GBBO - opinions?

[yawning801]

What are people's opinions on the new Bake Off so far? And yes, I know we're only a few minutes in. IMO the new presenters feel a bit like they're trying a little too hard to be Mel and Sue.

Opinions?

I really like Liam and think he did really well this week. I was expecting him to get star baker until Pru started going nuts over the apple cake. He got the handshake for his shortbread, came third in the crazy hard technical and did a great showstopper. I don't think he was unreasonable at all to think he might have got it this week.

I agree the presenters really seem to have settled in this week and Noel seemed much more relaxed.

I'm glad that last night's showstopper didn't involve building scale models of things out of caramel and sponge.

I don't think I've ever seen a showstopper where none of the contestants have produced a reasonable version of the intended bake, and like other posters, I do wonder whether there was a problem with the recipe. It would be interesting if they let Prue and Paul have a go at it, if they do Masterclasses at the end of this series.

Apart from Julia, none of the contestants stand out for me. I wouldn’t say they’re boring but they all just blend in.

With stroopwaffles don't you usually put them on top of coffee so the caramel gets gooey and then eat. Thy don't get eaten like a biscuit, so the tasting seemed flawed.

Yes true

Although they are nice eaten as a biscuit too. I had some at the weekend

I knew nothing of Noel but find him adorable. Sandi was funnier this week. Prue is fab and blunt and honest. Paul is Paul but Prue seems to bring out a better side to him... He seems to enjoy being teased by her and plays up to it.

I knew nothing of Noel but find him adorable
Me too. I've liked Sandi for a long time though. Loved her on the News Quiz on Radio 4

Hello, I'm new to thead

I really like Liam and Julia so hope they go the distance. Loved caramel week, millionaire shortbread is my favourite!

Hi, new to the thread.
Watching it with DS (8), he is a GBBO newbie and in rapture! It's lovely seeing it through his eyes.
I like Julia but can't stand her habit of blowing/exhaling semi-raspberries over her bakes when she's stressed. I'm not precious about germs but honestly.

P.S: It annoys me that Kate poo-pooed food coloring - only to use it lots...
Always loved Prue and Noel, I like them on the show.

Sqoosh I get the feeling that Sandie is there for all the judging and starting bits, but has to be somewhere else (another job, or personal needs ?) for the 'chatting' helping the contestants bits

I was very uncertain about Noel, when he was announced as a presenter - I really didn't think he'd fit with the gentle image of Bake Off - but he has proved me wrong - he's funny and personable, and a pleasure to watch - and I did laugh when he was playing the teacups and broke one!

Did nobody help them with pronounciation of stroopwafel?

Its pronounced Strope-waffle not stroop-waffle. The Dutch baker in Gouda obviously pronounced it right. They then proceeded to say it wrong 47,000 times (approximately!). Really grated on me.

I too would like to have seen Paul and Pru give them a go seeing as NOBODY got them right

ppeat, Sandi does chat to them. This week she had that exchange about waxing/sugaring with Steven, and she was sitting on the floor talking to someone else–can't remember who.

Noel is really warming up and is much more relaxed now, and lovely with the bakers, although he's not a natural presenter.

I love Julia because she's nuts and I like her turn of phrase, Yan with her science and her gloves, Liam from Hackney and James. So sweet. I liked Tom too mainly because he was handsome but he had a bad week and had to go. Stacey is dull and Sophie is an overachiever. Kate annoys me – completely irrationally – but I suspect she might win.

The strope-waffle tasting was floored. Your supposed to heat the waffle on top of your coffee on each side which softens the waffle and makes the caramel gooey.

I like Liam. He's freash and has some good ideas. But this year I don't have a clear favourite and I don't think the line up is as good as previous years.

I agree about the stroopwaffel tasting, Aspie.

I think they did all still get the caramel wrong though; they were all saying that it wasn't going right when they were making it. Would've been nicer softened over coffee, but still grainy.

Re: stroopwafel caramel, I do recall Prue saying a specific technique/skill was required to keep the caramel from becoming grainy. Evidently none of them had it...

and there's just no room in the show for Paul or Prue to do a technical demo, really. The technical "what it should look like" samples are made by pro bakers from Paul's stable or something, because there's no time for Paul and Prue to do themore.

Yes I noticed that this week Rhiannon but I didn't notice her in the last weeks.

They deliberately don't show the technical bake before do they? When it was on the beeb there was a programme after each series finished with Paul and Mary doing the technicals. IIRC

I think the caramel for the waffles had to be made on a very low heat. Prue said so, but it wasn't in the instructions so everyone did it wrong.

THe technical challenge did prove too difficult. But well done Stacey. Although she played for laughs discussing her caramel cake later,

“It’s not as much of an erection as I wanted it to be.”

Going back a few weeks, I did like Noel's obviously sincere comment to Liam of "I couldn't boil an egg at your age".

I am loving the new bake off and I think the standard of baking has gone up overall.
The things that seriously gets my goat though is all the long hair dangling around the food. YUCK. The brunettte with the very long hair this year....tie it up and put a bloody hairnet on it!! So gross

Yes I wondered how often a stray hair gets in the mix!

I like Yan's refreshingly technical approach to a lot of it.

Lapin Yes! I have been thinking the same thing.