Host hopes baking show will rise to the occasion

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This article was published 01/11/2017 (3204 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There are only 30 seconds left until a show-stopping bake must be completed. Shaky hands place the last piece of sugar work on top of a collapsing structure and viewers hold their breath as the creation continues to sink, along with the baker’s hopes of taking top prize.

But as the baker laments the disastrous dessert, her fellow competitors comfort her with words of encouragement instead of revelling in her misfortune.

The kindness is refreshing and charming; it’s the crux of what has turned The Great British Bake Off into a cultural phenomenon.

Now, CBC is hoping to bring that warm-and-fuzzy vibe to Canada with its version of the series, The Great Canadian Baking Show, which debuts tonight.

“It falls a ways from the traditional reality TV baking or cooking show, in that the competition is really between the bakers and their particular bake on the day.

“It’s them against the cupcake, them against the unwieldy pie or the over-ambitious architectural structure they’ve designed out of meringue. It’s really them against the bake and not against each other,” says actor Julia Chan, who, along with Schitt’s Creek star Dan Levy, hosts The Canadian Baking Show.

The Canadian series uses the same format as the massively successful British version (now eight seasons in, it’s one of the most-watched shows currently on U.K. television, with the 2016 season bringing in more than 16 million viewers) — a batch of 10 home bakers from across the country arrive to the almost-iconic white tent equipped with fully stocked work stations to create three themed bakes, kicking things off with cake week tonight.

Each episode is divided into three sections: the signature bake, a traditional recipe on which the bakers put a personal twist; the technical bake, in which a difficult recipe is given to the bakers to complete but key instructions have been removed; and the showstopper challenge, a large showpiece that fits into the week’s theme.

At the end of each bake, the creations are tasted by two judges (pastry chefs Bruno Feldeisen and Rochelle Adonis on the Canadian series) and at the end of each episode, the best contestant of the bunch is awarded the much-coveted prize of star baker, while the weakest is sent home.

There are tears, there are hugs and there are many pats on the back. It’s the most wholesome television you can imagine and it’s wonderful.

“This show feels like a hug. If done well, it should feel like a warm hug,” says Chan with a laugh, admitting she does get a bit verklempt when saying goodbye to the eliminated bakers.

This season’s crop of 10 were chosen from thousands of applicants and includes a contractor from Halifax, a retired animator from Victoria and a payroll supervisor from High River, Alta., who goes through more than three pounds of butter a week.

Chan, a bake-off fan best known for her work on the CTV series Saving Hope, has never acted as a host before and felt some trepidation following in the footsteps of such a successful series, but says there was never any desire to make a carbon copy of the British show. The music is the same, the tent is similar (if a bit fancier) and it follows the tried-and-true format, but she’s hoping The Great Canadian Baking Show is able to carve out its own space.

“Dan and I really came to it wanting to make it our own… so I think just being as authentic and, most of all, being as supportive as we could for the bakers, was the most important thing.

“We didn’t want to recreate the British show — we’re Canadian, it’s a different vibe and we wanted to make our own show,” she says.

“I’m really excited for people to see it.”

erin.lebar@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @NireRabel