Entertainment
'GBBO's Best Bits This Year Included Tears, Confessions, & A Very Reluctant Vegan
There have been culinary triumphs, cake topples, and a lot of tears. There is no denying it, the Great British Bake Off 2018 has been one emotional series. Luckily most of the tears have been tears of joy or frustration at Paul Hollywood’s borderline impossible technical challenges. With the introduction of new themed weeks like vegan, Danish, and spice week, it has felt like this year has been the toughest Great British Bake Off competition yet. It has flown by. So in the run up to the final here are the seven best moments of Great British Bake Off 2018.
This year’s competition has been so packed with highlights it is quite difficult to know where to start. In past series there are usually one or two stand out contestants that provide all of the comedy gold or cute moments. This year we have been spoilt with Karen, Rahul, the John and Dan bromance, the list goes on. Ruby has served serious sass inspiration every single week; from talking about how she has run a marathon like it is no big deal to taking none of Paul Hollywood’s nonsense. I need to be friends with that girl. Here's the best of the highs and the lows.
1Terry’s Biscuit Selfie
This year’s competition got off to an unusual start. Rather than cake week taking the lead in week one, the bakers were challenged with biscuit week. Whilst I imagine it is a little difficult to make an impression in the GBBO tent on week one, one contestant who managed to create his own fan following was Terry. Set aside that Terry seemed like the loveliest man that should have been protected, the biscuit selfie he made of himself out of brandy snaps and edible paint was a work of art. You could have hung it on the wall.
2Kim Joy’s Decorative Creatures
Bread week instils fear in everyone. Even I'm scared of Paul Hollywood's piercing blue eyes and scathing dough verdicts. It is as old as GBBO itself, so to make a stand out loaf that shows true imagination is a tough one. Lest we forget the bread lion of 2015. But enter Kim Joy. She made little cats with collars to decorate her bread cake and literally melted my heart in the process. She has also made little, profiterole turtles, decorative foxes, and a mermaid. I cannot wait to see what small creatures she decides to take with her into the final.
3Rahul Bakes To Make Friends
As an inherently nosy person, one of my favourite parts of the first weeks of GBBO is watching the recordings of the bakers at home, baking for family and friends and finding a bit more about their lives. However, Rahul’s tape really broke my heart. I firmly believed the moment the nation fell in love with him and his marvellous baking creations was when he revealed that he bakes to make friends at work. How is he this pure?
4Bryony's 'Alice In Wonderland' Pie
Her show-stopping pie won her star baker and rightly so. I feel like there are a few stand out bakes from each series and I will really remember this one. As if pastry week isn’t hellish enough, Bryony managed to create the prettiest pie I have ever seen. Whilst patisserie week saw the end of Bryony’s Great British Bake Off journey I will not be forgetting her or her pie anytime soon.
5John In Vegan Week
It shouldn’t be a laughing matter because with the introduction of vegan week saw the end of John's journey on the Great British Bake Off. However, a combination of purple potato, dry falafel in pastry, and him repeating over and over that he likes meat and couldn’t be further from a vegan made for extremely entertaining watching. It was like when you go on a date to a vegan restaurant and the person you are with acts like you have taken them to some sort of evil, meat free universe and they no longer know what food is.
6Kim Joy Not Giving Up
When they teach children about persistence and never giving up, they need to replay Kim Joy’s technical challenge in the semi-final. A strong contestant throughout, like so many other bakers Kim Joy has not kept it a secret that she hates technical challenges. And it seemed the straw that broke the camel’s back was Prue Leith’s insanely impressive Seven Veils cake. As Kim Joy’s mousse wouldn’t set and she faced making another she had a very big wobble. Shedding a couple of tears she broke the heart of the nation. However, she pulled herself together, got on with it and bagged second overall in the technical. I have never been so overjoyed about cake in my life (and that is saying something).
7Terry's Leaving Speech
Spice week ended up being a bit of a disaster for beloved Terry. He ended up leaving the competition alongside Karen. It was a sad departure but then Terry took the opportunity to say thank you to GBBO for helping him deal with the grief of losing his late wife. He said, “It’s funny when you’re on your own. My wife and I were very happy and that was a massive loss. There wasn’t anything to fill the gap for a very long time so it’s given me a focus. I’ve met some lovely people I’m sure we’ll keep in touch for a very long time. It’s been a big help and something I’ll remember for a long time. I won’t stop baking. I’m very much looking forward to more projects carried out in a bigger time frame.” Next time someone moans that GBBO is just about cakes show them the clip.
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There you have it, a full run down of the seven best moments of the Great British Bake Off 2018. There have been lots of laughs and a few tears, but I am not quite ready to let go of my Tuesday night in with tea, cake, and Ruby’s sassy commentary. It has been a truly great series and it comes to an end on Oct. 30 at 8 p.m. on Channel 4. You would be a fool to miss what is promising to be an exquisite finale.
