Great British Bake Off, Season 11- week 2 baker power rankings

Week 2 Rankings

10/2/2020

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.