The CulinaryWoman Newsletter, 11/20/22

A tale of two baking shows

Welcome to the Thanksgiving Week edition of the CulinaryWoman Newsletter. I’m happy to greet our new subscribers. This is the free edition of the newsletter. Paid subscribers receive extra features, like Red Beans and Advice, the full-length podcast, The Conversation, and they are eligible for our regular giveaways like the one for Bachan Japanese Barbecue Sauce that is underway now.

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A Tale of Two Baking Shows (Spoilers Ahead)

The Great British Bake Off awarded its coveted glass cake plate, and a guaranteed culinary career to a new champion this week.

To my great relief, the winner is Syabira Yusoff, a Malaysian immigrant to the U.K. who is a research scientist. It was clear from the very first episode that she would be a front-runner.

Syabira’s flavors were imaginative: she regularly combined herbs with fruit, used ingredients better known in South Asia, and while not every single effort was perfect, it was always interesting to see what she did. Syabira won the star baker title three times and while that is no guarantee of victory, it certainly gets judges and viewers’ attention.

Syabira has a perfect sparkle and authenticity on camera. She truly seemed delighted to be there, especially since she has only been baking for five years. I was rooting for her through out the show.

A gaze beyond the cake plate

I was especially happy to see Syabira win because of the display of obvious ambition that we saw on the part of another finalists, Sandro, whose real name is Nelsandro Farmhouse. Some viewers called him the “hottest contestant” ever to compete on Bake Off.

However, he struck me as someone who was there for the rewards, not the sheer joy of being on the show. It would be naive to think people are only participating for the cake plate. Success on Bake Off is a career creator, and Sandro admitted he wanted to win so badly that he could taste it.

As a refugee from Angola, who teaches online baking classes for children with autism, Sandro certainly has a compelling story. Hopefully, he’ll achieve the visibility he wants as a runner up.

This Bake Off season was already blemished by Mexico Week, and there has been lots of criticism that the format has gotten tired. Yet, the Canadian version of the program is as fresh and fun to watch.

Sacher Torte and jelly scenes

I was able to watch this season of The Great Canadian Baking Show via my brother’s YouTube TV account in suburban Detroit. Clips from the show appear on its Instagram account, @CBCBaking. I encourage you to hunt them down.

The show airs its finale tonight and the three young women who are competing for the title have shown some real imagination. That also stems from the tasks, both simple and complicated, that they are asked to perform.

The bakers tackled mochi doughnuts, meant to have a spongy interior, and one technical challenge was to make a perfect Sacher Torte. It’s the classic Viennese dessert with sponge cake, apricot filling, a chocolate mirror glaze, and the name, Sacher, written across the top. Piece of cake, right? (Sorry.)

Not at all. There are many ways to mess it up, not least of which was the warm tent. Likewise, an ambitious showstopper, a jelly art cake, seemed to have disaster written all over it. The bakers had to create scenes, then encase them in transparent gelatin, then load the scenes on top of layers of cake.

It’s engineering and construction as well as baking and the cakes were truly amazing, with one featuring a living room and another bon bons inside heart shaped boxes. Judges Bruno Feldeisen and Kyla Kennalay deliver the kindest possible critiques and are warm with praise.

“I don’t think a professional chef could make it any better than you did,” Bruno told one baker. .”Keep baking that way.”

The Canadian show is a licensee of the British version, but the producers across the pond would do well to watch this year’s Canada version for tips on rejuvenating the original.

Cooking With Chef Frank

I’ve really enjoyed the time I got to spend this week with my brother, Frank Maynard. He’s always been a good cook, but in the past year, he’s gotten even more ambitious.

Breakfasts have included Irish oatmeal, plus pancakes and home made apple sauce.

He cooked red beans and rice from an Emeril Lagasse recipe, and Dorie Greenspan’s chocolate chip cookies from Baking With Dorie.

(Have you subscribed to XOXO Dorie, her new Substack newsletter?)

This spinach pie was inspired by Jamie Oliver.

I cook so much for myself that it was nice to let him do the work (I treated to lunches and other desserts).

Keeping Up With CulinaryWoman

I’m excited to share that Satisfaction Guaranteed has won its first award. It was named one of the Top Business Books of 2022 by Porchlight Books.

Satisfaction Guaranteed is ranked a top title in the Management and Workplace Culture category. Porchlight considered 700 new books before announcing its list of 40 publications.

I was so pleased to speak to the Metro Detroit Jewish Book Fair as well as the Toledo Jewish Book Fair this week. Zingerman’s has many denoted fans of its food and its business philosophy.

My next appearance will be a virtual one with Vilna Shul in Boston. It takes place Dec. 7 at 7 pm. You can register here.

There’s plenty of time to order Satisfaction Guaranteed for holiday giving. I am happy to send you an autographed book plate with a proof of purchase.

You can reach me at CulinaryWoman at gmail dot com. Follow the CulinaryWoman Facebook page, and find me on Instagram @michelinemaynard. My New Orleans adventures at @micki_in_nola.

Our paid subscribers will get all their usual features this week. I’m planning a shorter than usual newsletter next Sunday, since I will be busy with travel and holiday plans. But I will let you know the winner of our current giveaway. Think about upgrading so you will be eligible, too.

Meanwhile, travel safely and stay healthy.