CT: The Great British Bake Off

Oh guys, have I got a treat for you today. As Little C has mentioned, I love me some baking. Especially when I'm stressed, which made me very popular around finals time in college. And if you've been a regular around these parts you know there's not much that makes Cait and I happier than British TV. 

So a while back, a friend told me that he had this show I should check out. He's English, and so he's a good source of all of the things that this Anglophile loves. It turns out that the show he wanted to show me is a BBC staple called The Great British Bake Off. 

Ooooooh guys, this show. It is everything I love. We're watching the current season an episode at a time, which is slowly killing me. But when we first started watching, there was a whole season built up so we could marathon it all day. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I could watch this show for days on end. Its not shown on TV here which is probably a good thing because I would never get anything done again. Heaven forbid it ever appears on Netflix because that will be the end of my writing career. 

American friends, I'm sure you're thinking to yourself "What's the big deal? It's just a cooking competition show." And that's where you're wrong. Sorry to have to say it. But what kind of friend would I be if I let you walk around being wrong? American cooking shows pale in comparison to Bake Off. I'm realizing, watching it, that our cooking competition shows don't do a great job of actually evaluating someone's skill. The competitors are so busy trying to cook a million things with mystery ingredients in a ridiculous time frame that there's no way to tell if they actually know what they're doing or not. People seem to win based on dumb luck most of the time. 

So on Bake Off, they take 10-12 amateur bakers that get voted off one per week until someone is crowned the champion. For two of the weekly challenges, the bakers know ahead of time what they'll be making and have time to practice at home. This lets them make some really incredible creations, and lets the audience really see their creativity. There's also a skills challenge, where the bakers have to make something that most of the time they've never done, but even that feels a little more fair. Plus, having contestants return week after week makes you get attached to them and start rooting for your favorites. 

But let me tell you, the judges and hosts are what really make this show fantastic. The judges are author and baker Mary Berry, and professional baker Paul Hollywood. Yes, those are actually their names. That's the level of awesome that we're dealing with here. The show is hosted by Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, a comedy duo that are hysterical and so personable that I just want to hang out with them on set. 

What I'm getting at here is that this show is reason enough for me to want to move to London. It's so, so entertaining. If you are lucky enough to live somewhere where this broadcasts, count your blessings. And if you're like me and are stuck in the States, let's just get as much done in our lives before Netflix or Hulu picks this up and our lives are ruined forever. 

Happy watching & baking!

CT