The Great British Baking Show

                 This is the best food competition show I have ever seen.  I’m serious.  There are a lot of food competition shows, but none do I remember being as excited about as I am with The Great British Baking Show.  The funny thing is, I found it by chance.  I happened to be watching something else on PBS and I uncharacteristically stayed on the channel past the credits.  A commercial for The Great British Baking Show happened to come on, and that is how I discovered it.  I am so happy that I did.       

                 The Great British Baking Show is set up like most other competition shows.  Every week there are different challenges.  At the end of each episode, one person is declared the “Star Baker” while another is eliminated from the competition.  The first challenge is called the Signature Bake, and it is one the contestants can practice at home.  Next comes the Technical Challenge.  This time the contestants are given a recipe created by one of the judges, Mary Berry or Paul Hollywood.  The trick is that the recipe only includes very basic information.  It is up to the contestant to figure out the rest of the details in order to make the baked good properly.  After this comes the Showstopper Challenge.  This can also be practiced at home, but as this good is judged strongly on appearance as well as baking, the slightest error can send a person home.

                Once all three challenges are done, Ms. Berry and Mr. Hollywood determine who they believe is the “Star Baker” and who should be eliminated from the competition.  Some days this is easier to decide than others, but no one is ever happy to see someone go, not even the judges.  There have been times where the judges are the first people to give the eliminated contestant a hug.  Everyone cares about each other, but in order to declare someone the top baker in the end someone does have to be dismissed each week.             

                What I love about this show is the people.  They are so supportive of each other.  There isn’t any backbiting or trash talking, not even when they are standing around waiting for their goods to bake.  Instead they just talk to each other as human beings who happen to be in the same competition.  It is so refreshing to not have all the sniping and arguments that have kept me away from shows I used to enjoy.              

                The hosts of this show I find to be quite funny.  Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins have great quips.  Even their puns make me laugh.  Their antics can also be very amusing.  In one episode they ran around the kitchen with one of the contestant’s chocolate mousse.  They were eating it out of the bowl, they liked it so much.  The poor contestant watched, not sure she was going to get it back!  She did of course, because Ms. Giedroyc and Ms. Perkins really care about the contestants and want them to do well, but it shows how interactive and involved the hosts will be.        

                Ms. Berry and Mr. Hollywood are some of the best judges I have ever seen.  I already mentioned about how they care about their contestants, but that does not mean they do not judge.  They do judge, they just aren’t brutal about it.  Instead, everything they say is completely constructive.  They point out how and why something went wrong without making it a personal attack on the contestant.  There isn’t any attempt by either Ms. Berry or Mr. Hollywood to outdo each other with harsh or overly critical comments.  Everything remains about the baking and how someone could improve in the future.

                While the people are interesting, I find the actual baking to be fascinating as well.  The contestants come up with really unique flavor combinations.  Some I would never think to put together.  Others I never will put together.  In either case, I must say I am intrigued about how these goods taste.  Fortunately some of the recipes are on the PBS website.

                      There is one thing I love about this show that is kind of quirky. It is the animals. The competition is held on a farm or an estate of some sort. Every once in awhile there is a shot of an animal wandering around the grounds. I especially love the little bleating lamb. It is really cute, as are all the animals. They add a quaint element to a show that is already fantastic all on its own.