Cooking Shows
Over the years, the number of cooking shows on TV has increased significantly. Since food got its own network, The Food Network, plenty of cooking shows were created to fill each of the time slots. Cooking shows are popular all over the world, and Britain’s most popular cooking show is The Great British Baking Show. This show is different from all the rest because the show is filmed in a tent.
Why In a Tent?
Most people would expect a cooking show to be filmed in a kitchen, inside of a studio. The Great British Baking Show is different. Here’s the truth behind why the Great British Baking Show takes place in a tent. The creators of the show wanted to invoke the feeling of a traditional British village fete, which is a type of fair At the fetes, there are food and commodities stalls, skill games, raffles, Morris dancing, and baking contests. While the location of the show has changed over the years, the tent has remained the same.
The Show’s Premise
The show is broken up into three challenges. The first is the “signature challenge.” This is where the bakers show off their favorite recipes that they would serve to their friends and family members. The second is the “technical challenge.” This is where contestants are expected to bake something on a specific time limit, and minimal or no instructions at all. They also aren’t told ahead of time what they will be making. The third challenge is the “showstopper challenge.” During this challenge, contestants must impress the judges with not only the great taste of their food but also its professional appearance. After each challenge, one of the contestants is eliminated. After the third challenge, only one is left standing.
10 Seasons
In the UK, the shown is known as The Great British Bake Off; however, the name was changed to The Great British Cooking Show when it arrived in the United States on Netflix. The producers didn’t want viewers to confuse it with the already-established, Pillsbury Bake-Off. It has been running for ten seasons, and 13 highly skilled amateur bakers compete.
The Struggles
Being a contestant on this show isn’t easy. The bakers aren’t cooking in a nice air-conditioned studio. Instead, there are 13 ovens baking, which can cause the temperature inside the tent to heat up very quickly. The show is filmed in the summer, which makes the temperature in the tent even hotter. It isn’t uncommon for the temperature inside the tent to reach 100 degrees while filming.
No Air Conditioning?
What makes the conditions inside the tent even more difficult is the fact that there is no air conditioning. Most people believe that cooking without air conditioning would be crazy, especially in the middle of the summer. The producers don’t withhold air conditioning to make the show more dramatic or more interesting.
It isn’t possible for the production of the show. The sound produced by the air conditioning system would interfere with the sound while filming. The heat adds a more significant challenge to the contestants because they can easily drop due to the heat. All the contestants can do to keep themselves going is to remain hydrated. The show may be just an hour long, but contestants have to film 16 hours a day for three days. This is a long time for a person to be in a 100-degree tent. The people who compete on this show really are dedicated.
Getting On the Show
If you are an excellent baker and you think that you can handle the heat inside the tent, getting on the show is not as easy as you might think. You don’t just go on a website and give a bit of information about yourself. Instead, it is a long process. First, all applicants are assessed by a researcher. Next, they had to London for an audition, which involves the applicants baking two recipes for the judges in front of the cameras. If you make it through the whole process with flying colors, you are on the show. If you are chosen for the show, don’t expect to get much sleep during the competition. The days are long, and the work is hard, but in the end, if you win, you are the champ.
Watching the Show
Many people who watch the show believe that the contestants are sweating because of the intense pressure that they are under. Sure, the pressure is on for each contestant, but they are sweating because they are cooking in a tent, in the middle of the summer, with no air conditioning, along with 12 other contestants. The heat, the pressure, and the long days of filming aren’t easy, but these amateur bakers want to prove to the world that they are the best of the best.
