The Great British Bake Off: The Final
October 8, 2014 7:16 PM - Season 5, Episode 10 - Subscribe

It's the final... from thousands of applicants just 12 bakers made it to the tent, and now only three remain.

Having fought their way through 27 baking challenges and proved they can master every baking discipline known to man, the remaining three bakers have just one more weekend of baking to tackle.

Just three challenges lie between them and the trophy. And what a trio of challenges they are. A signature challenge that requires the mastery of a classic pastry technique that normally takes a day—in just three hours; a technical challenge that tests them beyond everything they have tackled in the previous nine weeks by requiring them to master the basics - with no recipe; and a final show-stopper challenge that demands delivery of perfect sponge, caramel, choux pastry and petit four in their final five hours in the Bake Off tent.

Each one is worthy, but who will be crowned winner of the Great British Bake Off?

Description via BBC iPlayer
posted by mumkin (13 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
OH! So lovely, and the little montage at the end, and the luck they had with that beautiful weather for the final day. Lovely. Chetna and Martha hugging each other with joy at the winner was just so great.

I paused just before the announcement and went to have lunch just to make it last a little longer, because it's such soothing happiness.
posted by viggorlijah at 10:28 PM on October 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


I had to stay off Twitter all afternoon, lest one of the bakers I follow spoilerize it. Phew! I do think justice was served, though, rewarding flavor and form combined. Two windmills seems a weird coincidence that went uncommented on. Impressive that Nancy's repairs held up to the judges' enthusiastic spinning of the blades.
posted by mumkin at 10:39 PM on October 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


Lovely. Chetna and Martha hugging each other with joy at the winner was just so great.




Yeah I loved that. A well deserved winner on reflection, I think I didn't appreciate Nancy's quiet competence enough throughout the show. Her show stopper looked terrific, she showed great basic knolwedge in the technical, so yeah. It is interesting how they judge show to show, so past week performance never comes into it. Richard had a bad weekend, and, to be honest, that windmill didn't look... very good. I think the judges held back on criticising it as much as they might because it was the final, and they knew who was going to win (although it sounds like the cake itself tasted delicious!) I still wish Chetna had been in the final though.

Its always interesting which of the previous entrants gets to say something in the final. Poor Jordan didn't get a word in
posted by Cannon Fodder at 12:14 AM on October 9, 2014


The final definitely played to Nancy's strengths -- both the technical challenge and the showstopper were more about mastery of the basics at an intimidating scale than about doing something novel. I loved her absolute unflappability through the whole series.
posted by HeroZero at 9:36 AM on October 9, 2014 [1 favorite]


I suspect they thought Jordan was a bit weird for a BBC One audience.
posted by pharm at 9:46 AM on October 9, 2014


Once Norman said Nancy was his favorite to win, I knew she had it, because: Norman knows. My one observation is that I felt the technical challenge was far more compelling than the final showstopper. All in all, a fitting finish to an excellent season.
posted by roger ackroyd at 9:50 AM on October 9, 2014


Does anyone know when the finale was actually filmed? I'm always curious about how long they have to keep the results under wraps.
posted by roger ackroyd at 9:51 AM on October 9, 2014


I believe it was filmed the weekend of June 7/8, inferred from:
  1. This Radio Times article stating that “the tent was pitched in April at Welford Park
in Berkshire for ten weeks.”
  2. This Baking Explorer post, from April 9, stating that “filming for The Great British Bake Off 2014 started this weekend.”

posted by mumkin at 1:47 PM on October 9, 2014 [1 favorite]


I was surprised that Richard crashed and burned so spectacularly after his amazing wins in previous weeks. I thought Luis might have edged it, but Nancy held her nerve and her technical bake was good. But the biggest surprise for me was learning on the Extra Slice show that Luis has a wife! My gaydar must be broken.
posted by essexjan at 2:19 PM on October 9, 2014 [1 favorite]


Oh, man....the sweet sadness that is the end of another series of the Great British Bake-Off. What a lovely, lovely show.
posted by krakus at 5:32 PM on October 9, 2014


I really thought Nancy's show stopper was strangely ugly, especially the red caramel. Oh well!
posted by minsies at 3:17 AM on October 10, 2014 [1 favorite]


Weirdly anticlimactic final round. Nancy's "shed on a pile of rocks" was a bit rubbish I thought, the coal mill was the only stand-out cake there. Was a little surprised when she won but I haven't really been following this series that closely.

I had to stay off Twitter all afternoon, lest one of the bakers I follow spoilerize it.

Speaking of spoilers, I heard the DJ on BBC Radio 2 yesterday talking about how after he gave a spoiler warning that he was about to talk about the GBBO winner, a load of people re-tuned to BBC Radio 1 at the exact point that the Radio 1 DJ was talking about the winner. Ha.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 3:58 AM on October 10, 2014


I was surprised that Richard crashed and burned so spectacularly after his amazing wins in previous weeks.

I think that was his downfall in a way....it feels like everybody has a least one off week on this show, including all the previous winners. I'm sure the editing enhances that for dramatic effect, of course, but the beauty of Bake Off is that when someone bollixs something up it's usually pretty clear on screen as well. Richard sailed through pretty much clear, it seemed like, only to have his struggle week in the final.

I was pleased Nancy won. She was my early favorite, though she faded a bit for me --- she had a couple weeks where she was pretty middle-of-the-road, performance-wise, while still being quite cheeky and cocky in her attitude. But experience tells. In the end the show does aim to crown the best all-round baker, the one with the deepest knowledge of technique -- you can't get through those technicals without it --- and i think she did have the edge there over the other two.
posted by Diablevert at 5:14 PM on October 13, 2014


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