With The Great British Bake Off entering its final week on November 24th, it's time to look back and reflect on all those who got the prestigious Star Baker throughout the competition, as well as those who struggled, and top it off with a bit of discussion about who could win!
For those of you who've been living under a rock...
If you didn't already know, The Great British Bake Off (GBBO) is a baking show, in which a number of home bakers try their luck in weeks upon weeks of baking and cooking challenges!
The show has been running since 2010, with 11 seasons under its belt. But in recent years, a few things have changed…
From the very beginning, Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry had been judging the show along with Mel and Sue, who served as added comedy and hosts around the Bake Off tent.
However, when the show switched to Channel 4 in 2016, Mary, Mel, and Sue decided to leave. Prue Leith has superseded Mary Berry in the judging department, and Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig were the new comedy duo needed for time calls and general chaos.
Toksvig left in 2019 however, and Little Britain co-creator Matt Lucas took her place. 2020’s Bake Off is his first time on the show - and he's doing brilliantly!
How have the final three done?
Going into the final of the GBBO, are Peter Sawkins, 20; Dave Friday, 30; and finally Laura Adlington, 31.
Each week, the bakers have been faced with three challenges: a signature round; a technical challenge in which the bakers don’t get to practice or know what they’re baking; and finally a showstopper round.
Following the conclusion of each week's challenges, one baker leaves the tent and one receives the accolade of Star Baker, to say they’ve done exceptionally well that week. Each of those are chosen by judges Paul and Prue.
Dave has taken home Star Baker once in week two – biscuit week. The showstopper challenge was to create a table setting entirely from biscuits, and Dave did more than impress with his ‘waiting for tacos’ place setting. With beautiful designs and tasty cutlery, he smashed it out of the park.
Laura has also won Star Baker once in week five – pastry week.
The showstopper challenge in that week was to create a hidden tart, with a beautiful pastry cage over the top of it. Laura wowed the judged with her stunning key lime pie caged tart.
For Peter, his first Star Baker week was the very first week – cake week. The showstopper was loved by the judges as it was a simple yet stunning picture of cake. It resembled his cycling hero, Sir Chris Hoy.
Peter also won Star Baker in the latest episode of the show, week nine – patisserie week. His showstopper was again brilliant, making three types of tiny square cake, each with different mousses and mirror glazes.
Everyone thought Hermine would take the cake this week, but after a disastrous showstopper she left the competition.
How good are the final three?
Laura
All remaining bakers have done very well up to now, however, with much love for Laura, it seems she now may be going off the rails.
For the past few weeks, Laura has been reduced to tears mainly regarding her showstopper challenges. She has cried numerous times and had to be consoled by the co-hosts, usually Matt Lucas who tries to cheer her up with a joke or two – it seems to work for the audience but not always for Laura.
While she does try her best and always serves something up in the end, she doesn’t seem the most likely winning candidate. With her nearly always crying, her bench is usually a massive mess, very noticeable in the most recent episode with chocolate dripping over and off of the table!
While her bakes nearly always taste wonderful, the process to get there is full of tears, freak-outs, and results in a very messy final product. Still, we have seen winners of Bake Off past in similar situations go on to smash their final week and take the prize!
Dave
Dave has been a rather dark horse throughout this season, doing well every week and coasting his way through. His bakes pretty much always taste brilliant, and look lovely – but only lovely enough to win him Star Baker just the once.
Dave usually remains cool as a cucumber while baking, studying his instructions or being cautious around the technical challenge.
In the most recent episode, Dave wowed with his trio of tiny cakes of dark, milk and white chocolate; he even made the stands for the cakes out of biscuit, too!
Peter
The youngest contestant remaining, 20-year-old Peter has hardly ever faltered during his baking journey. He has impressed every single week and done brilliantly in at least one of the three challenges, usually doing even better in the other two!
He has won Star Baker twice, making him the only baker to do so out of the bakers that remain, and after patisserie week where he served his trio of cakes, each flavoured with two different mousses, a cake layer, and different mirror glazes and toppings, it's no wonder he won Star Baker once again.
Peter’s level of calm and genuine confidence within himself is what seems to have got him right to the finals, and his talent and modesty regarding his bakes is another reason why he’s a two-time Star Baker recipient.
So, who could win?
Based on the last few weeks alone, it seems to be a tight race between Peter and David.
While Laura is a brilliant baker, the stress of nearing the final seems to have gotten under her skin and she cannot seem to cope under the looming pressure.
Many people are annoyed with Hermine’s departure just before the final, as she had done so very well up until her trio of cakes. She showed keen knowledge and passion for baking and it is a massive shame she is not in the final with Peter and David.
Peter would be the clear choice however, for the winner of 2020’s Bake Off. He is knowledgeable, fun, bubbly, and loves what he does.
While David has made a few menial mistakes, Peter seems to have made hardly any leading up to the final and it would be wonderful, and well-deserved, if he was crowned the winner.
Written by Melissa, who you can follow on Twitter @melissajournal
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