On your marks, get set, bake! This week, in light of the upcoming Bake Off final, Holly and Hilary break down the beloved baking competition. They take a closer look behind the scenes and discuss how the show was filmed during the Covid19 pandemic. They also explore why food shows are appealing in general, class identity, gender and how Bake Off constructs a British utopia AND they each determine which contestant will be this year’s winner.

Works Cited: 

Baxter-Wright, Dusty. “This is what it's ACTUALLY like to go on the Great British Bake Off”: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/entertainment/a46380/great-british-bake-off-tent-things-you-didnt-know/?utm_campaign=cosmo-2020-tradetracker&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=tradetracker&utm_term=137180

Bradley, Peri. "More Cake Please—We’re British! Locating British Identity in Contemporary TV Food Texts, The Great British Bake Off and Come Dine With Me." Food, Media and Contemporary Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2016. 9-26.

Casey, Emma. "From Cookery in Colour to The Great British Bake Off: Shifting gendered accounts of home-baking and domesticity." European Journal of Cultural Studies 22.5-6 (2019): 579-594.

Chan, Andrew. "‘‘La grande bouffe’’ Cooking Shows as Pornography." Gastronomica 3.4 (2003): 46-53.

Dobbs, Sarah. “15 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets of The Great British Bake Off”: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/90944/facts-about-the-great-british-baking-show-bake-off-gbbo#:~:text=The%20illustrations%20are%20created%20by,after%20the%20episode%20has%20filmed.&text=Even%20if%20a%20bake%20goes,to%20make%20them%20look%20good.%E2%80%9D

Gotllieb, Meryl. “‘The Great British Bake Off’ is the best food show on Tv”: https://www.insider.com/the-great-british-bake-off-filming-2016-8

Westbrook, Caroline. “Why do the contestants on Bake Off wear the same clothes for the whole of each episode? https://metro.co.uk/2020/10/20/why-do-the-contestants-on-bake-off-wear-the-same-clothes-for-the-whole-of-each-episode-13451357/