Weekly Rankings

Week 4 - Everything was wrong?

10/18/2020

We're always talking about consistency. It's one of the biggest factors in our rankings because a single failed bake can send a contestant home. Often the baker that leaves isn't the worst baker, she's just the baker who had the worst week.

Were we wrong about Sura? Everything we'd seen in the weeks prior made us believe Sura was one of the most consistent bakers. We've seen small issues with timing and decoration. We flagged clumsiness as a risk in our week 1 rankings and her dropping half her signature did get her into trouble, but ultimately, her fate was decided by a single white chocolate catastrophe.

We stand by our prior rankings. Sura is a talented and inventive baker. Everyone has that one thing they struggle with. Anyone can get unlucky. You're still finalist material in our book, Sura. ❤️ S&A

Ranking the remaining bakers was especially tough this week. The judges hated everyone's brownies and the bakers struggled to wrangle their white chocolate in the heat. We've added the 🤤award to track 'Pruegasms', with Hermine as the first recipient.

Here's who we think is most likely to survive to the finals from here.

#1 Peter

( +1 ) ⭐️ 🥈
In a week where consistency is the hot topic, "Mr. Consistent" nearly got his second star baker. In a field of fancy brownies that mostly failed to impress the judges, Peter's fig & cinnamon concoction earned an emphatic 'okay' rating. We'll take it. He was 4th in the technical and landed a terrific and clever showstopper. We really like that despite his signature not panning out, Peter still went for and landed a creative coconut, mango and white chocolate cake. Another strong showing in the bag and last week's struggles look like the one-off we thought they were. Expect to see Peter in the final.

#2 HERMINE

( +1 ) 🤝 🤤
It's common to lose bakers that emphasize style over substance. If anything, Hermine has a bit of the opposite issue. Her lemon-infused Genoise sponge showstopper triggered the first "Pruegasm" of the season. We've seen Hermine deliver bakes with strong aesthetics in the earlier weeks. She's in our finalists bracket because we're confident she'll bring it together down the stretch.

#3 MARK

( +3 ) ⭐️ 🥈 🥉 🥉
K-Mark has never had a week where he's moved down in the rankings. If he started a little slow in week one, he's made steady progress in every week since, capping his upward march with a bold marula-liquor flavored showstopper and his first star baker. He's finished in the top three in technicals three weeks running. He's unceasingly positive and likable, and we like him for the finals.

#4 Marc

( - ) ⭐️ 🥈
Marc nails his showstoppers. Even when he falters in his other bakes, he brings it when it counts and that's kept him high in our rankings. His white chocolate and raspberry celebration cake hit three for three- professional presentation, great flavor, strong. We imagine that if Mark can translate his consistently solid showstopper performances to his other bakes, he remains a strong contender for the final.

#5 Linda

( +3 ) 🥇 🥇
Linda continues to surprise us, and for that, she continues to climb in our rankings. This week, she handily took the technical challenge with her "model babka", that frankly could have given Paul's own bake a run for the money. The judges found her Treats of Christmas signature unusual and nice, which is more than they could say for nearly any other signature this week. And while her English Rose showstopper fell short visually, it succeeded in flavor and bake. It's not a stretch to imagine Linda winning star baker this week, had the weather cooperated and allowed her to deliver the chocolate collars from her vision. We're looking forward to seeing what Linda brings to the tent next week. At this rate, she may yet find herself among the finalists.

#6 LOTTIE

( -1 ) 🤝
This wasn't Lottie's week, and unfortunately it's the second in a row that haven't gone as planned for her. Though the judges enjoyed the sparkle of her sapphire anniversary cake, the bake was "bone dry", and her signature had all the visual appeal of a self-professed car crash. We worry that Lottie's issues with consistency may be hard to overcome as the field narrows, but she's shown us that she can marry great flavors and good bakes in the past, and her showstopper this week suggest that she can make lovely looking products as well. We hope that Lottie takes this week in stride and that her performances in the weeks to come reflect the early baker that we believe can succeed in this competition!

#7 LAURA

( +2 ) 🥈
Seeing Laura's focus, perseverance and determination to improve pay off is exactly what makes GBBO the show we all love. Although Paul didn't rave about the bouffant-esque white chocolate top of her showstopper, both judges were effusive about her black currant and white chocolate flavor combination. Laura was also one of the only bakers to successfully highlight white chocolate without creating an overly sweet mess. As Paul notes, Laura's obviously putting great thought into her bakes week on week. So far, Laura's never been at risk of going home. We're starting to see a path for Laura to make a late run this season.

#8 DAVE

( -2 ) ⭐️ 🥇
We don't know what to do with Dave. He hasn't had two great weeks in a row. It's hard to place a star baker so low in our rankings, but his repeated failure to execute in technical challenges gives us pause. We know that Dave can bring a strong bake - this week, his Honeycomb Explosion succeeded in every measure save Pru and Paul's seemingly umeetable expectations regarding proper brownie bake, and his Strawberry Splash showstopper only fell short of Paul's oddly particular expectations on the color of the cakes. Dave may have another great week. He's probably not the weakest baker remaining, but his propensity to fail the technical is going to catch up with him before we're down to the finals.

Sura (FInished)

( -8 ) 🥇
Sura had a terrible week. It's hard to know exactly what happened with the bake dropped in the oven- we saw a tray slip, nothing that would have made the bake unsalvageable. As the episode was cut, we couldn't evaluate the tough decision Sura made to serve half a signature. Unfortunately even the half she did present (still in its tray) failed to impress with bake or flavor either. She finished near the bottom of the technical, and she served a hastily decorated, raw cake as a showstopper.

Despite the strong season she's had so far, the only way Sura could have stayed this week was if someone else had failed worse. Like we said in the intro, anyone can get unlucky. You're still a finalist in our book, Sura. ❤️ S&A

Rowan (finished)

Week 3 Results

MAK (FINISHED)

Week 2 Results

LORIEA (FINISHED)

Week 1 Results

1 Comment

Week 3 Rankings

10/11/2020

2 Comments

Bread making requires a feel for the dough and judgment gained through experience. You can't follow a recipe blindly. You have to know how added ingredients affect the moisture, weight, and density of the dough, its rise and its bake. Unlike cakes, biscuits, or patisserie, there are fewer ways to decorate & embellish bread once its out of the oven.

It's also Paul's specialty, and his favorite week of GBBO, so the stakes are high. This was a tough week for many, leaving Paul a little unimpressed and some bakers much lower in the rankings. ❤️ S&A

⭐️ Star baker awards | 🥇 Technical firsts | 🥈 Technical seconds | 🥉 Technical thirds | 🤝 Hollywood Handshakes

#1 Sura

( +2 ) 🥇
Sura continues to be creative & consistent, and that's what carries bakers into the finals. Her za'atar-signature soda bread was nearly perfect, just baked a little too low to brown as much as it could have. Her under-twisted rainbow bagels landed her 8th in the technical, and that was all that held her back from a star baker consideration. She delivered a beautifully baked, designed and flavored tomato vine showstopper that showed off her plaiting, strong aesthetics, and clever ingredient combinations. Sura doesn't have a star or a handshake to her name yet, but three weeks in we think she's the most likely to be among the finalists.

#2 Peter

( -1 ) ⭐️ 🥈
Peter's commitment to gluten-free baking is a bit risky and this week it caught up with him. His signature flavors were both spot on, as the judges said they always are, but one bake turned out stodgy and the other fell to bits. His hula-hoop bagels managed a 4th place finish, which was fortunate because his showstopper was also an uncharacteristic miss. Where before we've seen Peter cleverly design around the need to compete with complex aesthetics and wow the judges in other ways, his Edinborough cityscape was just 'simple'. His decision to use flat bagel-leather cutouts failed to impress, and the overall result was not a finalist-caliber bake.

As bad as this week was, we still couldn't imagine a final without Peter in it. His misses weren't down to sloppiness, time management, or other mistakes in execution. We're confident Peter will continue to operate at a different level for such a young head.

#3 Hermine

( +2 ) 🤝
Hermine locked up the second Hollywood Handshake of the season with her sweet & savory soda breads. Weeks of pre-soaking her fruit in booze and introducing the judges to a salmon, chive and cheese combination they'd never encountered before paid off. She faltered in the technical, overbaking her bagels slightly to finish 7th, and took a risk in her showstopper trying to pass off a quick-freeze enriched dough as brioche. Terminology aside, everything else seemed to work. This was another great week for Hermine and as of now we expect to see her in the finals.

#4 Marc

( +3 ) ⭐️ 🥈
Two strong weeks in a row have put Marc in a completely different position than he opened the season. His flavors and designs were thoughtful and well executed and he finished second in the technical. The baker-philosopher waxed poetic on the things we can control and those we can't, and he showed us the range of styles and bakes he can control ☯️. He's settled in. He's calm and collected and it seems to enable him to channel his creativity effectively. His buddhist Dharma Wheel bake convincingly won the showstopper. He's just a few good bakes from breaking into the favorites for finalist.

#5 LOTTIE

( -3 ) 🤝
Lottie didn't have as bad a week as a three spot drop might suggest. Her strong suit is creativity and she didn't find as many ways to display it with breads this week. Her concepts were good, but her signature and showstopper were both critiqued as under-flavored. Still, her bakes all turned out well and she caught and corrected the twisting step she'd missed in the technical to recover and finish fifth. She's a strong baker, but breads aren't her strongest. Now that she's made it through bread week we wouldn't be surprised to see her spring back into the finalists bracket in the weeks ahead.

#6 Mark

( - ) 🥈 🥉
K-Mark had a strong week that played to his strengths- he makes soda bread daily and landed two very strong bakes in his signature. He had a strong third place finish in the technical and the judges had him as a contender for star baker this week until his lackluster showstopper. There were nice touches- frozen fillings folded into tiny plaited trees, bold flavor choices in wild garlic, apple and hazelnut. Mark is still right where he began- a strong, middle of the pack contestant. We wouldn't be surprised if some of his riskier bets land and he has a stronger showing in the weeks to come.

#7 Dave

( -3 ) ⭐️ 🥇
From the greatest gain last week to the biggest drop this week, Dave is not showing a finalists' consistency 🎲. His signature soda breads were well baked, but needed 'triple the flavor'. His showstopper won some compliments for the mango-chili-lime stuffing, but was overbaked. The hibiscus and guava failed to show at all in his other bread. He said he'd made bagels before but came in second to last on the technical after overproving and oversoaking his dough. Still, Dave has one of three star baker awards so far, and if he's shown us anything it's that he can focus and bounce back. We may need a few more weeks before Dave's chances of making the finals are clear.

#8 Linda

( +2 ) 🥇
Linda's 'cyflym bara' signature had some nice flavors, helped by her nice tribute to Mak and his homemade honey. But the bake was too tight, the fruit poorly distributed and the final result soggy. Once again, her showstopper looked delightful (that 🐮!) but failed to impress the judges with its texture or flavor. Linda's picked up a first place in the technical and overtook Rowan and Laura in our rankings. She'll need to bring more flavors and more consistent bakes to climb further.

#9 Laura

( -1 )
Where other bakers sometimes have good bakes and sometimes bad, every one of Laura's bakes so far has been a little bit of a mixed bag. Her flavors are consistently fair to strong, but this week it was an underbaked signature, over soaking her bagels for another middle of the pack finish, and a showstopper that looked and tasted great, but suffered from construction issues that made it too dense. She's never completely failed a bake and her stability may keep her in the tent a few more weeks, but she needs to figure out how to bring it all together to have a shot at being a finalist.

ROWAN (FINISHED)

( -1 ) 🥉
After two weeks of last place technical finishes and yet another sloppy signature, we wish we could say we were surprised to see Rowan go, but he just wasn't participating in the same competition as the other bakers. We got glimpses into Rowan's other loves of music, gardening and theater. Rowan's approach to life and his clear enjoyment of all its facets was magnetic. It would be a different show and a different world if enjoying something was all it took to excel at it, but competition is competition. It may be for better or worse, but Rowan just didn't have what it took to remain in the tent among serious bakers.

We were happy we got to see Rowan deliver a beautiful showstopper and leave with his head held high. We're confident he's going to carry on and thrive. ❤️

Mak (Finished)

🥉
Week 2 results

Loriea (Finished)

Week 1 results

2 Comments

Week 2 Rankings

10/2/2020

1 Comment

This was a week where it felt like many bakers should move up the rankings because they did so much better than week 1. But when everyone is getting better, it's not enough to just better yourself. The bakers must keep improving over the course of the season to stay competitive. It's one of the best parts of this show.

The macaroon technical was challenging, but didn't stretch the field as much as some others have in the past. All the bakers executed well enough that a few extra minutes of bake time translated into huge differences in rank order. Maybe the close spread contributed to the decision to dismiss the third place finisher over the last place finisher this week. We all disliked the overly obscure recipes from earlier seasons, but when everyone's bake is so similar the judges seem to discount the weight of the technical placement- Mak's dismissal felt a little unjust. Choosing a good technical requires as much deliberation and precision from the judges as executing it does for the bakers.

Overall, the field looks much stronger after the second episode. Some bakers have settled into their rankings and others have surprised us. Here's what we see two weeks in. ❤️ S&A

⭐️ Star baker awards | 🥇 Technical firsts | 🥈 Technical seconds | 🥉 Technical thirds | 🤝 Hollywood Handshakes

#1 Peter

( +1 ) ⭐️🥈
Peter's technical was tidy, but underbaked just enough to finish 10th. See above. His florentine may not have been the snappiest, but it's rare to hear Paul and Prue as effusive as they were about his inventive white chocolate-based toffee flavor. You may have missed this in his showstopper, but Peter threw in a perfectly executed isomalt tumbler above and beyond the requirements. Because why not. His cranachan stuffed haggis biscuit and scotch was delivered exactly as planned, and perfectly themed down to the tartan it was presented on 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿. The bake was perfect. Peter may not be the flashiest decorator on the show, but when you combine the depth and breadth of his skills, completeness of vision and execution, and that very specific British-baking cleverness that the judges love, he's looking tough to beat.

#2 Lottie

( +2 ) 🤝
Lottie's quarantine florentines were baking perfection and she won the first Hollywood Handshake of the season. It's easy to cheer for Lottie because her baking is such an authentic creative channel- a significant way to express her delightfully quirky personality. Her viking showstopper came up a little harried and just short this week, but she finished her florentines early enough ⏱ to help Mark get his together, and she bailed him out again when his chocolate failed in the technical. Lottie hasn't quite achieved the consistency and neatness she'll need as a finalist, but she's bringing everything she's got and we like the direction that she's headed.

#3 Sura

( -2 ) 🥇
Sura was a little inconsistent this week, but only a little. She finished 6th in the baketime-roulette technical. Her signature florentines were elegant in appearance and in flavor, if not quite as snappy as the judges wanted. She may not have received as much praise as other bakers this week, but her tea set construction was ambitious and neat, finished with time to spare and without drama. Her only real issue was the poorly conceived icing on her showstopper. The details matter and there's a lot of talent this season. We know Sura can execute, but she'll need to plan her finishing touches better to remain at the top in the weeks to come.

#4 Dave

( +5 ) ⭐️🥇
Dave came into the tent with something to prove. He bounced back from his rough opener with a first place in the technical and a star baker finish. The mental toughness we saw in week one translated into absolute focus in week two. Tri-color feathering on his florentines, flawless coconut macaroons, and a brilliantly constructed and lovingly decorated biscuit showstopper demonstrated Dave can reach for and land ambitious bakes across a far greater range than we'd seen before. In every bake, Dave's meticulous execution and attention paid to extra details showed he's a serious contender for finalist.

#5 Hermine

( -2 )
Great decorators can struggle with timing and Hermine got into trouble with her florentines this week. Perhaps more concerning, she also struggled with texture in the signature and flavors in her Japanese tea set showstopper. It's great to see Hermine stretching herself just a little in every bake this early in the season, but she'll have pair execution with vision more consistently to get back on top.

#6 Mark

( +1 ) 🥈
Mark showed us much more than in week one. He needed some help to get through the signature and technical, but delivered an ambitious, creative and successful showstopper. Mark's taking some risks. He's not landing all his flavors yet, but it's the right strategy and he's going to have to keep it up to keep progressing. Let's see where those very large nuts will take him next week.

#7 MarC

( +4 )
We saw a completely different baker in the tent this week. The showstopper played right into Marc's sculpting strengths and it was wonderful to see his talent on display after his very rocky start. He also made a statement with his signature, combining ruby chocolate, ginger, pistachio and sour cherries to win the judges over with his florentine flavor. Marc showed us why he belongs in the tent. This is the Marc that needs to show up every week.

#8 Laura

( - )
Laura's focus on flavor continues to get nods from the judges. Her choice of milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate worked against an otherwise flawless signature, and her showstopper biscuits were delicious, if aesthetically unimpressive. She's willing to make her own fondant, and she's demonstrated she can do what she sets out to. Now she's got to maintain her progress on substance and apply that same focus to wowing the judges with a little more ambition and style.

#9 Rowan

( -3 ) 🥉
Rowan was lucky to stay this week. We have to believe it was only the judges' belief in the potential he showed in week one that saved him. Considering just this week's bakes, he failed to finish his signature, was dead last in the technical - with major issues beyond the bake time - and under-delivered on his showstopper after being warned not to. This may have been the only time in all 11 seasons that Paul's given someone a pass after they've failed to heed a direct warning.

When asked why he keeps setting himself up for failure with his designs, Rowan honestly and simply admitted "Because I like them." It's endearing and romantic to love what's imaginable too much to bring it down to earth, but ultimately you have to deliver. Show us more magic, Rowan. Show us you deserve to be here based on what you finish and not what you promise. We want to believe too.

#10 LINDA

( - )
We wanted to bump Linda up, based on how much better her week two performance was. Her signature was delicious and tidily done, but not a florentine. She took a risk and challenged herself by choosing a much more brittle shortbread instead of gingerbread to sculpt her high tea showstopper. The results were phenomenal- intricately detailed, her design choices elegant and perfectly executed- not at all like the bakes we saw from her last week. She earned her right to stay in the tent, but will have to keep impressing the judges to rise in this very competitive field.

Mak (FInished)

( -6 ) 🥉
We had a hard time with the judges decision to send Mak home this week. Maybe his third place finish in the technical was weighted less than usual, maybe he was severely penalized for his choice to construct a flat biscuit showstopper instead of sculpting. His signature had good flavors but was underbaked, his chai service showstopper was also tasty but also lacked a snap. Sometimes the judges seem to consider a baker's whole season of work in their decision. Sometimes it seems to come down to a single bad week in the tent. We're going to miss the chance to learn and be inspired by Mak's inventive flavor combinations the rest of the season, but even in his leaving shows us what a truly great GBBO contestant is. ❤️
Read his beautiful farewell letter here.

LORIEA (FInished)

Week 1 Results

Images linked in this week's post:

1 Comment

Week 1 Rankings

9/26/2020

0 Comments

Week 1 rankings are about snap judgements- extrapolating as much about our bakers as possible from brief, introductory glimpses. Early in the season, each episode's screen time is split among more contestants. We barely get a few words from the judges on each baking contest.

While there is publicly available information on the contestants and research is possible outside the show, the prior winners include gym teachers, physicists, lawyers, and stuntwomen. The belief that anyone can ultimately emerge as the best baker is at the heart of this contest. Indexing off anything other than what we see in the episode feels not only speculative, but antithetical to GBBO's core ethos.

Besides, anyone that's followed this series knows this contest is as much about the character, strategy and determination the characters bring to the tent as it is about their beginning experience and skill level. Eagerness to grow and adapt will change our baker's fortunes over the season.

So with relatively little to go off, we continued our long-running, couch-cushion tradition of predicting each contestants' chances of making the final. After ten seasons of watching bakers rise and fall, we independently arrived at remarkably similar results. In a year when so many of the richest parts of life are unavailable, we've decided to publish our weekly GBBO power rankings for anyone else that cherishes this show as much as we do.

Please chalk any coarseness in commentary, questionable spellings or choice of format up to me being an American, an NFL fan, and a GBBO Fantasy League contestant. ❤️ S&A

⭐️ Star baker awards | 🥇 Technical first place | 🥈 Technical second place | 🥉 Technical third place

#1 Sura

(+/- NA) 🥇
You better have good reasons to give the #1 spot to someone other than the first star baker. We each came up with several. Sura was in tears after a mortifying and innocent accident, but accepted the good-natured consolations from Noel & Matt and then went on to help Laura with the stressful, buzzer-beater construction of her Freddie Mercury showstopper. Sura had strong showings in the signature, top placement in the technical, and an ambitious and meticulously well-executed showstopper which she finished early ⏱. Combine her baking performance with the ability to bounce from the Dave fiasco to the Laura save, and Sura is clear finalist material.

Flipside- Clumsiness is unaffordable in the tent.🤞 this week's collision is the complete one-off we believe it to be. It's also possible we're biased by our shared love of Sir David Attenborough.

#2 Peter

(+/- NA) ⭐️🥈
Peter made an incredible debut. The youngest baker in every prior season has brought an abundance of raw talent, but Peter's self-imposed commitment to gluten-free recipes demonstrates ingenuity and discipline as well. He impressed judges with his flavors, is aware of his strengths and weaknesses, and coupled strategic restraint with excellent execution in his showstopper design 🚴‍♂️. Peter may be outshone by flashier bakes in individual contests, but exhibits all the qualities we see in finalists that have endured and won out over the long haul. Second place in technical and claiming the first star baker prize put him at the head of the tent.

Flipside- There's no call for unnecessary risks in week 1, but Peter may need to stretch himself and prove he can execute outside his comfort zone to survive late in the season.

#3 Hermine

(+/- NA)
With bold flavors and decorative flourish in her signature, a solid #5 finish in the technical, and a showstopper that was both visually stunning and delicious, Hermine's creativity and technical acumen were consistently impressive. She overreached just slightly with her attempt at realistic portraiture, but that specific skill is unlikely to matter again this season, and taking the right-sized risks will serve her well. Her self-reported strong suit is patisserie. It showed in her detail work and will undoubtedly show again. She's on a finalist trajectory coming out of week 1.

Flipside- Some specialists get tripped up on other bakes. Let's see how Hermine does when bread week rolls around.

#4 Lottie

(+/- NA)
We didn't see as much of Lottie as some other bakers this week, but every time we did she was coolly executing against her clever and artistic vision. Her signature was strong and she accepted the judges' feedback on flavor variety with self-deprecating and good-natured humor. She finished 4th in the technical and delivered an absolutely brilliant showstopper. Her skull-up Louis Theroux construction eliminated many of the challenges other bakers faced and still gave her plenty of room to show off her creative, decorative skills. If Lottie continues to push herself, she's a close contender for finalist.

Flipside- Flavor is the hardest aspect of this contest to judge from home. Lottie must continue to lead with substance as well as style.

#5 Mak

(+/- NA)
It's easy for viewers at home to recognize risk-taking in presentation, but it's just as important for baker's to experiment with flavor. Like with Mak's first signature, all the ingredients are there, but haven't quite melded. If he can refine his blend of boldness, precision, and creativity to deliver consistent results, we think he's got a good shot at making the final. Plus the man keeps bees.

Flipside- A bottom-third finish in the technical is worrisome. Watch your caramel cook times, Mak.

#6 Rowan

(+/- NA) 🥉
Rowan's ranking was the most controversial this week. In two out of three contests, Rowan's plans went completely awry and he was forced to invent his way out of desperate situations. On the one hand, this demonstrates his tenacity, artistry, and resourcefulness- Rowan salvaged an under-baked cake in the microwave with only a mild rebuke from Paul. And in the technical, he managed to follow the sparse script to an impressive third place finish, showing he has the baseline competency to go far if he can manage to stay out of his own way.

Rowan is the unlikely daredevil this season 🎲- stretching for greatness and skirting total failure far too often. We always root for the baker who takes an all-in, burn-the-ships, approach to every contest, but we rarely see them in the finals. This was only week 1. We hope he'll settle in and make smarter bets to survive deep into the season.

#7 Mark

(+/- NA)
Mark had a great signature, middle of the pack technical finish, and a self-aware, well-executed showstopper. Maybe he's waiting to find his footing before aiming higher. His consistency makes him likely to outlast some other bakers, but the Darwinian survival instincts he's shown so far will not carry him to the finals without something more.

#8 Laura

(+/- NA)
Laura had a mediocre first showing with some encouraging signs in the last challenge. She was sixth in the technical. Her execution on the battenberg was sloppy and bland, and she mismanaged the timing ⏱ and construction of her Freddie Mercury🕺showstopper so badly only Sura's intervention saved it. But she set out to change the judges' opinion of her flavor, and she succeeded. If she addresses some technical weaknesses and continues to take feedback, she could climb the rankings in the weeks to come.

#9 DAVE

(+/- NA)
The tension and nerves in week one must be excruciating. To have another baker knock your technical onto the floor would cause many to snap, but Dave exhibited as calm and as good natured a response as any contestant could in the circumstances. He has a finalists' disposition and exemplifies GBBO's spirit of competition.

While he started strong with his signature espresso battenberg, he was ninth in the technical and though his showstopper was charmingly presented, it lacked texture and flavor. Dave will have to show his mental toughness can help him bounce back from his own mistakes as well.

#10 Linda

(+/- NA)
Linda's last bake was her best one, and it still wasn't up to snuff for the tent. In all three bakes there was a lack of cohesion, and just one episode in it's hard to tell whether its a problem of scattered vision or execution. She demonstrated she has skills with the quality of flavor and bake in her showstopper, but Linda will have to get more across the finish line next week to avoid going home. We're pulling for you, Linda!

#11 Marc

(+/- NA)
Marc started the week with a strong cherry bake in an overall mixed signature. His problems with rosewater weren't as concerning as what looks to be a pattern of simply hoping for the best. It's impossible to know if Marc had time to correct the error he caught himself making in the technical, but as presented, it didn't appear he considered whether it was worth trying. Equally concerning, he admitted he'd had troubles with his David Bowie 👨‍🎤bake holding form in practice and failed to make the necessary adjustments to save it at showtime. Marc's flavors show promise and his heart is in the right place. We hope he'll tighten up his execution to remain with us next week.

Loriea (Finished)

Loreia's signature and showstopper both appeared delightful. From Paul's closing comments, it seems the questionable decision to add scotch bonnets to her chocolate was what pushed her out the tent this week.

We admire Loreia for taking risks and being true to herself. We're sad imagining the range of bold and beautiful bakes we won't get to see her make this season. As lovers of spicy food ourselves, we'd welcome the opportunity to try your baking on this side of the pond. 🇺🇸

0 Comments

Week 4 - Everything was wrong?

#1 Peter

#2 HERMINE

#3 MARK

#4 Marc

#5 Linda

#6 LOTTIE

#7 LAURA

#8 DAVE

Sura (FInished)

Rowan (finished)

MAK (FINISHED)

LORIEA (FINISHED)

Week 3 Rankings

#1 Sura

#2 Peter

#3 Hermine

#4 Marc

#5 LOTTIE

#6 Mark

#7 Dave

#8 Linda

#9 Laura

ROWAN (FINISHED)

Mak (Finished)

Loriea (Finished)

Week 2 Rankings

#1 Peter

#2 Lottie

#3 Sura

#4 Dave

#5 Hermine

#6 Mark

#7 MarC

#8 Laura

#9 Rowan

#10 LINDA

Mak (FInished)

LORIEA (FInished)

Week 1 Rankings

#1 Sura​

#2 Peter​

#3 Hermine

#4 Lottie

#5 Mak

#6 Rowan

#7 Mark

#8 Laura

#9 DAVE

#10 Linda

#11 Marc

Loriea (Finished)

AuthorS

#1 Sura

#2 Peter