Like many other people, I have been engaging in a fair amount of escapism in my spare time lately. The news is often very overwhelming – as are my frustrations. (Long-time readers and friends can probably guess my political opinions based on some past writing on this blog and elsewhere.) So, to avoid burnout, I distract myself.
Lately, that has been The Great British Bake Off.
Much has, of course, been written about this baking reality show and its evolution (and sometimes, missteps). Some of Bake Off fandom is intense. I am not in that category – I am a casual watcher. I like watching the baking and the personalities and the weird cakes. I get ideas for things to make. And I have watched episodes enough times that it is comfortable background material while I complete another task. Even when the show has gotten a little weird or cringey, the comfortable structure has remained.
In recent weeks, though, I have come to appreciate something else about Bake Off: the show not only does not have villains and heroes (apart from the weather on Chocolate Week), it also does not have a Moral or Big Lesson. The show is inherently ridiculous – a competition for baking! – and owns it. There are not grand story arcs or something to learn. I think this is why Bake Off is so refreshing.
A lot of our media – and a lot of our food media – centers heroes and villains, or feels a need to give a moral lesson or be rooted in a specific type of morality. We are told that this person is good, making that food makes you immoral, or see complex stories squashed into simple narratives. (Full admission: I have trafficked in this.) These of course have a time and place – but especially now, there seems to be an insistence that all media has to have some sort of didactic charge. Is that really necessary?
Sometimes, to be most effective, one needs to turn one’s brain off. And this is where, I think, the biggest lesson of Bake Off lies. Not everything needs to have a villain or a moral, and certainly not everything in food. Sometimes a cake competition should really just be that. And by letting ourselves just enjoy something, we have more time for the efforts, activism, and fights around food that actually matter.
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Relatedly, I will highlight my seven favorite bakes from across the series, incidentally all made by Star Bakers from that week. In no particular order:
- Tom’s epic Jörmungandr and Mjolnir bread sculpture in Bread Week in Series 7
- Tasha’s Japanese katsu and matcha illusion biscuits in Biscuit Week in Series 14
- Syabira’s Jack and the Beanstalk creation in Pastry Week in Series 13
- Ruby Tandoh’s Carrot Cake and Pistachio Garden Plot in Alternative Ingredients Week in Series 4 (also, you should get her book and cookbook)
- Julia’s (slightly inappropriate-appearing) “Snail Under a Mushroom” bread sculpture from Bread Week in Series 8
- Nadiya’s Chocolate Peacock in Chocolate Week in Series 6
- Crystelle’s Lily Nana’s Pickle Cottage terrine pie from Series 12 (pictured above)
If you cannot tell, I particularly like the cute bakes.
I also recommend the podcast Sticky Bun Boys, hosted by Series 10 winner David Atherton and contestant Michael Chakraverty for all sorts of fun content and Bake Off commentary.
Dear Jonathan, I just read your post on Bake Off & the two previous posts you referenced about maftoul & shakshuka. I can’t help feeling moved by your willingness (all the way back in 2016) to voice your opinions about the true origins of these dishes and to raise questions about the narratives we accept and the historical truths these narratives seek to obscure, and the cultures and people they seek to erase. This is not about the delineation of ownership over dishes or cuisines, it is a matter of honouring & respecting the rich histories they carry. Thank you.
Thanks so much!