One for the Oldies
Connie takes Star Baker and a Hollywood Handshake, Gary wins the Technical, and Yannis goes home. The newsroom reacts to Dessert Week.
A Bread and Butter Pudding Technical and a retro dessert trolley Showstopper. Paul and Nigella teed up the tent's mature demographic by leaning into the British 70s and 80s for Dessert Week. And by the mature demographic, I mean Gary (67) and Connie (63).
Connie opened the week by forgetting to set her timer in the staggered-start, self-saucing pudding Signature, leaving her to guess how long her chocolate orange volcano puddings needed in the oven. That would have derailed most bakers, who lean on technology and protocol to bake successfully. Not savvy veteran Connie. She trusted her fine-tuned, time-tested gut and took the puddings out at exactly the right moment. She was still turning them out when Paul and Nigella arrived to judge, which may have alarmed a viewer or two, but the timing was evidently ideal: resounding praise, and the second Hollywood Handshake of the season.
Gary's Irish cream pudding, while not quite Handshake-worthy, earned high praise and a solid "Well done, Gary" from Paul. Probably the second-best Signature in the tent, behind Connie's.
In the Technical, the oldies truly thrived. To the older generation, Bread and Butter Pudding is their… bread and butter. While the youngsters floundered, questioned, and panicked, you got the impression Gary and Connie could have made a top-drawer pud with their eyes closed and one hand tied behind their back. Gary took top spot, in the one week of five I didn't pick him for the Technical 😡, and Connie came second, right behind him. Dovetailing one-twos in the first two challenges for the oldies.
Unfortunately, the Showstopper was a step down for almost everyone in the tent, Mo and Tom excepted. The time limit and lofty requirements clearly cost most bakers on quality. Connie came off reasonably well, probably somewhere in the middle of the pack, and that was enough to carry her to a hard-earned Star Baker. Gary's critique was harsher. Comments ranged from "missed the mark" on his treacle puddings and kirsch cherry Black Forest to a stern "not your best work" from Paul, which left Gary in the running to go home: rather unfairly, in my eyes, given his stellar two-thirds of the week.
Last week, I put Connie in the mushy middle of the tent. Has she earned her way to legitimate contender? Yes. I'm calling it now: Connie will be a finalist. Beating the likes of Mo and Tom will be a tall order, but she has shown she has it in her.
Gary, meanwhile, I reluctantly placed among the bottom bakers. I would love to say his Technical and Signature have lifted him, but they haven't, because what Gary is missing is a Handshake-worthy bake. Alongside his slip-ups, two last places in the Technical, and Showstoppers that miss the mark, he still hasn't shown he can plan a truly big Showstopper and deliver it at top quality. The problem is that all his bakes are a bit too bread and butter.
Newsroom Articles
🥭 Mo Dough Mo Problems
Does Mo seriously not care? At this point I respect his dedication to the nonchalant. He completely disarms the judges with his apathy, while giving just enough of an occasional smirk and flicker in his monotone to keep them on the hook. Paul and Nigella now seem to be chasing Mo's attention, not the other way round.
In this week's Showstopper, Mo's mango mousse was compared to something from a "5-star hotel", with words like "faultless" and "genius" thrown around for his realistic fruity creation. With praise like that, Mo is clearly the top baker in the tent.
For the record, that's four weeks running I've backed him for Star Baker, and four weeks he hasn't won it. I'm sure he doesn't care about that either.
🧮 Yannis, by the Numbers
All the numbers pointed to Yannis going home this week. Derrick and I both called it in our Fresh Bakes, and here is the working.
- Technical: 7th, 8th, 9th, 8th, and 7th. An average of 7.8, and never once in the top half of the tent.
- Going home: in the running in Biscuit Week and Bread Week. Coming into Dessert Week, he was the only baker left who had been in the running at all.
- Precedent: Danni, Shannon, and Molly had each been in the running before the judges sent them home.
- Baker points: 1 in five weeks, from a single "Perfect" in Audience Choice Week, the fewest in the tent. Take off last week's point for every week in the running and he sits at -1, the only baker below zero.
- Star Baker: never in the running, in five weeks.
Then came the Showstopper. Yannis chose Mary Berry's recipe over Paul's or Nigella's, and it came back dense, flat, and soured. Trusting a recipe from a judge who left the tent years ago was an error of judge-ment :-)
⭐ Connie Came Through
Woohoo! My Star Baker pick, Connie, came through for me! OK, I might have missed with most of my other Fresh Bakes, but I got the most important one right. I love all the bakers in the tent, but Connie might be becoming my favourite. She's so kind, so smiley, and she makes some of the tastiest-looking bakes.
Another favourite of mine who may not have been appreciated enough this week is Tom. His "stunning blobs" of spiced apple crumble were very good, and the judges loved the flavours. And Nigella called his tipsy cocktail Showstopper "sensational", then asked him for the recipe!
Now, Mo seems like a nice lad, but I'm not really pleased with his attitude. A little dismissive, with tones of teenage angst. Not a fan, but I hope he can turn it around.
Temperature in the Tent
Gauging the heat from this week's Fresh Bakes
The Over/Under
Counting the over vs under words
Over absolutely stormed it this week, mainly thanks to Nigella's insistence in the Technical that no flavour should overwhelm.
Soggy, Stodgy, or Split
Calling the first word of the week
Split it is: said first by Paul, judging Yannis in the Showstopper.
Baker Points
How the bakers stacked up this week
Connie earned the week's Hollywood Handshake, and one of Gabe's bakes received "Perfect" Praise from the judges. No Nigella Second Servings in Dessert Week.
Dessert Week, Ranked
The Fallen
Always in our hearts
Next Week's Batch
Reminders for next time
Don't forget! Pastry Week airs on Tuesday 27 October, and picks opened this morning at 8am.