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A real game of two halves this season – the format whittles down 2 cohorts before bringing them together for a further winnowing, and I’ve never seen such an outrageously talented group in one half, and then a more “survival of the least lame” in the second. A couple of people toppled when you knew…
The bespectacled ogre and his scrotum-faced keeper drag another batch of hopefuls through the repetitive competitive kitchen-based challenge, this year spicing things up by bringing back a busload of near-misses from last season. Was that for variety, or because there weren’t enough entrants? At any rate, this time next year I’ll probably still be struggling…
The great marathon of high-end culinary art returns – proving once again that the standard of cooking in some parts of the country is far, far higher than others. Although that dubious regionality still shines through. This year’s crop were a fine mismatched gaggle of misfits, with the finals being contested by a sweary posher,…
We signed on for the high-end culinary ultra-marathon that is Great British Menu, and once again were astonished at the variance in quality levels and kitchen skill between the different regions. Also baffling was the way in which contestants were pegged to a region – you were born in Yorkshire but you work in London,…
My favourite cooking show. Judged by my favourite chef. What’s not to love? The skills tests this year were pretty brutal, and the departure of Monica Galletti was ably covered by Anna Haugh, who’s forged a formidable place for herself in the lineup. This year’s contestants all seemed pretty green (although notable to see how…
Lots of the design ideas were interesting and that ALMOST got me to see past the infuriating elements of the show (for example, who the hell refurbishes a shop in 2 days with a budget of £3k?!). Overwhelmingly though I just found myself increasingly grinding my teeth about all the campness. Is it REALLY necessary? …
The best way to consume this, I think, is to have it on in the background & dip in and out periodically – otherwise you’d lose your mind. Notionally interesting due to the regional heats/finals nature of the contest, the show promises that everyone’s in with an even chance. But some groups are clearly in…
Possibly the most appealing aspect of this cooking competition programme is that everybody in it is competent. The field of entries for “The Professionals” has clearly been sifted thoroughly before we get to the first round – and though the odd one slips through that totally bodges up their first round cook it TENDS to…
I normally can’t be arsed with any kind of “reality TV”, because people are knobs (this is based on years of attempts to see wtf people saw in Big Brother, and failing to get it)… but this one seemed different on 2 counts: the contestants are all professional chefs, and secondly – one of the…
It’s plausible that I’ve seen more than just Season 11 of GBBO this year – Liz has undergone rather a deep dive on the franchise, following my presenting her with a Kitchen Aid last Christmas… so I suppose I’ve been in the room for a fair chunk of it. But I’d say Season 11 is…