If you are not watching this season of the Great British Baking Show, what are you doing? Caramel week of season fifteen has just wrapped up and in my opinion, we have seen a very talented cast this season. Usually, there is one or two people that stand out with their skills but this group has proven to have many outstanding bakers so far! I haven’t seen a lot of media digesting this show so without further ado, let’s talk baking! Please note that this article does contain spoilers so if you have not watched up to caramel week of season fifteen and plan to, please come back after.
So far our Star Bakers have been starting strong… for the most part.
John was crowned Star Baker week one, cake week! That week his signature was a Cherry & Chocolate Marble Loaf Cake which Paul and Prue loved, he placed third in the technical, and his show stopper was a folded pair of jeans illusion cake which the judges liked. Even though he had a really strong biscuit week, bread week was his downfall. His signature had the flavors but the bread was hollow, he placed ninth in the technical, and his show stopper, pride buns, and bagels was a huge flop. He wasn’t my pick, but it was sad to see him go after watching him persevere through the challenges he had with the bagels.
Both Sumayah, Star Baker in Biscuit Week, and Dylan, Star Baker in Bread Week, are some of my personal favorites this season. Sumaya’s show stopper during biscuit week truly deserved winning because it was so impressive how she was able to make a work of art, on wheels, using biscuits! She struggled a lot during caramel week and was on the cusp of going home, but in Paul and Prue’s discussion, they chose to keep someone who shows promise in the future despite their desserts this week. I was sad to see Mike go because he has been super fun to watch, especially with Noel and Alison. He was also a decent baker, but Sumayah definitely is stronger than him. She definitely should have gone home this week based purely on what she presented, but I am glad they wanted to keep her around because I can’t wait to see more bakes from her. I hope that she starts to gain more confidence as the competition goes on. My favorite, Dylan, absolutely demolished bread week (let’s ignore his last place on the technical) and caramel week. His handshake earning signature for bread week, Gochujang & Garlic Buns, looked and sounded so scrumptious. Honestly, anything that gets a handshake I need to try. Not only that, but during caramel week Paul gave him the title of “Flavor King” of this season which goes to show how impressive his bakes are.
Star Baker of Caramel Week was won by Georgie, which surprised me a little bit because even though she got first in the technical and almost got a handshake on her signature, she has not had much screen time and her bakes have been meh. That said, she has had some successes like winning first in the cake week technical and having a great signature and show stopper during bread week. There has been some internet chatter about Georgie being Paul’s favorite this season so as I was watching Caramel Week I was trying to see if that was the case. It is kind of hard to tell, but I don’t think there’s any obvious favoritism. Maybe this is her coming into her own and establishing a presence within the tent, she’s definitely going to have all eyes (or at least my eye) on her going into next week.
What I like about this show is that it’s not super focused on getting Star Baker. Of course, everyone wants it but you can still be a huge threat in the competition without getting it. I remember that in past seasons bakers would make it very far into the competition, even the finale, without having won Star Baker. This season is just about halfway through so there are still so many opportunities for other bakers to have their time to shine.
One baker that I think has their moment coming up is Nelly. Not only is she a loveable person to watch but she is really good at baking. She is so confident about her flavors and even though she has had some issues, she placed first on the technical and did a “spectacular” show stopper during bread week. Caramel week was not her strongest, but she made a killer showstopper caramel mousse cake that melted in the mouth with toffee and coffee flavors. I think once she gets into her groove she will be someone to keep on your radar. Another person that I think could do very well is Gill because of her impressive bakes like the revolving puppet show during biscuit week or her perfect fruit & nut millionaire bar during caramel week. She has been riding in the middle so far, especially in the technicals, but I think that she is good with flavors and presentation and I hope that she will be able to “turn it on” when it counts.
I was planning on talking about some people who are struggling but in my opinion, I think these bakers are very neck and neck. We are nearly halfway through the season and just coming off of caramel week so it will be interesting to see how next week goes.