★★★★★ 0/5

Keep calm and eat cake

Anna Gare says The Great Australian Bakeoff is less intense than Masterchef -but watch out for Kerry Vincent.

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2013-07-08_1649Anna Gare is very happy, thank you, to be in a Host role on Nine’s Great Australian Bakeoff rather than Judge.

That’s a task left to the expert Kerry Vincent and baker Dan Lepard.

Vincent’s reputation has seen her dubbed “the Simon Cowell of cake,” and Gare admits she doesn’t hold back in her critiques.

“She is a fabulous character. What you see is Kerry. She is very particular but honest. She’ll tell you if it tastes like mush or if it’s brilliant. If she does give a negative she always explains what they could have done better –and not just a small explanation, a very detailed one. She’s like the headmistress, but I think the bakers really respect her too. They’re scared of her but they respect her because she doesn’t bullshit,” Gare explains.

“Then Dan comes in and he has a beautiful, passionate take on food and he really knows his stuff. So the bakers are all standing there taking in as much information as they can.

“They’ve never worked together before but their point of difference makes for great entertainment.”

In the less confronting role of host, Gare is joined by actor Shane Jacobson.

“Even though they want us to be ourselves there is a bit of scripted stuff so it’s really nice working alongside someone like Shane who’s had a lot of experience in acting and scripts. He’s given me great tips,” she says.

“I’m just hosting which is so relaxing. So I’m with the contestants, in their corner, tasting their food and hopefully making them feel more comfortable in the set situation. These guys bake at home all the time but put somebody on a set with cameras and lights and it really does change the recipe.

“The focus in this show is on the food. There are voice-overs at home describing methods. Kerry and Dan do a wonderful job of giving a very detailed description of what they’re looking for in a dish.

“It’s also about the bakers of course, but it’s not just focusing on the drama, which is a nice thing, I think.”

Gare is well-versed on TV cooking shows, having started out behind the scenes for Ian Parmenter’s Consuming Passions, then appearing on local lifestyle shows for Channel Seven in Perth, the LifeStyle channel’s Quickies in my Kitchen and The Best in Australia, plus two seasons of Junior MasterChef.

“MasterChef is definitely a more intense setting. It feels like a real competition. This has a lovely, lighter approach. The bakers are all friends and they’re all there for the love of baking,” she insists.

“Having said that, some of the Showstoppers that we require them to do are huge. We have big expectations and along with the disasters does come the drama. We’ve seen lots of cakes rise and sink and one actually fell the other day and that was a moment.

“Shane and I ran in to try and save the day. I won’t tell you the end result but it was saved by Shane’s humour.

“In moments that become completely disastrous, it’s always better if you laugh.”

Bakeoff is based on the UK series The Great British Bakeoff and comprises three rounds of cooking from its contestants. There’s the Signature dish, where each contestant can create their best based on the week’s theme. A Technical bake sees them given a recipe and ingredients but with a  few details missing and the Showstopper is a demanding challenge that get harder with every week.

“Bakers are a certain type of people that I really get. They’re food maniacs. They love to feed, they love to bake, it’s all about humble, home cooking,” says Gare.

“I’m standing there working, but I’m really enjoying the show along the way. It’s really good entertainment.”

The Great Australian Bakeoff airs 8pm Tuesdays on Nine.

19 Responses

  1. It started at 8.00 in the eastern States – I don’t know how these schedules are arranged in states with different time zones.

    I quite enjoyed it, nothing special, I don’t know how those judges shoved cake after cake into their mouths, even if it’s only a little bit. Kerry Vincent was terrific, only the wee-ist bit ascerbic. You can’t have a show like this totally filled with sugar and froth. And I agree, Shane Jacobsen was surplus to requirements.

  2. I only stumbled on it last night also because after all the promos I stopped listening. That said I thought it was really good, it was easy TV and Kerry Vincent was not nasty in the least and we certainly need a character in a show like that. Anna Gare was great and Shane Jacobsen was superfluous.

    What are 9 thinking though when they put it at 8.30 on a Tuesday when it’s a 7 or 7.30 show – no confidence in the product?. That said their incompetence in airing may pay off as it has a very light colourful and summery look and that is just what we need in the middle of a freezing Aussie winter. I hope it’s successful. Maybe a grower like MC season 1.

    1. Recipe to Riches was finished earlier this year and is coming later. Part of the gestation of the show includes making products which then have to be shipped into stores so it’s a bit more involved.

  5. Onya Channel 9 releasing the cookbook before the series airs. Spoiler Alert should be plastered on book before purchase.

    Had a quick squiz at the book as I was interested in buying and it shows what is being baked in challenges and mentions winners. Will wait to buy until series airs so I don’t spoil the show.

    I watched the British one recently so I know basically how the show works, hopefully the Aussie version will work well, but I reckon I will have to follow it to Go or Gem as I can’t see it staying on the main channel, but who knows.

    The food people bake is what kept me watching the British one.

  9. I can’t believe how long they have dragged out the air date of this show. They’ve been promising it since before Easter…. I feel for whoever it is that is won it, having to wait extra months before it being revealed. They could make a reality show just about the waiting! I am not over 60 (@Ryan – try twenty years younger) and I originally wanted to watch this – but now I’m just over the whole reality cooking thing. I can’t bear to even watch MC (and I was a die-hard fan). Bring on Mr Selfridge. I hope we won’t be waiting months for that to air (but we probably will).

  10. A few things have stopped me from even giving this a go

    1 Shane Jacobson what the hell has he got to do with cooking

    2 the endless promos and bad promos

    3 that revolting kitchen

    4 it is only about baking unlike master chef and my bitching rules which is about cooking

  11. I’ve seen the British version which is quite understated and calm, no sign of sponsors logos and endless plugs. I quite enjoyed it and the lack of dramatics, crying, backstabbing, etc etc.
    Will be interesting to compare.

  15. Bit over all these holier than thou, stuck up nasty judges on shows… definitely not be watching. These sort of people started out once too and felt just as scared going into work/training for the 1st time. Until I see someone a master at their craft the day they leave the womb, I will then respect them for their hypocrisy and arrogance.

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