The Great British Baking Show

So I know this show has been around for a number of years. I wasn’t interested in it since I assumed it was a typical baking competition, simply set in another country. While I love cooking shows and have enjoyed many a culinary contest, my initial reaction to this series was, eh, more of the same. After a close friend told me that The Great British Baking Show got her family through covid lockdown, I thought it was worth having a glance. My youngest, my 12 year old son, and I decided to give it a go and I can say with certainty that it’s the highlight of our day. I absolutely love this show and completely understand why my friend was raving about how wonderful it is. It’s so much more than a baking competition. In general, I am a big proponent of watching TV with your kids. I watched a ridiculous amount of TV growing up and learned a lot. Since I was an avid reader and a curious person from a very young age, TV did not replace other educational pursuits. With screen options totally out of control and unhealthy today, I actually feel that TV is the least offensive avenue. It’s almost old fashioned! You can have your Tik Tok, I’m happy with television, watched on a large screen, permanently mounted on a real wall. I truly delight in my kids and I sharing a viewing experience while snuggled on the couch. With modern family fragmentation due to each member having their own devices, it’s a joy just to be looking at the same darn screen. My son and I coordinate our evening schedules and so look forward to relaxing together as we listen to witty English quips and discover what today’s technical challenge will be. I have always been a huge fan of eccentric British humor, and the hosts deliver in such a delightfully, engaging way. I have found so many American cooking competitions to be so different in tone; far more competitive, psychotically high pressured, almost with the contestants to be primed for failure so that the show can have gross audience appeal. It’s definitely an interesting and disturbing comment on the different cultures. My daughter and I were once laughing about this. She pointed out that American cooking shows have names like Cutthroat Kitchen, and that Gordon Ramsey (ironically a Brit) is yelling at the contestants that they don’t deserve to live. I even saw a cooking show commercial in which if the food isn’t satisfactory, it gets thrown over some sort of weird balcony, in the hierarchy of floors/tiers in which the cooks on the lowest tier must work with shitty ingredients (why tho??). It’s actually so crazy, even sad, that even culinary entertainment has to include some bloodthirsty ingredient to engage the audience. Perhaps there are British shows like this as well, just like there are plenty of lovely, sweet American programs. But I can’t help but note the way this particular program has so beautifully constructed a competitive yet warm environment. The judges are honest with exceptionally high standards, without ever having the goal of reducing someone to tears. The contestants help each other and cheer each other on. This component never fails to move me, and my son and I always talk about this piece. What a wonderful example. Every season we’ve watched contains comradeship, sportsmanship, and touching friendship. The end of each season, after the winner is announced, gives a sweet update as to how the contestants have all kept in touch. We love this epilogue! The pastel baking tent, a sight for tired eyes, cooks up beautiful bonds in addition to baked goods. It’s truly a joy to see all these people bonding and supporting each other whilst competing. I have yet to see an iota of ugliness or unsavory behavior. Somehow this show has cooked up the perfect mix of Monty Python humor, sweetly determined home cooks giving bake off a go, Martha Stewart decor, a serene and charming country atmosphere, interesting and historical baking challenges, and judges who are really rooting for you, into an hour of genuinely entertaining television. I swear I look forward to this all day, and when my son texts me, “meet me downstairs in ten minutes, it’s biscuit week” any residue from the day melts away. It’s a win for us, finishing the day with quality TV that both excites and relaxes. With so much viewing garbage available and accessible to all ages today, I’m so appreciative to have this show to enjoy together with my child. I deeply cherish any shared interest I have with each of my children, and finding and nurturing these interests is one of my most important goals as a mother. Enjoying the present is what creates memories.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you. Be forgiving of yourselves, proud of yourselves, and celebratory of what you pour into your role as mothers.