Britain's Best Home Cook Thurs BBC1 8pm

[troodiedoo]

Anyone else excited about this tonight?

I'm cautiously optimistic.

Why do they live in the same house together? It is completely baffling! They rarely film in the house and could have spent the budget inproving the strange set or employing better male presenters.

Mean of me to say it, but Pippa (although an undoubtedly good cook) annoys me too. Think perhaps it is the little girl clothes and the "crisps in stripey paper bag" vibe. (Bit too close to flower pot food.)

I wanted Kate to win!

Overall it's a bit wallpaper isn't it?

Claudia and Mary imho are making the best of a very bad job.

Pippa only annoys me for loving food and staying that thin. I think she has pushed herself the most in the food she's done though.

I want Philip to win, as he's on another message board I read, he won't as the guys don't like him much.

Which guys don’t like Phillip? The other cooks?

I want Pippa to win.

The judges, Mary seems to like him but they guys always find extra faults.

They’ve just been nice to him now though the guys

I'm sorry but that has to be the most boringly predictable winner of a cookery show in the history of cookery shows.

It was so bloody obvious from the first week, and every episode since who was going to win it. I'm not a betting woman but I'd have stuck my life savings on Pippa after the very first show.

All that bollocks between the judges about it being 'close' and so on, was so toe-curlingly false, I was actually cringing watching it.

The BBC honestly do insult the audience's intelligence sometimes.

Not sure I'll bother watching it if there's another series to be honest.

Dull, predictable and fake.

The ‘supportiveness ‘ reached such a level today you’d have thought they were helping each other get through transplant surgery or something. Sooooo ridiculous. And yes it had to be Pippa. She’s been ahead of the others since day one. I’m desperate for viewing but won’t be watching next series if there is one.

Sortofcool that’s is also what I really hated about the show , they OTT behaviour and faux supportness over cooking food !!! You would think they were going to perform a life threatening operation not cooking food. I know it gets a bit deep with bake off and masterchef but even so on those shows it doesn’t come across as stupid n ridiculous like it does on Britain’s Home cooks . I think the bbc believe us to be gullible fools . None of the contestants left a place in my heart like some from bake off Nadia , Brendon, etc. The living together in the house was so pointless it wasn’t like they showed us scenes of it like they do on big brother.

Totally agree about all the hugging and cuddling and walking about with their arms around each other. It's just so OTT and completely unnecessary.

But for me it was the ridiculous pretence over the judges discussions and how close it was and so on ... when it was obvious to anyone that Pippa was the winner, pretty much from the get go and I found the whole thing so predictable and such an anti-climax to all those hours of viewing.

I won't be watching the next series either ... I just wish they'd bring back Sewing Bee. Why did that get canned? I really enjoyed it.

Fontella. There was a thread on here a few months ago where someone said Sewing Bee is coming back. Really hope that’s right.

I think wallpaper is a good description Scoop and I definitely wasn't invested as I fell asleep and missed seeing the winner but wasn't surprised it was Pippa

I watched the whole thing faithfully as I do like a good cookery programme!

However, after time all the hugging and mutual love stuff started to grate. They need to tone down all that.

Then there was the fact that from week one, you knew who was going to win it. Not her fault of course, but it took any sense of competition out of the whole thing. Also there was no sense of (cliche coming up) 'journey' or 'progress' with Pippa. She was a great cook on day one and she was a great cook on the last day - nothing changed.

Then they didn't seem to be able to make up their minds what they wanted. In the semi-finals they kept stressing that the canapés needed to be bite sized, eat with one hand etc. and Pippa's met none of those criteria but she still got voted best by two of the judges purely on taste. Only Mary went with the one who actually met the brief, even though his didn't taste quite so good, so it just made a nonsense of the task in the first place.

There were other examples of this strange way of judging throughout, not least them being unable to decide if what they wanted was a good home cook, or a restaurant quality cook, because in many instances it seemed to me they ignored what I would class as good home cooked food in favour of fancier, more complex food that you would be more likely to see on a restaurant menu.

Now don't get me wrong - Pippa was probably the best cook, and based on the final meal - she was a deserved winner. It was more the fact that her win was so predictable from the beginning of the series that made the whole thing such an anti-climax.

Instead of tension building as it went along it just became more duller and obvious .... until in the final it was a case of 'just say Pippa and be done with it' so I could switch it off.

..................

There endeth the verdict of the Fontella jury.

Fontanella

Totally agree that there was confusion about what the judges were looking for. Mary stated often that she didn't want "cheffy smears" and such like (or words to that effect) but when they presented a plate of "rustic" food they were criticised for it!

i was not surprised Pippa won, it was obvious from the start she would win. she was good, but it did make it all a bit predictable.

I hated every single thing about this programme (as I have ranted about upthread). It takes a lot for a fairly unchallenging food show to get me quite so worked up but it was really fucking terrible. Everyone was so incredibly IRRITATING.

^omg me too . The show just brings out the rage in me, It’s probably not normal but can’t help it

Just watched the final- not surprised at all that Pippa won but would have loved Dipa to have beaten her- also really like Phillip.

Re Pippa - I think I instinctively don't like people who don't like puddings and chocolate makes her feel sick- WTAF?? So attention-seeking.

Definitely won't be buying her cookbook.

I liked the concept of the show, but it was obvious from day one, who was going to win. Mary in particularly, made no secret of her favouritism of her. I'm convinced that Pippa could have produced a bowl of cereal, and Mary would have said it was the best thing she'd ever eaten!

I Think the bbc want to create another Nadia , they haven’t done tho, I think Pippa is attention seeking too. She annoys me so much

I saw a rerun on Saturday of the semi final. The programme is awful - just awful.I actually felt curiously down at the end of it.

Claudia was presenting food to the judges - why? and all those judges and a presenter - no need. The bloke judges were dreadful. It all felt so fake with the constant hugging and support - what a stinker!

All that bollocks between the judges about it being 'close' and so on, was so toe-curlingly false, I was actually cringing watching it.

Personally I thought it WAS close in the end. The judges loved Philip's final meal and only had one tiny criticism of Dipa's meal too.

I do agree Pippa had been good from the start whereas the other two developed more. Dipa in particular went right out of her comfort zone with the last challenge and with making up the chicken and mushroom thing on the fly.

I quite liked it. Some of the personalities were great, Claudia was funny and a bit naughty, and there was (some!) banter between her and the judges that was quite funny.

I'll basically watch anything that involves a group of personalities with a competition element and potential for amusing/awkward interactions between presenters, judges and contestants though.

Fontella and Sortof, the Sewing Bee IS coming back. Albeit with Joe Lycett presenting instead of Claudia. Patrick Grant is still judging though, yay.

Saw on Twitter bbc have commissioned this for a second series ! Must of done ok then , watching bake off and just makes me realise even more how crap Britain home cooks show is