Soggy bottoms. Spotted dicks. Saucy puds.
Ginger nuts. Fairy cakes. Creamy horns.
Bubble and squeak. And toad in the hole. Season 15 of The Great British Baking Show premieres in the U.
S. on Friday, September 27, on Netflix. If you’re a die-hard fan, then we bet three lemon meringue pies that you’re chuffed to bits, for the wait is over at bloody last.
If you’re new to the show (and to this terminology and language), here’s how it works: 12 amateur bakers with no formal baking training compete over 10 weeks for baking glory. Each week has a theme: bread, cake, pastry, patisserie, cookies, and desserts, and a few others that change from season to season. Bakers complete three challenges per episode — a signature bake and a showstopper, for which they can practice ahead of time, as well as a surprise technical challenge.
Each week, one participant is crowned star baker, while another one gets the boot. On week 10, the last three standing bakers face off for a chance to win baking glory (and a glass cake stand). Judges include celebrity chef Paul Hollywood, who on the rare occasion will give a blushing baker the famous Hollywood Hand Shake; and restaurateur Dame Prudence “Prue” Leith, chancellor of Queen Margaret University, who is originally from South Africa and tends to enjoys boozy bakes.
As always, this year’s participants represent a cross-section of British society and a panoply of professions: a car mechanic from Essex, a Dutch fashion designer from Londo.
