Season Finale: Next Great Baker

There's a lot to recap so I'm going to keep my initial remarks minimal. First, if you follow us on Twitter, you know that we live-tweeted during the Eastern Time viewing while watching at a party in support of Jen (though if you read my final predictions post, you'll note I was pro-Ashley). It was a good time, though there was a bit of an exodus when Jen was eliminated so early. Take a look for yourself:

Jonathan Bredemeyer

Now, a couple quick things and we'll get going. Allow me to address a question I saw go across twitter quite a bit... Jen, a Mormon (I've confirmed this since it first was questioned), was able to play blackjack without compromising her beliefs because there was no actual gambling involved. Without betting, it's just a card game, no more "sinful" than old maid or go fish. Next, I was caught off-guard that Gretel-Ann's voice was rather hoarse in the finale... was I the only one to notice? And, finally, I thought it was intriguing that Gretel-Ann had such a low percentage of the "twitter votes" that Buddy was addressing on most commercial breaks. Even after Jen was gone, she still managed to have a much larger proportion of the votes than Gretel-Ann! Similarly, our voters hardly rooted for Gretel-Ann, slightly preferring Jen to Ashley.

Cake Boss: Next Great Baker "Road to the Finale" (S03E11): The whole cast met up in Vegas, which was a surprise for the three finalists, Gretel-Ann, Ashley, and Jen. [it was really cute to see the reactions of the final three when they saw everyone else.] The group talked about how they were nervous and uncharacteristic in the first episode. [Gretel-Ann says that the FIRST episode is not how she wants her customers or children to see her. that's fine, but I question that she's upset about that episode and not the ones where she sabotages others!] We learn that Ashley has been decorating for almost five years, and that if it wasn't for the opportunity to compete on this show, Gretel-Ann probably would have closed her bakery. [so... she WASN'T going to "continue to fight" ?? kinda contradictory. also, loved that Peter was really a fan-favorite and not just one of my favorites. He definitely had some makeup on this time, though!]

The group then discussed the various "curve balls" that were thrown throughout the competition, like Ashley having to "work with anyone" meaning Paul's team, the deadline changing with the superhero cake, the brides changing their minds mid-cake, having to re-make destroyed cakes, and having to pipe in a freezer.

Then, we see more behind-the-scenes thoughts. We learn that if James hadn't dropped out, it would have been Jen going home that round. [Speaking of James, the surgery went well and he's recovering.] Letty never thought Jen would make it to the end, and Buddy sees her as a cake decorator, not a baker. Buddy says that the cast really considers Paul to be the villain, as he rubbed people the wrong way and stepped on everyone's toes, but Buddy felt Paul was just misunderstood. Paul, however, saw Ashley as his nemesis, noting that "she's Skeletor; I'm He-Man." [haha, 80s!] Ashley thought Chad would be in the finale, and many thought he would be the baker to beat. [myself included!] Buddy even noted that Gretel-Ann was "always playing all the angles," though Jen found her "more cutthroat than I realized," and Ashley "never trusted" her. 

Cake Boss: Next Great Baker "Vegas Baby!" (S03E12): We start right off with The Baker's Challenge, where the contenders have eight hours to make at least 10 cake, 10 pies, 400 cookies, and 100 pastries. They'll sell them in St. Mark's Square, and the baker who sells the least is done right then and there. But, the girls get to choose their teams first, so a quick hand of blackjack decides the drafting order. Jen gets an 18 but asks for another card because Ashley is showing 20. She busts, as does Gretel-Ann, but Jen's bust was worst so she goes last. Ashley and Gretel-Ann are more worried about their salespeople, so they both choose those first, with Ashley selecting Mary and Gretel-Ann choosing Madeline. Jen goes with a baker, Joey, and Ashley then chooses Danny. [like Jen, I was surprised that Joey wasn't snatched early!] Gretel-Ann gets the remaining Anthony and Jen takes the remaining Grace. Ashley winds up envying Jen's team, but then it turns out that there are more members coming! [I know that Joey and Grace are awesome but I wondered if having a couple on a team would cause any concerns in a stressful competition like this.] Some of the former contestants from this season are available, but rather than draft for yourself, you pick someone and send them elsewhere on your turn. So, Ashley sends Paul to Gretel-Ann, Gretel-Ann sends Garrett to Jen, Jen sends Melissa to Gretel-Ann, Ashley sends Emme to Jen, and Peter and Letty join Ashley. [I thought this "round" was intriguing... nobody was "sent" to Ashley!]

Jen chooses to make amaretto italian cream cake, caramel apple pie, cranberry-orange scones and cream puffs as pastries, and chocolate chip, molasses, peanut butter, and whoopie pie cookies. Ashley goes with black forest fudge cake, chess pie, lemon raspberry tarts and profiteroles for pastries, and applesauce spice, chocolate chip, peanut butter chip, and oatmeal cookies. Gretel-Ann's plan includes chocolate dulce delight cake, chocolate pecan pie, eclairs and lemon bars as pastries, and no-bake, thumbprint, whoopie pie, and rugelach cookies. BUT, the baking is not as simple as that. Throughout those eight hours, Gretel-Ann hid sheet pans (calling it "being creative" rather than cheating) and raised the temperature on Jen and Ashley's ovens from 350 to 425. [hiding pans could be stretched into a creative advantage if it had to. changing oven temperatures is just sabotage. I wasn't thrilled that Buddy "liked Gretel-Ann's drive" in her "sneaky" maneuvers.] Jen believes that she didn't notice the temperature when she started baking. [I've been worrying about her naivete for weeks!] Gretel-Ann believes that Jen knows she had to do what she had to do. [...what do you say to this?!?]

On to the selling! Jen was hoping that this would be her chance to prove that she is more than just a cake decorator, and Ashley was initially afraid that she doesn't have as much to sell as the other two. [quick rundown - customers pay with tickets, and cookies/pastries are 2 tickets each, whole pies/cakes are 10 tickets each. I loved that the "street performers" bought items, too! and, if you saw the tweet, I wondered how much placement would affect this - Jen was in the middle, but the first customers came from the side where Ashley was.] In the end, Ashley was ahead by several hundred tickets, and Gretel-Ann beat Jen by 24 tickets. [just a dozen cookies!] Jen takes her "little ride" on a gondola instead of in a van.

[side note, I can now say I've had Jen's baked goods and they're delicious. Her bakery had an open house after the viewing party and between my husband and I we tried the red velvet cupcake, the chocolate cupcake, the chocolate chip cookie, and the filled sandwich cookie. the red velvet was truly amazing!]

Jonathan Bredemeyer

Onward to The Elimination Challenge, which starts at 2am when Buddy takes Gretel-Ann and Ashley on a limo ride to a wedding chapel. Then, they get in a pink convertible with an Elvis impersonator and some showgirls. They toast with champagne, dance, and then get right back to the kitchen to show off their inspiration. The task? Take eight hours to create a Las Vegas showstopper cake. Go big, go personal, or go home. [half an hour is a long time to plan!] Buddy's mother and Joey Fatone will be the guest judges. But, before they get to work, they select helpers from the other former contestants, plus some Carlo's Bakery veterans. Ashley picks Ralph, Gretel-Ann goes Mauro, Ashley chooses Frankie, Gretel-Ann selects Tyne, Ashley wants Chad, Gretel-Ann grabs Chris, Ashley takes Jess, and James joins Gretel-Ann. 

Ashley wants her cake to be obnoxiously glittery, have lots of color, utilize some sparkler pyro, and feature herself as Elvis on top playing a whisk as a guitar. [see, things like this are why I love Chad and his ideas!] Chad stacks and fills, Jess makes money, cards, and poker chips, and Ralph models Ashley, even taking a few minutes to study her body. The cake is very clean, her figurine is great, and the masterpiece shouts "Vegas!" But, her "story" isn't really present on the cake. [good point.]  

http://tlc.howstuffworks.com

Gretel-Ann wants lots of different elements, including the Venetian, a gondola, sparklers, and the desert. She talks about how Ashley doesn't have as much riding on this and therefore she deserves it more than her foe. [let's look at this quote really quickly... "it's okay for me to fight for what I want" is what Buddy "taught her." yes, but not to the extent she takes it!] The cake clearly depicts how long the road to Vegas has been for her, but the overall look is sloppy. [She misspelled VenEtian! I'm so glad Buddy caught it, too. Gretel-Ann seemed to know and not really care about the error. The exact opposite of how Ashley reacted after wanted to spell "Las" Vegas as "Los" Vegas!] 

http://tlc.howstuffworks.com

[at this point I was wondering how the show would use thirty minutes to judge, but it started to come together.] Buddy has all of the former opponents vote, which worries Gretel-Ann as she "didn't make friends." [hahahaha!] But, before everyone shows their allegiances, a few bakers ask questions. Letty asks Gretel-Ann if she's learned how to effectively communicate with others and be a true team player, to which Gretel-Ann says that she knows she needs to be more open to personalities with which she struggles, as she panicked in the early episodes because she was intimidated. [reasonable response.] Paul asks Ashley how a 25-year-old has the life experience to become "the next great baker." Ashley disrespects Paul, saying he's arrogant and that he doesn't know her, not even really answering the question. [I have the opposite view on this from Paul, actually. I think that someone on the younger end of the workforce has a better shot at becoming the NEXT great baker... sure, you can pick up hobbies in your nineties, but if you're going to follow someone specific, being younger than them won't hurt. on that note, Buddy is 35...] Well, Emme, Paul, Jen, and Chad go Gretel-Ann, but everyone else goes with Ashley. Chad was originally going to vote for Ashley before hearing Gretel-Ann speak. [interesting.] Jen says that there was more passion from Gretel-Ann.

Then, Buddy's family weighs in. They mostly want Gretel-Ann, as Ashley's outburst bothers Joey and Buddy's mother, and Madeline thinks Gretel-Ann has "a kindness about her." [I was seriously surprised to hear this. I sat there for a minute trying to figure out where it came from...] The contenders have one final chance to speak for themselves, and while Gretel-Ann hashes out the same "I've been fighting for this my whole life and I've sacrificed so much" spiel, Ashley explains that she's been in love with baking and decorating and changed her life to do it. Plus, she's not ashamed of who she is. Buddy says that both girls deserve it, but Ashley made the better cake and wins. [really? because Buddy said Gretel-Ann was the underdog...] Gretel-Ann is shocked that "a child" won, though she still hugs Ashley in congratulations. [that daycare comment was childish!]

Let me end with a couple thoughts from the commercial breaks - I found it interesting that Grace wanted Jen to make it to the final two. And, Buddy surprising Ashley with a cake in the face was hilarious! much better than the onslaught of frosting that came her way on her first day at Carlo's!

Well, what did you think? How would you defend Gretel-Ann's actions? Who would you have chosen for your team? Do you think Ashley will fit in well at Carlo's?