Monday, February 11, 2013

Next Great Baker: Final Predictions

The finale for the third season of Next Great Baker is tonight and I'm thrilled to be watching it surrounded by other fans! That's right, I'll be at a party thrown in support of finale competitor Jen, who lives in my metro area.

TLC has been advertising the finale in many ways, including on slot machines in Las Vegas (where that final episode is set) and a continuous countdown clock running in the corner of the screen during the programming last night and today. The bakers themselves have also been promoting the end of the third season in various ways... Chad is running a contest where you can win a personal cake recipe, Gretel-Ann drummed up "facebook likes" and will give away her apple-cranberry crostada with cheddar pie dough, Chris is tweeting pictures of his work as well as that of the others, and some former contestants, like Paul and Garrett, are just encouraging their followers to tune in to see who wins!

I've been thinking pretty hard about what I'd like to see in the finale. Gretel-Ann, Ashley, and Jen are all great competitors in their own ways, much like former winners Dana and Marissa. If you've been poking around the internet at how others want to see this season end, there are a staggering number of viewers who are anti-Gretel-Ann, while the supporters for Jen and Ashley have been more even, at least from what I've seen. So, without further ado, here are my thoughts and predictions...
TLC
Gretel-Ann: a 35-year-old who runs a bakery (that has some delicious-sounding cakes!) in Vermont. She's been fighting to succeed her whole life.
Person: Though I was a bit shocked at her competitive strategy and attitude, I don't think she's a bad person... at least not until we see how she handles herself in the final competition. That said, if she does win, I think TLC will take a hit, as so many viewers would claim "she won for ratings only" and then boycott any future Buddy Valastro shows.
Advantages: I like the way she thinks about the clients when she designs a cake. She keeps convincing Buddy that she deserves to be competing whenever she's close to elimination. She also handled giving her mother tasks by not assigning her anything too difficult. I think she has good ideas, though not always the best methods of execution.
Disadvantages: Multiple opponents have mentioned how difficult she can be to work with, so you have to question how heavy Buddy will weigh that. Similarly, purposely sabotaging someone is the exact opposite of everything you learn as a kid. And, Buddy has questioned her baking abilities multiple times, not even wanting a second bite of her chocolate-orange cupcakes.

Ashley: a 24-year-old former model who became intense about baking very quickly. She's a pastry chef for a country club in Louisville, in addition to running her own shoppe.
Person: She and Chad were pretty fierce for a while, but I never thought she was that over-the-top. She had some frustration when her only partner was Garrett, and she didn't seem to know how to make the most of the situation. I also admire her perseverance... she applied to be on the show each of the three rounds!
Advantages: She is always looking for more detailed work. She comes up with ideas and executes them well. She has won the past three baking challenges, plus she was on the winning team on two out of the four team baking challenges, for a total of 5/9 wins! She learned to sculpt very quickly, and she does it very well. Plus, Buddy pointed out that she and Chad were among the most skilled when it comes to baking. Many of her fellow competitors feel she could win.
Disadvantages: She's fearful of Buddy, which I consider a disadvantage because you want to be at your highest confidence for a race like this. Her ideas can be a bit odd, like the rats on the superhero cake and the monster on the sweet sixteen cake. On that note, part of me wonders if that wasn't a sly way to promote her own business, Sugar Monster Sweets.

Jen: a 32-year-old with professional culinary training, she runs a bakery specializing in custom orders (especially wedding cakes) in San Jose, CA.
Person: I noticed early in the season that she doesn't bad-mouth her opponents, and I liked that about her. She is also fair in her judgments, like she was honest about Jess being the weakest link moments after Jess was the one comforting her.
Advantages: Her piping is amazing, and everyone (including Buddy) has talked about how clean her work looks. She learned to make perfect cannolis very quickly. She has mediated between her teammates a few times, trying to make the best of every situation. The additional details she thought of for the Mothers' cake fit the theme very well and were cute without being complicated.
Disadvantages: She has pointed out that she often picks colors and designs with which Buddy doesn't agree. She has never won a solo baking challenge. She excels in working in her own environment with her own tools, and just when she's accustomed to the situation in Hoboken, they're moved to another location. She has blanked on a cake idea before, and struggled with engineering work.

Overall
: I think Gretel-Ann has had an attitude from the beginning. Even if she did win a piping challenge, I've consistently found her work (on the show and at her shoppe) to be sloppy. I think she needs the money more than anyone else. I was slow to warm-up to Ashley, but thought it was very sweet of her to share her prize with her team. She's young, she's not super tied-down, and she could probably benefit most from actually working alongside Buddy at Carlo's. With Jen, the title and accompanying publicity would probably be most helpful, as although she's more established than the other two, the Bay Area has a huge population of brides, her primary customers.

I hope that the finale is close rather than a blow-out, but I'd prefer Jen or Ashley to win over Gretel-Ann, whose behavior is not what I'd want children to emulate. Both Jen and Ashley have a great shot at winning, but when I do a side-by-side comparison of their advantages, I think Ashley has the slight edge

Who do you think will win? Vote on the right or leave a comment! And, check back tomorrow for a recap with all the details!
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15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can't stand Gretel-Ann. I get that it's a competition, but sabotaging other people is wrong. She should stand on her own merits. If she can't, she doesn't deserve to win. Jen and Ashley are the real deal. Boo Gretel-Ann. You should be ashamed of your actions!

Anonymous said...

I guess Gretel-Ann felt she couldn't win on her own. How sad she stooped that low.

Anonymous said...

Greek-Ann is not a good baker nor a good person. She should not be in the top two. She should of been eliminated way back. What is Buddy thinking??

Anonymous said...

I agree completely! The way she's been acting is completely unprofessional and just downright mean. The Next Grwat baker should be able to win with skill alone, and not have to resort to cheating.

Anonymous said...

Very unprofessional of Gretel-Ann. She will never be a winner. Disappointed that Buddy let that happen.thought this was about baking, not cheaters.

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad Ashley won!!!!

cjc said...

Gretel-Ann succeeded in showing America how back-stabbing and pathetic she is when she wants something that's clearly out of her reach. Wow. How embarrassing for her.

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad that Ashley won. I didn't want Gretel-Ann the cheater to win. Who knows if Jen would have come in 2nd if Gretel-Ann hadn't cheated.

labman57 said...

If there is any justice in the world, karma will take a bite out of Gretel Ann's ass ... and she will find her Vermont bakery being boycotted by locals who can't stomach patronizing the shop of a proud, blatant cheater.

Anonymous said...

i vote for ashely

Anonymous said...

What about integrity, Gretel Ann? How could you possibly explain your actions to your children? What do you have to say to your the woman eliminated due to your behavior? Please show some remorse.

Anonymous said...

Gretel Ann throughout the season was all tears ... She was always about herself. Not a team player. She played dirty, hurting others by sabatoging her team mates. She says it was to win but...... She cheated to get there. If she would have played the game with her heart and not her head Americaa would have had respect for her and still stopped at her bakery . She is done it will be closed in 6 months no one wants to support a cheater.

Anonymous said...

Gretel-Ann.....What a cheater!! This isn't "Survivor" where sneaky tactics are used.This is a baking competition based on skill.You showed the world that you didn't have what it takes to win based on your own merits.You basically said that you wished Buddy lots of luck working with nursery school behavior but you blatantly cheated.Now that's nursery school behavior.After what you pulled,I would have been happy with any other winner other than yourself.Your tears didn't win it for you.Your lack of talent was duly noted!

Anonymous said...

I watch the show with my daughter who wants to be a baker when she grows up. She loves Buddy and his shows. If he and TLC had allowed Gretal Ann to win, I would not have continued to let my kids watch these shows. I am very disappointed that she was not penalized or eliminated when she changed the oven temp on Jen. That was unprofessional, unforgivable - just plain horrid behaviour. She did not deserve to move on after that. The other contestants and Buddy's family should have been shown that footage before they made there remarks on the finale.

I really hope that this does not change the show for next season. TLC has some pretty trashy shows on, I hope this doesn't become one of them. I will only let my kids watch the show taped so we can fast forward through the commercials for all of the stupid show that have taken over TLC.

Anonymous said...

Gretel-Ann should have been automatically eliminated when she cheated...hiding the cookie trays & turning up Jen's oven to 400 degrees & Jen's cupcakes were ruined. She may have been able to beat Gretel-Ann by selling more if she had her cupcakes to sell. Shame on Buddy for letting this go on. I think Jen should have won the contest.