Hello, and welcome to the CulinaryWoman Newsletter! We’re especially happy to see our new subscribers. This is the free weekly edition. Paid subscribers receive a bounty of additional features, including Red Beans and Advice on Monday, The Conversation on Wednesday, a weekly heads up on Friday, and are eligible for our giveaways (scroll down to read about the latest one).
Just click this button to upgrade, and thank you!
The Return Of The Great British Bake Off
Think about it. If someone had told you a dozen years ago that bakers would become global celebrities, would you have believed them?
That is the phenomenon that The Great British Bake Off has become. People all over the world can recognize Nadiya Hussain from her broadcast success since winning the coveted glass cake plate.
Even though Andrew Smythe did not win, viewers remember his cake that resembled interlocking gears (Prince William told him he was robbed of that year’s victory) and he has been a judge on cake competitions. Fans know Paul Hollywood’s scowl, Mary Berry’s twinkle and Prue Leith’s pedigree.
Yet, when the show began, Americans did not get to see it. Two seasons of Bake Off have never aired on U.S. television. It was already a hit overseas before we got it, and many seasons here initially aired on PBS long after the winners were known for the series we were viewing.
That lag has been narrowed, although not completely eliminated. On Friday, Netflix began airing the 13th season of Bake Off (or Baking Show as American and Canadian networks are required to call it), three days after it ran at home. It means devotees have to avoid social and other media to avoid spoilers, and I have some in this post, so stop reading if you don’t want to know about this episode.
Guess the winner
One of the games I play when a new season begins is to try to guess the winner. It’s not as obvious as you might think. During Nadiya’s season, she came very close to elimination in the first episode and it took her several episodes to find her bearings.
I doubt anyone would have predicted that the final four bakers last year would have roots outside Britain. The 2021 winner, Giuseppe Dell’Anno, was born in Italy and is about to publish his first cookbook.
However, after all these seasons you can tell what the judges and producers are trying to find.
They want someone who can become a marketable media star, whether through cookbooks, guest appearances or their own television shows. They want someone who resonates with viewers and reviewers, primarily for their baking, but also for their personality. They want someone who can set aside their work life and serve as an ambassador for the show.
It’s a balancing act. Bake Off has had some quirky winners like Kim-Joy Hewlett and Rahul Mandal, who almost seemed too shy to be on TV. Martha Collison, her year’s youngest baker, has a visible career in Britain and a big social following. Mature bakers like Jane Beedle also have a solid fan base that has led to classroom and podcasting success.
One clue for viewers is screen time, and we saw how that went in the first episode. The producers seemed fond of exercise fanatic and nanny Sandro, who was born in Angola, and Syabira, a native of Malaysia with a charming smile and interesting flavors.
“Second is kind of first, isn’t it?” Sandro said, after he was the runner up to her in the technical challenge, and it could be, given the success of past runners-up.
Rebs, meanwhile, seemed to disappoint the judges with her initial signature challenge, and came in last during the technical, meaning people were probably placing bets that she’d be first to go. Shocker: she was not, which indicates that the producers see some promise in her.
Keeping things fresh
One of the issues Bake Off faces, season after season, is how to keep the challenges fresh. This year kicked off with Cake Week, and was kind of a snooze. “There’s no hero flavor,” Paul complained about Syabira’s cake and that described the entire episode
The bakers made mini sandwich cakes (what the British called a filled layer cake) and red velvet cake, which is just about my least favorite cake. The showstopper was to make your house in cake, which resulted in Syabira’s construction of a coconut tree that resembled something distinctly anatomical.
The home-crafting results were eye-catching, but too reminiscent of a past challenge in which Candace dazzled the judges with a gingerbread version of her parents’ pub, complete with edible carpet.
Of course, it’s a baking competition, so you need to have a cake-related challenge. It might be nice if the show asked bakers to craft something from a culture that isn’t their own, just to provide a learning opportunity for contestants and viewers.
If you’d like to read more about the results of the first episode, you can visit Eater London, which will be doing re-caps of each show. Metro is handicapping the bakers’ chances of winning after every episode.
I don’t plan to comment on every episode but I’ll be back with more on Bake Off when there’s a don’t miss segment and when we get close to the finals.
Thoughts on the show? Did you spot a potential winner?
The Queen Of Culinary
I’ve been incredibly moved this past week at the photographs of the ceremonies honoring Queen Elizabeth II. Even though she wasn’t especially known as a gourmet, the Queen is inextricably linked with one aspect of British life: tea time.
Her garden parties, which drew as many as 8,000 people to gardens of Buckingham Palace, were legendary for their delicious treats. A typical garden party featured a 408-foot buffet table, where the refreshments included 20,000 tea sandwiches, 9,000 scones, 9,000 fruit tarts, 8,000 slices of chocolate and lemon cake, and 27,000 cups of tea.
Travelers could always count on finding souvenir tins of short bread, bearing the Queen’s picture. My mother brought back the one above from the Silver Jubilee. This week, I purchased this one commemorating the Platinum Jubilee.
Monday is The Queen’s funeral, and I will get up early to watch and remember her. Supposedly, the new King Charles III does not eat lunch, but I hope he stops every day for tea.
The Next Giveaway: Bread Head
The next giveaway for members of the CulinaryWoman Community is Bread Head by Greg Wade. I love this cookbook, which I wrote about last week. As soon as my copy arrived, I sat down and read completely through the front, which is Greg’s philosophy of bread. I learned as much as I’ve learned taking bread classes.
Along with Bread Head, you’ll receive a CulinaryWoman souvenir. Paid subscribers are automatically entered. You can upgrade your subscription by clicking this button.
I think you’d enjoy owning this book and I hope that you will be interested in supporting our journalism. I’ll choose a winner and announce them later in September.
Keeping Up With CulinaryWoman
Today (Sunday) I will be speaking at the Ann Arbor Public Library, sponsored by the Culinary Historians of Ann Arbor. Books will be available. If you’ve already bought Satisfaction Guaranteed, you’re welcome to bring it and have me sign it.
Tomorrow, I am speaking at the Milford, Mich., Public Library. Seats are available and there will be a drawing for Zingerman’s gift cards. It’s free, but please register in advance.
Both programs will be live streamed and the recordings will be available.
If you would like me to speak to your group or at your event, contact me at culinarywoman at gmail dot com. My fall calendar is filling up, but get in touch any way and I am booking talks for 2023.
Follow CulinaryWoman on Twitter @culinarywoman. My main Instagram account is @michelinemaynard and you can read about my New Orleans adventures @micki_in_nola.
Please watch your health. Get vaccinated or boosted, and stay well. I’ll see our paid subscribers tomorrow with Red Beans and Advice, and everyone else next week.