Agreed. It's been obvious from the beginning that Paul did not like Norman. Must have made his day to see him leave.
I think it a little "odd" that in the blind technical challenge Paul was rather complementary about Norman's bake.
That said anyone who introduces Lavender into food deserves to go...my mother-in-law once had a lavender panna cotta at a restaurant once and even though I only tasted a tiny spoonful I could taste it for days. It was like I had chewed on a toilet cleaning block.
I'm really warming to Kate now, I wasn't so keen on her in the beginning.
Sad to see Martha crying, but pastry obviously isn't her bag & combined with Diana's illness & leaving the show I can understand why she didn't have a great week.
Surprised at Richard's poor showing.
Louis always makes me smile.
Chetna's showstopper sounded great!
Nancy - I can take her or leave her to be honest, but her hand-raised pies was a good idea.
Norman - sad to see him go, but it was his time. He was out of his depth. Whilst it does seem a bit unfair to criticise him on the decisions he made weeks before filming & has no power to change, I think even if he could have changed some of his bakes he still wouldn't have been able to pull off anything exotic. Plain & simple is Norman's style, and he does it very well - but plain & simple doesn't win bake off.
It seemed to me that Paul has been looking for a reason for weeks to get rid of Norman. He couldn't do anything right in Paul's eyes.
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I can see Paul's point though - if you are going to keep things simple than the execution has to be absolutely perfect. The others have been more adventurous in terms of flavour and technique, so they get points for that even if they drop them because something is over- or under-baked etc, but Norman consistently played it safe yet he made mistakes like not trimming his pastry properly, and thinking that a ton of icing sugar would do for decoration.
I think he is a solid baker, but they are looking for flair and someone who will push the envelope.
Definitely right that Norman went. I liked him but it was becoming painful to watch him as Paul & Mary ripped his bakes apart.
I think Chetna will probably go next. Nothing she has baked has made me go "wow" yet and she never really seems to get above middle-field during the judging.
I'm glad Kate won star baker although would have been happy to see Nancy get it too. Also very happy Richard stayed in; I think he has lots of potential and his bakes are the most appealing to me flavour-wise.
Too close to call a winner as yet. Chetna seems to be slightly weaker than the others but Paul raves about her flavours ( except once). Richard and Louis were front runners imo but both had wobbles last night. The right people are still in it, but it's anyone's game I think
I wonder if she is missing Diana, she said something at the start about her.
I think she was too. She's a young girl in a tent full of adults, and, at her age, they'll seem much older than they are. She said Diana was her bake-off Grannie. Plus she's also in the middle of exams. She's grown up in some respects, but still a schoolgirl in others but doing brilliantly and a few tears are understandable provided they don't happen too often.
Poor Norman, but it was his turn to go. When he quoted Robbie Burns, I immediately though of Fred McCauley on QI when he said that the poem had been translated into German for Burns Night in Germany and they then translated it back into English again. The line "Great chieftain o' the pudding race." became "Mighty Führer of the sausage people."!
The Daily Express this morning referring to "Simple" Norman was naughty. We know what they mean in terms of straightforward bakes, but wording it that way was awful.
Then we have "Martha's dressing down by Mary!" reducing her to tears! It's a shame the Press have well and truly latched onto Bake Off, as they're changing the original charm of the show into an over dramatised soap!
I sometimes wonder if the press watch the same programme as me!
There's was no scathing dressing down of martha by Mary and Paul, just an honest critique of her tart. Martha knew herself that it wasn't great, having admitted that pastry is her weak spot.
I think Martha is a lovely girl- in fact all this year's contestants are a really nice bunch and much more supportive of each other than the press would have us believe.
Interesting that the recap of the previous week's show was so cursory. I wonder if there was some last minute re-editing after last week's furore. They seemed to be playing it down after racking up the "interest" last week
Aw poor Norman, although I do think he was the weakest out of all of them last night.
Paul clearly wasn't keen on him from the start though, was he?
Well, Norman was quite consistent in serving up bakes that were very safe and unadventurous, as well as being somewhat messy at times (well, most of the time actually - the finish on his tart rim was a joke, I think that you would call it "rustic"). It was no wonder that Paul was hardly ever impressed.
Am not sure what it is as I cannot put my finger on it, but since moving over to BBC1, I am positive that Paul and Mary are becoming more and more critical and scathing of contestants work, than they used to be on BBC2.
Am glad that Norman has eventually gone out, but I do wonder how close it was between Richard and Norman.. Richard really did have a bad episode.
Think Paul has his favourites...Kate and Martha being at least two.
Norman was overdue to go. I never warmed to him, frankly and found his "my simple cooking should be good enough" attitude off-putting - he knew what was expected (something more than simple home baking) and never rose to the challenge.
Luiz is probably the obvious winner, with Richard in the running too (even though he, like Martha, doesn't seem to get on well with pastry). However, I can see Nancy stealing the competition by stealth - solid, consistent good baking.
I can see Paul's point though - if you are going to keep things simple than the execution has to be absolutely perfect. The others have been more adventurous in terms of flavour and technique, so they get points for that even if they drop them because something is over- or under-baked etc, but Norman consistently played it safe yet he made mistakes like not trimming his pastry properly, and thinking that a ton of icing sugar would do for decoration.
I think he is a solid baker, but they are looking for flair and someone who will push the envelope.
BIB^^^ That sums it up exactly!
Paul and Mary have made it clear that flavour is as important as technique and presentation - think of everything they said to Frances last year - and if Norman thinks that pesto or lemon are exotic flavours, then while he might be delivering on technique, he's clearly not delivering on flavour, and we can see for ourselves that he's not delivering on presentation either. Norman seems a nice guy but the others all have more flair in their bakes than he does.
Comments
When they perfect Smello-vision, Bake Off will top the viewing figures.
That said anyone who introduces Lavender into food deserves to go...my mother-in-law once had a lavender panna cotta at a restaurant once and even though I only tasted a tiny spoonful I could taste it for days. It was like I had chewed on a toilet cleaning block.
That is exactly what I just said.
I see it ;-)
http://www.perfectpie.co.uk/wedding-pies/
Sad to see Martha crying, but pastry obviously isn't her bag & combined with Diana's illness & leaving the show I can understand why she didn't have a great week.
Surprised at Richard's poor showing.
Louis always makes me smile.
Chetna's showstopper sounded great!
Nancy - I can take her or leave her to be honest, but her hand-raised pies was a good idea.
Norman - sad to see him go, but it was his time. He was out of his depth. Whilst it does seem a bit unfair to criticise him on the decisions he made weeks before filming & has no power to change, I think even if he could have changed some of his bakes he still wouldn't have been able to pull off anything exotic. Plain & simple is Norman's style, and he does it very well - but plain & simple doesn't win bake off.
I love her laugh
Glad Kate won star baker. I thought she deserved it last week. She's probably my favourite.
I can see Paul's point though - if you are going to keep things simple than the execution has to be absolutely perfect. The others have been more adventurous in terms of flavour and technique, so they get points for that even if they drop them because something is over- or under-baked etc, but Norman consistently played it safe yet he made mistakes like not trimming his pastry properly, and thinking that a ton of icing sugar would do for decoration.
I think he is a solid baker, but they are looking for flair and someone who will push the envelope.
Paul clearly wasn't keen on him from the start though, was he?
I think Chetna will probably go next. Nothing she has baked has made me go "wow" yet and she never really seems to get above middle-field during the judging.
I'm glad Kate won star baker although would have been happy to see Nancy get it too. Also very happy Richard stayed in; I think he has lots of potential and his bakes are the most appealing to me flavour-wise.
Poor Norman, but it was his turn to go. When he quoted Robbie Burns, I immediately though of Fred McCauley on QI when he said that the poem had been translated into German for Burns Night in Germany and they then translated it back into English again. The line "Great chieftain o' the pudding race." became "Mighty Führer of the sausage people."!
Then we have "Martha's dressing down by Mary!" reducing her to tears! It's a shame the Press have well and truly latched onto Bake Off, as they're changing the original charm of the show into an over dramatised soap!
There's was no scathing dressing down of martha by Mary and Paul, just an honest critique of her tart. Martha knew herself that it wasn't great, having admitted that pastry is her weak spot.
I think Martha is a lovely girl- in fact all this year's contestants are a really nice bunch and much more supportive of each other than the press would have us believe.
Interesting that the recap of the previous week's show was so cursory. I wonder if there was some last minute re-editing after last week's furore. They seemed to be playing it down after racking up the "interest" last week
Poach them in red wine not white, with spices and sugar and they can be a real joy.
Well, Norman was quite consistent in serving up bakes that were very safe and unadventurous, as well as being somewhat messy at times (well, most of the time actually - the finish on his tart rim was a joke, I think that you would call it "rustic"). It was no wonder that Paul was hardly ever impressed.
Am glad that Norman has eventually gone out, but I do wonder how close it was between Richard and Norman.. Richard really did have a bad episode.
Think Paul has his favourites...Kate and Martha being at least two.
I always say that those who cook with Lavender don't understand the difference between "non-toxic" and "edible".
When I ascend to not-so-benevolent dictator, using it in food will be punishable by being drowned in lavender water.
Reminds me of Tracy - Ann Oberman
Luiz is probably the obvious winner, with Richard in the running too (even though he, like Martha, doesn't seem to get on well with pastry). However, I can see Nancy stealing the competition by stealth - solid, consistent good baking.
Paul and Mary have made it clear that flavour is as important as technique and presentation - think of everything they said to Frances last year - and if Norman thinks that pesto or lemon are exotic flavours, then while he might be delivering on technique, he's clearly not delivering on flavour, and we can see for ourselves that he's not delivering on presentation either. Norman seems a nice guy but the others all have more flair in their bakes than he does.