Great British Baking Show: Professionals is more than just a GBBO spinoff

Great British Baking Show isn’t what it used to be. The charismatic and outrageous hosts of the original seasons have long since passed away. Only one of the show’s original judges still remains (and it’s not the It’s good one). The show’s own popularity has cost it much of its quaintness while more and more of the challenges seemed aimed at creating viral (potentially problematic) social media content rather than compelling television.

Great British Baking Show’s saving grace has long been its contestants, whose charming normalness made the show somehow feel like anti-reality TV. It continues to melt the heart when the bakers help each other out (You’re competing! How are you getting on? But the show’s success is causing it to become a victim of itself. The show has started to feel incestuous and self-importance, instead of being quaint as it attracts more long-time viewers. The show’s popularity almost guarantees that contestants will be able to launch their own social media baking careers with just a single appearance. Even a small, wholesome baking program can be corrupted by fame (or potential fame).

Taken altogether, the show just doesn’t feel like it used to. However, I’m happy to announce that there are alternatives. The Great British Baking Show: Professionals.

Image by Netflix

This spinoff series can be streamed on Netflix and is one of the best. First, as the name suggests, this isn’t a show about hobbyist bakers (or future social media stars). This show features professional pastry chefs and bakers as contestants. They compete in two-person teams. They operate critically Actual bakeries. Don’t expect to find a precocious college-bound pastry wunderkind or an endearingly clumsy home baker among these contestants, who are all business (because for them, it already is!). Sure, that means there’s a little less drama among the contestants, but that was never what I was watching Great British Baking Show for.

Another thing that is amazing about watching true professionals bake difficult cakes is their ability to do so without any limitations. The show takes place indoors, which means there won’t be an episode where they cruelly make the contestants build chocolate sculptures in an outdoor tent in the hottest week of summer.

There’s also nothing like the technical challenge from the main series, where contestants take on a mystery recipe with intentionally vague instructions. This segment has become more ridiculous in later seasons. You won’t get the entertainingly wrong attempts at a recipe on The Pros, but at least you don’t have to watch their pitiful attempts at making tacos.

Other things that make it special The Pros so much more enjoyable is that it doesn’t share a single judge or host from the main show. However, it does feature two familiar hosts: Tom Allen and a recent host of a Great British Baking ShowHoliday special and Liam Charles who was a contestant in season 8 (aka the first after Sue Perkins and Mary Berry)

It would be too much to ask the hosts to measure up to Sue and Mel’s perfection. Frankly, hosts who aren’t annoying and/or boring would be more than enough — so it’s a real treat that Liam and Tom’s chemistry is genuinely entertaining. I’ve actually We laughed at some of their antics, none of which annoyed me to the point of wishing they’d just cut back to bakers.

The judges are a significant improvement. Instead of Paul Hollywood’s obnoxious curtness or Prue Leith’s demure, milquetoast presence, The ProsCherish Finden, and Benoit Bolin, are two of the flamboyant, passionate, captivating judges hosting this event. While the contestants overall are more buttoned-up… well… For professionalsThe judges add a lot of energy and personality to the show. Their antics, curious word choice, and sarcasm can be almost comical, but they’re also intelligent, tough judges. They have high standards. In some rounds you will be left wondering who was the team that gave them their harsh critique. Last bad.

It’s also refreshing to have a pair of judges that aren’t weighed down by multiple seasons of the show. Instead of the judging being condensed down to the cringey question of whether someone gets a Paul Hollywood Handshake®, the focus is on the bakes. You’ll often learn something about obscure pastries, intriguing flavor combinations, and what’s possible with sugar sculptures. It’s just nice to see Great British Baking ShowGet back to the best baking