The Great British Baking Show: The Professionals on Netflix is a hoity-toity spin-off of the beloved Great British Baking Show. Only instead of watching charming amateurs duke it out to impress Paul and Prue, we get teams of professional patisserie chefs throwing down for Benoit Blin and Cherish Finden. There’s no tent, no Noel, and no Hollywood Handshake. Does that make it a worthy successor to The Great British Baking Show??
Opening Shot: Our setting? The grounds of a luxurious British castle. Super lovable Great British Baking Show alum Liam Charles welcomes us to a new season of The Great British Baking Show: The Professionals by pointing out that he is not usual co-host Tom Allen. Singer, X-Factor contestant, and British panel show scene-stealer Stacey Solomon joins him by adding she isn’t Tom Allen either. Liam explains to her that she doesn’t have to dress like foppish Tom just because she’s replacing him this season. Stacey makes a meh joke about Tom Allen being bald before launching into a preview of this season’s competition…
The Gist: The Great British Baking Show: The Professionals, as the title suggests, is a version of the original Great British Baking Show that pits teams of professional patisserie chefs against each other in a battle to prove superiority. Unlike the original series, the teams are lumped into two “heats” of six who duke it out until the finalists face each other. The Great British Baking Show: The Professionals kicked off Season 7 with a secret challenge similar to the Technical Challenge in classic Bake Off. Then, the chefs are tasked with reimagining a treacle tart as a showpiece. Spoilers: Many showpieces collapse before they’re presented to the hyper persnickety judges.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of?: Although it’s from the same team that produced the original Great British Baking Show, The Professionals feels more like Netflix competitions The Final Table and Sugar Rush, thanks to the competitors being co-workers already comfortable with sharing impressive tasks. However, it’s slick kitchen setting will also transport you to the set of Top Chef. If not for Liam Charles, you might forget this show has anything to do with the original Great British Baking Show. (It’s maybe worth noting that in the UK, the show is simply called Bake Off: The Professionals, without an attempt to claim anything specifically British about it.)
Our Take: Look, if you’re a die-hard for this genre, you’ll probably happily burn through this show to unwind. I personally found myself bored more often than not. The stakes for this show seem non-existent. All of the contestants are already employed as pastry chefs. There’s no life-changing cash prize, nor is there an educational component for the audience. Furthermore, it’s hard to get a clear sense of many of the chefs’ personalities as they seem more focused on getting down to business than embracing a once-in-a-lifetime experience. So overall, it’s fine? A great background binge, but not your next obsession.
Sex and Skin: You wouldn’t think there would be much opportunity for sex or skin in a high-class baking competition, but married Hungarian chefs Boglarka and Krisztian present a nude fairy — nips out and all — atop their huge chocolate tree stump. When Liam politely asks Krisztian about it, wondering aloud how the chef’s wife Boglarka feels about the lady on display, Krisztian shrugs that it was her idea.
Parting Shot: The surviving chefs reflect upon their critiques and plot out strategies for their next round of competition in front of a backdrop of lit up trees. “Teamwork works,” one sagely says. Wow.
Sleeper Star: Cydrick, an incredibly rude French chef, initially rubbed me the wrong way with his throwback misogynistic joke about his wife’s brittle personality. However as the episode went on, I realized that Cydrick is just mean to everyone. The way he slams the beloved British sweet of treacle tart — “I know you had a hard time during the war, but come on.” — is so hilariously shady, especially considering the French had World War II a bit harder. You know, because they were actually occupied by Germany.
Most Pilot-y Line: It’s a toss-up between one contestant’s sarcastic, “Anyone would think these guys are professionals,” to praise a rival’s craft and Chrish’s “Perhaps you have bitten more than you can chew.” Cherish tells two chefs this after explaining that she, personally, did not care for eating their strawberry frasiers. It’s a cliche and a pun and a clunker at that!
Our Call: SKIP IT. There are far more engaging reality competition shows out there, even if we love some Stacey Solomon.