Bake Off: The Professionals, C4:
G★★★★ iven the increasingly elaborate creations we see on the Bake Off, you’d be excused for questioning the point of this show. So I’ll tell you what the crucial difference is.
It’s all to do with what goes through your mind as the bakers transport their creations to the judging area.
With the “normal” Bake Off you’re probably going, “Please don’t drop it. Oh please, don’t drop it.” With professional Bake Off, if you’re anything like me, you’re in full chant mode: “Drop it. Drop it. Drop it.”
That’s not to say I don’t appreciate the craft and ingenuity the pros possess.
I just prefer to root for the plucky chancer hoping for a crack
at the big time rather than the slick, highly motivated operation at the top of its game.
I guess that’s also why I support Man Utd instead of City or Liverpool.
The producers still do their best to give us someone to invest our emotions in though.
This latest series features the youngest ever contestant, a deaf contestant and a husband-andwife team who have been married for 14 years yet somehow still manage to work together every day. I would have given them a bye to the final for that feat alone!
There’s also another good reason for watching this contest. The judges.
Renowned pastry chefs Cherish Finden and Benoit Blin display so much enthusiasm and knowledge I could listen to them all night.
Which is just as well. Because something tells me they’d happily talk all night.