The time was early evening, the place was my bed in my dorm room, and the attire was a strict dress code of mismatched pajamas with the fashionable clutch of my ATLA Appa plushie by my side. The objective was to find a new casual show to replace the gaping hole that my roommate and I’s recently finished rewatch of Gilmore Girls left in our hearts. As we perused through Netflix, the holiday category of movies and tv shows caught our eye. It wasn’t exactly winter yet, but with the tempting and long awaited break looming around the corner, we found ourselves in the mood to indulge in the excitement of its coming. On a whim we decided to try out The Great British Baking Show: Holidays and thank god we did.
The holiday versions of the original The Great British Baking Show were little vignettes of single episode baking competitions among four contestants that followed their triumphs and tragedies as they baked through three difficult but delicious tasks, with one winner at the end. These mini competitions were great in that they introduced the unique format and general tone of the show without having to invest in an entire season to watch a winner get crowned. My roommate and I absolutely blew through these episodes last semester and today we are almost finished with the entirety of our first season.
There’s just something so pure and joyful about watching The Great British Baking Show that makes it such a feel-good show. The variety of biscuits, cakes, breads, and all the other endless accumulation of British desserts that I’ve never even heard of are a delight to watch be made. The bakers themselves are “amture bakers” so not professionals, but passionate home bakers that have enough knowledge to get by, but whose occasional mistakes make for some hilarious results. One aspect about the show that I really admire is that there isn’t a cash prize for the “star-baker” at the end of the season. The coveted title itself (and don’t forget the special cake stand) is enough which is a real testament to how much the people that compete are simply there for their love of baking. There’s a lack of that tradmark highstake environment that’s a staple of a lot of cooking and baking shows in the GBBS. I wouldn’t describe the attitude and tone as laid back, but the kindness and support that all the contestants have for each other along with the comedy interlaced through the episodes by the shows hosts just makes for such a positive watching experience. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the outstanding judges that dictate and evaluate the challenges. The current judges of the season my roommate and I are watching are Paul Hollywood (heartthrob with the bluest eyes ever) and Prue Leith (best eyeglasses in the business). They themselves are expert bakers and at times harsh evaluators but their constant support and lighthearted rapor they build with the contestants always leaves me smiling and kinda wishing they were my adopted grandparents.
I will warn you to beware if you choose to watch this show because it is incredibly difficult to get through the show without craving a sweet treat of your own. The show currently has seven seasons available to watch on Netflix along with its other companion spinoffs like ones that focus on kid bakers and professional pastry chefs battling it out for the title. Watching The Great British Baking Show every-night is truly one of the highlights of my day and it’s really only a matter of time before a bite the bullet and buy a kitchen aid myself.