Top-notch bakes? It’s a choux-in
Channel 4, 8pm
THE mirror-glazed, fondant-filled rival to Bake Off’s amateur version, this show sees a battle between the nation’s great pastry chefs.
But don’t be fooled into thinking it’s not as funny. This might be a serious contest but the judges are ruthless, the hosts are hilarious and the showstoppers still sometimes collapse. “It’s the art, it’s the science behind baking,” says world-class patisserie expert Cherish Finden, all stern fringe and formidable personality.
Benoit Blin is slightly more smiley but equally tough. “This is my passion,” he declares. Fortunately, as the chefs, all of whom are professionals at top, posh hotels or restaurants, take on testing challenges, comedians Tom Allen and former Bake Off finalist Liam Charles are on hand to lower the tone and liven the mood. After Cherish yells that one particular task will not be easy OR fun, Tom quips: “Making a cake should never be fun, it should be a maze of misery brought on by the perpetual pursuit of patisserie perfection.” In the first challenge, the teams must produce two different types of miniature classics – strawberry tarts and fruit salad. There must be 24 identical items of each. The second challenge sees the teams given just five hours to reinvent a classic dessert and transform it into a spectacle. This time, that retro classic the pineapple upside-down cake gets the showstopper treatment. And not to say the critique is harsh, but words heard this episode include “boring”, “tasteless”, “doughy” and “not very pleasant”. Dreams dashed, hopes obliterated, this is exactly what we’ve come to see.