2015 GBBO mini blog. The Final

And the winner is: Nadiya! Yay!!!! Well t'was only right - anyone else and I fear there'd have been a social media riot which would have blown the #bincident out of the water. So well done lovely Nadiya, with her brilliant baking, gorgeous kiddies and, most important of all, her infinite range of incredulous facial expressions. 

Am sure that was a tear in Mary's crinkly eye...

Final highlight #1: Yes yes, they baked some stuff, but the best bit was the photos from home. Baby Tamal was unspeakably cute, but Ian's kids sitting in pans on an Aga whilst he brandished a giant knife and pitchfork... Amazing middle-class comedy work. (BTW comedy photos is the whole point of having children.) Clearly there's a reason he's the Dalai Lama's personal snapper.

Final highlight #2: The revelation that Ian keeps a journal. 

Final highlight #3: Tamal calling Nadiya "little chum".

That's yer lot: I had to watch the final on silent with the subtitles due to a sleeping baby it was unwise to move. I'll be honest, it wasn't the same without the dramz music, but when the winner was announced I, like the nation, was totes emosh. It's been a lovely series - Great British Stuff. *contented sigh* And as ever, we go from a dozen lovely, talented, intelligent, kind and generous people to the polar opposite...

Next week: The Apprentice is back...

www.cadprentice.blogspot.com

2015 GBBO mini blog. The Semi-final

Bye bye: Flora, for overdecorating AGAIN, this time with duff macaroons, and not masking the taste of raising agent - heaven forbid! I'm not sure I ever got over the head girlness, but she's 19, remember. 19!!!!!!!!!! At 19, my main culinary achievement was ordering chips, cheese and mayo from Hassan's kebab van.

Lucky escape: Ian. But it was right that he stay - that chocolate well was chocolate well amazing. I'm sure I spotted a Mary eye-twinkle. I think Paul purposefully snapped the handle in all-out envy. 

Ma Baker: Nadiya was so delighted to get the handshake she received it double-handed. It was a rollercoaster week for our Nads though - when she teared up after the technical, I wanted to hug her through my telly. Surely she's the favourite to win, not least for the line "Why have I never made a soufflé before? Oh yeah, cause it's a TOTAL PAIN IN THE ABSOLUTE ARSE!" (I paraphrase.)

THE TENSION: That staggered technical challenge sent them into such a panic! It was awesome. Ian looked like he couldn't even remember what a wooden spoon was. Nadiya decided it was worse than childbirth. (We're nearly four months into parenthood - I can *almost* take such comments.) 

Face-watch: It was Mel who had the cartoon face action this week. She kept lurking behind the bakers looking really worried and not knowing what to say. Poor Mel. You know it's tense when even Mel'n'Sue don't have the bawdy jokes on tap. Though Sue was mainly busy stuffing chocolate. 

Next week: The Final. And no preview reel... Tamal and Ian are both so sweet, but this year I have a firm, firm favourite: #GoTeamNadiya.