Thanksgiving 2024 takes place this week. Are you ready? My contribution to this year’s feast will be a version of my late mom’s famous cheesecake and a version of my late dad’s beloved pineapple chess pie. These items are not my choice. An edict has been handed down, and thus I need to get into the baking frame of mind.
So I was thrilled to hear that yet another season of The Great British Baking Show is available on Netflix. I go through stages of what I watch when I finally relax for the evening. Sometimes I get caught up in a Korean romance series, sometimes I binge a dark espionage or political series, like Jack Ryan or The Diplomat, and sometimes I really kick off my shoes and enjoy one of the many cooking competitions available through the various streamers.
One of the most entertaining and least stressful of the cooking competitions is The Great British Baking Show, which started in 2010 and recently released its 15th season. These competitors are not professionals like the chefs in many other shows. These are regular (usually British) people like you and me who love baking enough to have branched out beyond mere cheesecakes and chess pies.
And it’s their non-celebrity status that makes them the most endearing. Each episode they face a three-part structure: Signature Challenge (show us something you do well); Technical Challenge (bake what we demand, but we’re not going to tell you how); and Showstopper Challenge (knock our socks off with your abilities). You may form an initial impression of each contestant. But the show’s format quickly warms you to each person as if you’ve been meeting them all at the local pub on a regular basis.
The hosts are funny and supportive, and they bring out the best in every contestant. Each baker is equally supportive of his or her competition—it’s so refreshing to see. If you find you need a good laugh and maybe even a bit of baking inspiration, you can’t do better than to tune in and root for your favorite.
And I defy you to make it through all the episodes without sneaking to the cookie cupboard for a treat or two.
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