "zhen-WAH" but the Brit bakers say "jinna-WEES"). Maybe the American version of the show even came first (I hadn't seen the British version at that time) but I have a feeling we copied it from the UK.
If there is going to be an American version, I'll watch it because I love all baking competitions. I doubt if it will have the same feel though, mainly because there will be 20 minutes of commercials and the actual baking will be edited down to nothing to make room for the host (whoever it might be) doing a stand-up routine. The bakers will also probably be encouraged to trash-talk each other (I hate that same old-same old trend in "reality" shows). There's a genuine niceness, civility, and gentility about the British version that I don't think American networks would be willing to try ().
**EDIT: I just checked and found that it was called "The American Baking Competition" and it aired in 2013. It did have Jeff Foxworthy and Paul Hollywood, along with a female judge whose name I don't know. I found some of the episodes on YouTube.
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The female judge on The American Baking Competition was named Marcela Valladoid and she is an American chef and author. Paul Hollywood had an affair with her while doing the American show which almost cost him his job on The Great British Bake Off. It seems that Mary Berry stood up for him which is the main reason he managed to keep his job on the British show. His wife seems to have forgiven him and from all indications, his marriage is doing well, at least in the public eye!
shareGood for Mary. I'm glad she stuck up for him. Paul may have made a big mistake, but the show wouldn't be as good without him. His expertise always shines through and I really like him. He and Mary make a good team - very different and yet they complement each other.
shareI remember seeing Paul on some talk show or other (can't remember which one) and the issue of the affair came up. He said that he'd done something very stupid, the stupidest thing in his life and that he was incredibly fortunate that his wife had taken him back. He said they had some work to do to put things to rights but that he was just grateful for the chance.
wrt to pronunciation - if anyone is going to try to frenchify Genoise, it should be je-nwaaze, because there is an e on the end of the word.
I'm the clever one; you're the potato one.
That's curious about the pronunciation.
I understood that genoise was from Genoa - hence Geno-ise (like Chinese).
Because of this it shouldn't be pronounced as though it were a French word.
Hence Gen-o-eeze, not zhen-wah.
Of course, I could be wrong.
The word itself though is French. The Italian word is Genoese, not Genoise.
I'm the clever one; you're the potato one.
And I believe that both spellings are accepted for the sponge.
Certainly I have seen both.
Then the thing to do is to pronounce Genoese as jen-o-ese and Genoise as je-nwaaz.
Either way, I can't see any justification for "je-nwah". If going with the Italian spelling the 'i' in the middle of the word shouldn't be there; if going with the French the 'e' on the end of the word should be acknowledged. "Jen-wah" is a curious (and pointless given that apparently we already have two versions of the word,) hybridisation with no acknowledgement of the 'e' on the end of the word. It would only be correct if it were a rendering of Genois, not Genoise.
I'm the clever one; you're the potato one.