The Great British Bake Off, was created in 2010 and has undergone six seasons yielding six best amateur bakers. Twelve of the UK’s best amateur bakers contest per season, challenged by professionals Mary Berry, a cookery writer, and Paul Hollywood, a renowned baker. The show is hosted by Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc. The bakers embark on a series of three challenges per episode that take place over the course of a weekend. The first is a signature challenge, in which bakers test these bakes the week before the competition to showcase their talent in the kitchen. The second is a technical challenge, blind judged by Hollywood and Berry, where the bakers are given minimal instructions to a potentially complicated recipe and judged on their ability to adapt and how well their bake has turned out. Finally, the bakers create an elaborate piece for the showstopper challenge, both visually appealing and tasty.
If the premise for the show isn’t enough for you to turn on Netflix right now, these reasons will!
1. The baking takes place in an eloquently decorated tent in the heart of the British countryside.
While many American TV shows take place in hot kitchens—think Cutthroat Kitchen or Chopped—The Great British Baking Show is set under a white tent. It is decorated with Union Jack flags, pastel baking stations, and various baking supplies. The setting gives the show a relaxed feeling as if the bakers have come together in friendly competition.
2. The overall tone is light, jubilant, and friendly.
With hosts like Mel and Sue to assist, contestants are always joking around, even with the stress of the challenge hanging over them!
3. The contestants care for each other.
On multiple occasions, contestants have lent a helping hand to others after they have finished their baking. This helping hand can be a simple guide to place a bake on a tray or just simply reminding their opponents to breathe!
4. The judges are strict in an instructive way.
Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry will tell the bakers up front if their bakes are disgusting. The rare handshake from Hollywood is desired by all! However harsh he or Mary may be, how else will these bakers become better? The tent is not only a place to bake; it is a place to learn.
5. The hosts are hilarious and their puns are endless.
A few examples to explain:
"Thirty minutes on your remaining mirror glazes! On reflection, twenty-nine!"
(During a technical challenge where the bakers were making fougasse) "Okay bakers, fifteen minutes and we're all going to fou-gastric bands because they'll be so delicious."
(During bread week, Mel and Sue standing on bread.) "[The bakers] are on a roll. As are we."
Of course, the puns are bad, but you can't help cracking a smile and winking along with them!
6. The episodes are dedicated to different kinds of baked goods, giving you endless delicacies to drool over.
Each episode is dedicated to a certain type of bakery good, including (but not limited to) bread, cakes, biscuits, pies and tarts, and pastries. The show also sometimes challenges its contestants with themed weeks, such as a French or Victorian week. Need I say more?
7. The episodes are close to an hour long.
This leaves time to delve into each of what the contestants are baking, their lives back home, unlike some American cooking shows that are less than thirty minutes. The longer episodes also add to the calm atmosphere; nothing is rushed, necessarily, so the episodes aren't either.
8. Drama is almost nonexistent.
It's a reality TV show; of course, this show is going to be dramatic. But, instead of animosities between contestant, drama is brought about by stress over time constraints or mistakes on a bake.
9. It's available on Netflix and PBS.
Thankfully, with Netflix available to (almost) everyone, and with PBS free, The Great British Baking Show is just a touch away!
10. It is inspirational.
Want to become an expert on different kinds of sponges? Have a sudden desire to bake everything in your house? Looking for some new baking puns to spice up your day?
Look no further than The Great British Baking Show!
