On Your Marks, Get Set, Baaaaake! A Thread for Great British Baking Show / Bake Off & all of its sundry delights

explain what that means to an ignorant american?

Like a Republican but more evil.

^^^

She had me at “Former ballerina, soldier & stuntperson-in-training”

I thought she was annoying, then I loved her, then I hated her, then I decided I didn't care because it's a fucking baking show and she was pretty good at baking. I had the same reactions to Steve as well, so I'm kind of heartened that they're BFFs now. Also love that Julia, Yan and Flo are mates. Because this is the loveliest show, and it's lovely to see lovely people being lovely. (I am never usually this charitable about telly folk, but GBBO melts my heart and I love everything about it and everyone who sails in her. Except Paul Hollywood. He's a dick.)

Yeah the Yan & Julia & Flo roadtrip looked ace, super cute

My husband had this look on his face every time Flo spoke: O_O
I think the combination of either new veneers or dentures & that thick Liverpudlian accent rendered her nigh on incomprehensible for him, lol

I loved Noel’s jokes abt Pauls spray tan

OK it sounds like I should watch it, VG?

Paul? Do you mean The Male Judge?

xpost um YES you should! obv

It was a *great* contestant cast this year - better than last year I think - which made the other changes a lot more bearable.

Personally I enjoy watching Paul being Paul, and found Sophie very likeable, esp her disinclination for playing up to the camera when she won. Kinda the whole point of the show for me is uncritically enjoying it and getting wrapped up in the silliness.

Also I've never taken to Noel before but he was adorable in this

I'm two episodes into the nu-GBBO, and I can hardly understand anyone, especially Flo! The accents are off the charts. However, I do like the exoticness of Scouse.

The first episode where they slice into the watermelon cake is such a visceral moment!

agreed on all points

Flo’s accent is a trip

However, I do like the exoticness of Scouse.

Have the Beatles been forgotten at last?

lol fair zing.

Naughtiest bread week ever!

right!?

Julia, sigh. <3

<3

Christmas feast with Prue , Paul and my Danish wife Sandi x x x https://t.co/bNPhDSxqlE

— noel fielding (@noelfielding11) December 17, 2017

They keep making jokes about Kate being single, and I'm like how is that possible? Even if she is this year's Captain Chaos.

Anyway, the semifinal! So heartbreaking.

http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/great-british-bake-off/news/a846147/mary-berry-mel-and-sue-big-christmas-reactions/

aw <3

Christmas Bake-off was a treat - love Selasi and Val so much.

<3 Selasi

Now that I've puttered in the kitchen a bit more, I'm wondering if GBBO is useful at all for regular home bakers?

I think it is good at inspiring confidence to try new things!

mary or pauls own shows prob more useful for actual tips/recipes

Whoa new season on Netflix! There's a Ruby 2.0!

I am sad at the first elimination because it means one less charming accent.

And I'm not wholly on board with the new hosts but Noel's method acting but was hilarious.

That season has just finished over here (if by Ruby 2.0 you mean another contestant called Ruby). Hurry up and watch the whole thing so I have someone to talk about it with, apart from everyone I've already talked to about it.

Yes, another contestant named a Ruby.

The first Showstopper had some damned impressive likenesses!

I’ve almost finished, 2 more to go...barely geld it together through the gruelling Danish week, so emotional!!

*held

Danish week was a travesty :-(

paul & pru made kim-joy cry >:(

Kim Joy and her cats <3

she is nyan cat in human form, I enjoy her very much.
Also my GOD her piping skills are next-level, she blows me away every time. Piping is fkng hard.

semi final kind of annoyed me

FIVE hour technical then a full-on 3 hour showstopper ...all four of them looked beside themselves at the end. I think the baking suffered a but just because they were so exhausted!
I do enjoy these new seasons & I love Noel and Sandy, but at times I really do miss Mary’s kindness as the patron saint of amatuer homebakers in the judging. Pru & Paul can be an awfully cold tag-team when they start sticking the boot in.

and a massive dickpunch to paul for that campfire pita technical

i need a wiki on Rahul’s entire life story. I would like a sitcom of Rahul & Noel living together odd-couple style.

and i want to bottle the moment when Sandy kisses Rahul on the cheek & the forehead after the glass exploded <3

everyone in the top three was aces in my book though.

stroppy ruby.
whimsical kim joy.
depressing rahul.

Yeah, great group of finalists this year, love Noel and Sandi, Bryony too.

You're right, I think the last 3-4 weeks they amped up the pressure and the wacky bakes too much, and I missed Bakeoff's basic of pleasure of watching nice, smart people do a good job at something you might want to try yourself. Wtf is a baked landscape?

I also miss Mary. Prue doesn't even very empathic, and Paul can be a dick but he still seems to *care* (and offer better advice).

A little too much camera perving on Ruby too, which I didn't not appreciate, but there are a million other shows than Bakeoff to appeal to my horrible base thoughts

Overall great season though

Finale basically came down to who made the best dips, which was a ridiculous state of affairs.

rahul's eeyoreishness was wearing a bit thin by the end of the series tbh

I kind of enjoyed that he didn't have a narrative or "journey" and essentially stayed the same throughout the season - he's kind of the anti-Nadiya - if only because you have to assume it bugged the hell out of the producers.

And it felt real - I like anything that challenges the idea that depressed people just need external success to Snap Themselves Out Of It

(NB I love Nadiya obvs)

as a committed sad-sack myself despite having a pretty good life it was kinda educational to see someone else maintain their downcastness despite continued success, i guess

nadiya remains the best thing to have come out of the bake off by quite some distance imo (ruby 1.0 probably second-place)

nadiya's cooking shows is heinously BBC but the recipes are really good (she's a good un-smug host too)

I got the cooking book for that and she has some bold ideas - fish finger lasagna!