As Gav Reads put it on Twitter, the Great Britsh Bake Off Quarter Final was “a mix of laughter, tears and mouthwatering food!” But what did fans make of the close decision to axe Yasmin ahead of Holly and award the Star Baker to Jo?
Lauren_the_spy summed up the consensus, tweeting: “The right person left #bbcbakeoff i think, Holly overall is just that bit better. Jo definitely deserves Star Baker!” Over on Facebook, Zoe Paraskeva wrote that she “felt for Yasmin but it was the fair way”, while Sarah Thompson gushed: “Jo deserved Star baker, she comes across so well on TV . Down to earth and so sweet, I would love her to win.”
There was also significant support for the other bakers, as summed up by Helen Strong’s post: “Jo was good, but I absolutely LOVE watching Janet bunging it together and pulling it off!! Hilarious!! Mary Anne always impresses with her flavour combos.”
The incident packed Quarter Final caused plenty of amusing comments along the way too. Responding to the revelation that Holly left cheesecakes for Santa rather than the traditional mince pies, Ellie Mcsheedy quipped: “We left beer + cheese, Santa was “fed up” of sherry”. Carolyn Macintosh claimed that “bananas and tequila” are the way to satisfy Father Christmas’s cravings, although Sheila Lucas astutely pointed out: “You can’t leave alcohol as he may be caught driving on the limit and then what would happen…”
Poor Yasmin’s unfortunate encounter with hot caramel left her with burnt fingers – and plenty of sympathy online. Ryan Nelson couldn’t resist making a joke to lighten proceedings, suggesting that “Yasmin will now be using plasters to stick her profiteroles together”.
Those croquembouche efforts from the ladies were widely admired, although the prospect of making one yourself is daunting to say the least. As Rondika tweeted: “Am still in awe of the ladies’ ‘croquembouche’ achievements last night. I can’t even say it let alone make it!” Perhaps Stef Dietrich’s idea could come in handy, as she thinks “Janet should produce a book of wise words to say to yourself whilst baking!”
The tension in the air, both on the show and amidst the online fans, was succinctly conveyed by Taj Shaban’s comment that “watching the ladies bake is giving me palpitations. Guess this is how people feel whilst watching the world cup final…”
Well Taj, there’s not long to go until someone smashes the decisive winner into the back of the oven. Just the small matter of the impending Semi Final first though…
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