1 week Ago
Get ready, bakers! “The Great American Baking Show” is back for another season on The Roku Channel.Hosted by Casey Wilson and Zach Cherry, Like in past seasons and on the show’s British counterpart, celebrity chef Paul Hollywood and famed restaurateur Prue Leith are returning as judges.Leith told amNewYork that initially when “The Great British Bake Off” was brought to America, she had her reservations having seen how competitive American cooking and baking competition shows can get.
“I had watched a few American competition shows, and in most shows, the competitors are competing for a large sum of money, so they become extremely competitive and they're very inclined to diss their fellow competitors to sabotage them if they can, to be extremely rude and cutthroat and horrible,” said Leith. “You feel that the producers are actually girding them on to be as horrible as they can because maybe that makes good television. I thought, oh my God, no, I don't want to judge a lot of Americans because that'll be like that.
And of course, I was completely wrong.”[caption id="attachment_137755955" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood inspect a bake.Photo courtesy of The Roku Channel[/caption]Leith noted that those who have competed in past seasons of “The Great American Baking Show” know what the vibes are show are and fit in amazingly well.
“First and foremost, we're looking for great bakers, but we're also looking for people who will fit into the show, who will enjoy it and you are not going to be horrible. You can't always tell that, but I think because all those bakers have probably watched ‘The Great British Bake Off’ for years, and they know the vibe, they know what it's like, and that's one of the reasons they want to be in that tent,” said Leith. Like in previous seasons, the competitors will join Leith, Hollywood, Cherry and Wilson under the tent and execute a series of baking challenges, ranging from cakes to breads and other sweet treats.
As a judge, Leith keeps her expectations high, but simple: make a delicious cake.“I want it to look amazing, I want it to taste fantastic, and I want the texture to be right. Often the texture is what trips them up.
You don't want a stodgy cake, it has to be whatever it's meant to be,” said Leith. “If you're doing a chocolate chip cookie and it wasn't gooey in the middle, it might taste great, it might look great, but it's not right.”[caption id="attachment_137755957" align="alignnone" width="1200"] This season's competitors on "The Great American Baking Show.
"Photo courtesy of The Roku Channel[/caption]This season, Leith says that this season is full of incredible bakes from some insanely talented contestants.“If you've watched all of [the seasons], I honestly think you'll agree with me that this has been the best bunch we've ever had. They're such good bakers, you know, you really think they were professionals and very good professionals at that, especially on the decoration side,” said Leith.
“I think you'll be astonished at how good they are and Also I think you'll find that the bakers this year, there's such a happy mix of completely different sort of people.”“The Great American Baking Show” streams free on The Roku Channel on April 11..
