The Baking Gods Have Spoken: 'The Great British Baking Show' Is Saving Humanity
All the news about impeachment makes my mouth water for peaches. And that juicy fruit triggers my desire for a shortbread that snaps. There’s nothing more heavenly than crunchy cookies—unless you’re British and prefer “biscuits,” the UK translation to Santa’s favorite snack.
When I’m not baking myself, I love a spot of tea while I take a big binge-y bite of “The Great British Baking Show: Holidays: Season 2.” This awww-dorable show with all my favorite former contestants couldn’t come at a better time for humanity.
But first, a salute to Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig. The duo returns to the tent with their culinary comedy. If you don’t know who they are, imagine Shakespearean clowns on a modern reality show, one in which participants are actually nice to each other. These two create and ease tension between contestants and judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood.
“It’s crunch time,” Noel puns in Episode 1. Meanwhile, bakers struggle to finish the signature challenge: iced shortbread representing the 12 days of Christmas
“Only seconds lie between between a soft, under-baked biscuit,” Sandi says in narration. The camera cuts to Andrew, from Season 7, worrying about chewiness. “And a burnt overbaked one,” Sandi continues. “It’s a battle of the bakers’ nerves.”
During one of their delicious “bits,” Sandi sits in front of a plate of snowflake biscuits alongside Noel in a rainbow sweater, or “jumper,” if you’re from across the pond. She’s dressed in a long-sleeved royal blue shirt with sparkles on the shoulders. Enveloped in such vibrant Crayola colors, they make the audience do a double-take on one tiny odd detail. Much shorter and stouter than the goth-like Noel, Sandi has gingerbread stars over her eyes.
“I love this show,” she tells Noel, who wears a rainbow turtleneck “jumper” with diagonal stripes.
“You’ve just got stars in your eyes,” he quips.
Here’s a recap of Episode 1 with all four bakers. During the holiday edition, no one is sent home. Instead, winner and losers alike, will walk out of the tent to meet their proud families together.
The tent is dessert for the eyes with bright-colored cooking essentials and lots of Christmas trees along the sides.
“I love Christmas trees,” Jane whispers.
But there’s still stress, heightened by sparkly orchestral music.
“I love Jane,” the red-haired Andrews says of his rival from Season 7, “but I’d lie if I said we weren’t a little bit competitive.”
“I am talking behind your back, Andrew, because I am literally behind your back,” Jane tells him. Her baking station is indeed behind his.
Flo and Liam, both from season 8, are like old friends to the show’s fans. Flo is a hilarious white-haired grandmother with a double-decked smile, the kind Al Hirschfeld would have drawn in caricature. As she goes about making her “Spiced Treacle & Ginger Biscuits,” she laughs constantly. A typical Flo-at-work statement is: “Uh, I made a terrible mess of me-self.” I just love her.
Finally, Liam, who was only 19 in season 8, is back and more confident than he was when he was a mere lad. For the signature challenge, Liam makes “The 12 Essentials of Liam.” Among his favorite things are falafal, which in biscuit form, looks more like a backside. Noel and Sandi tease him constantly about it. As Liam mixes color into his frosting, Noel says it looks like he just melted down the Pink Panther’s legs.
“That’s deep,” Liam says in his grey sweater with patterned stripes across the front.
“You’re very huggable, you know,” Noel tells him at one point, when Liam’s apron is flecked with flour. “There’s something about this jumper.”
I won’t say who wins the three-part competition, but Jane’s “12 Days of Decorating Christmas Biscuits” was divine.