The 1970s Strike Back in 'The Great British Baking Show's Quarterfinals

It is a truth that The Great British Baking Show will not acknowledge; the two judges who currently oversee the competition have palates formed during some of the worst years of the island nation's cuisine, the 1970s. It's why Paul Hollywood (who is nearly 60) wouldn't know a Mexican spice blend if it walked up to him and slapped him across the mouth; it's why Prue Leith (15 years his senior) is utterly unable to handle foods like burgers. It's why both judges when asked to provide technical challenges, give the bakers things to make like "Spotted Dick" or "Sussex Pond Puddings." You know, things people in the U.K. no longer eat because they've discovered global cuisine and actual flavor.

It is less surprising that the show took this long to do a 1970s theme week when you consider that it perhaps didn't want to highlight this rather embarrassing shortcoming. However, now that it has been spelled out to the producers just how ill-equipped their judges are to handle any foreign food that's not French or Italian, and the last couple of seasons have revealed their predictions for 1970s-era specialties, there's no point in hiding it. 

Besides, seeing Alison Hammond ride around on a Hoppity Hop until she rolled it like an old-school top-heavy SUV was absolutely worth it. (I assume Noel Fielding's outfit was direct from his own closet.)

Now, it's just about hoping that at least one or two of the bakers in the tent can handle these thankfully forgotten creations and hope that everyone is ready for '70s jelly.

For the 1970s Signature Challenge, the bakers were asked to make Profiterole Stacks, a fancy way of saying a mini-croquembouche. The little pyramid stack should have a minimum of 30 profiteroles. The fillings are up to the bakers, but Alison warns them to try to think of 1970s-era flavors. (Noel’s mind immediately jumped to coal; being an American, mine went to cigarettes.) Profiteroles weren’t invented in the 1970s; they first appeared in recorded history in Francois Rabelais’ book Gargantua, which dates back to the 1500s. However, in the 1970s, the Brits got into croquembouches as a fad, and the shorter stacks were perfect for a dessert for one (or two) and started to appear at dinner parties and such.

But honestly, it’s pretty standard to get the Top Five or Top Four to make choux pastries of one kind or another, so this isn’t all that unfair a challenge. Let’s see who stacks up and who falls over.

• Illiyin’ Ode to the ’70s Afro’ (Fail): Her stack is sadly a mess. The profiteroles at the bottom are collapsing, making it a leaning tower of choux. But it’s pretty, and the actual choux rolls are delicious. 
• Georgie’ Tribute to Freddie’ (Pass): Queen was more a 1980s thing, but sure. What matters is that her stack is stable, and her flavors deserve the praise Paul gives them if Prue’s opinion is to be trusted.
• Gill ’70s Christmas Tree’ (Pass): The only contestant left who remembers the 1970s, her tree looks like the kind you’d find in a 1970s British house. Paul calls it “simple but effective.”
• Christiaan’ I Got Choux Babe’ (Pass): The most professional-looking pyramid stack, Prue declares it “quite boozy,” while Paul praises its flavor combination.
• Dylan’ Sci-Fi Stack’ (Handshake): An entire step above and beyond everyone else in the tent by miles, that half-moon on top looks like it’s magically held there. This handshake is well deserved.

There’s not much mystery this week. Illiyin didn’t fail as hard as Sumayah last week, or she would have been out; if the rest of this episode continues in this manner, she’ll be gone before the semifinals. Meanwhile, Dylan really is head and shoulders above the rest and will probably win this season if she keeps this up.

The 1970s Technical Challenge comes from Paul, whom Alison calls "The It Girl of the 1970s," and she's not altogether wrong if we're looking at it from a 2024 perspective. Once he and Prue are dismissed, Alsiion reveals this week's Technical is to make a Banoffee Pie. While Americans go, "A What? Is that like a Covfefe dessert?" the bakers all look relieved because they know what this is: a silly word for a Banana-Caramel Creme Pie. (The "offee" is because it sometimes has coffee and caramel, which is less unfortunate than it sounds but not as delicious as you might hope.) However, this Banoffee Pie is a little more standardized; instead of the New York Cheesecake style graham cracker crust, the bakers need to make a shortcrust pastry. Luckily, they aren't to add coffee. Well, at least we don't think they are, as the instructions are literally "Make a Banoffee Pie."

Let's see who gets the banana and who winds up creamed. (Other than Alison, that is, who is having a klutz and a half episode, first with the Hoppity Hop and now falling backwards off one of the empty stations. I swear, no one must ever break her and Noel up; hearing the techs in the tent losing it was brilliant. The BBC and Channel 4 should hire them as a set the way people still do with Sue & Mel or Ant & Dec.)

5. Gill: The pastry's cracked and pale, and the caramel is too dark.
4. Illiyin: It looks perfect, but the dough is tough, and the inside is messy.
3. Dylan: His cream isn't traditionally piped and has a soggy bottom.
2. Christiaan: It's beautiful looking, but the caramel doesn't stand up to scrutiny.
1. Georgie: She did the classic design with the cream, and all of her elements are spot on.

At least this time, Georgie won the Technical, instead of just being the least worst. However, Gill cannot catch a break on these, can she? She's lucky her Signature was "simple but effective," or she might be the one going home this week. As it is, if she does go home, Illiyin will fall at the last hurdle before the final. (Conversely, if Illiyin is out this week, Gill will follow in the semis.)

For the Quarterfinal Showstopper Challenge, the bakers are to make a 1970s-style Gâteau with at least two layers and one filling between them. The cake itself is to be a sponge; Prue wants them to do genoise because it’s super airy, though that’s not explicitly specified. The fillings must be lightweight, as a lightweight cream is what makes it a Gâteau instead of an ordinary sponge cake. Also, the outside should feature intricate piping; Prue notes, correctly, I might add, that this is the hardest part of the challenge because lightweight cream is harder to work with. Paul also points out that this cake fad made dowels and spacers an acceptable way to hold up a cake (since the filling will simply collapse over time), and he fully expects the bakers to use them.

The bakers have four hours to pull off a Showstopper that gets them into the semis. Let’s see who’s Gâteaus flat to the top and who will collapse under pressure.

Dylan’s ‘Mint Chocolate Gâteau’: His pink and green monstrosity has great piping work and concerned faces from the judges over his choice of mint buttercream. P{rue likes it, but she admits she’s weird because she loves mint and that most people would not eat it because the mint is stronger than the chocolate. Paul loves the chocolate cake and hates the buttercream.

Georgie’s ‘Vintage Black Forest Gâteau’: Another green cake with pink and white trim, her piping is actually better than Dylan's; Paul cheerfully calls it "perfectly hideous," which is the point of these things; Prue says it's perfection. (There's a shot of Dylan looking around, wondering why they didn't say this about his cake.) Paul has to clear his throat. It's so boozy, Prue declares this is not a cake at all; it's so liquid, it should be called a trifle. (She added a whole bottle of kirsch, so...)

Christiaan’s ‘Lemon, Hazelnut & Avocadaat Gâteau’: Christiaan blessedly went for the pink-orange-yellow 1970s combo colors, a relief after two green cakes. His piping is messy and doesn't stand out since the cake itself is so bright. It is also boozy as hell, so boozy that Prue and Paul declare it's too boozy (an extremely rare event indeed); all they can taste is alcohol. Prue praises his sponge texture, though after eating Georgie's cake and now his, she sounds a little drunk.

Illiyin’s 'Peach Melba Gâteau': Illiyin would probably have never make the final, but her cake not surviving its chill-out time in the fridge is a terrible way to go. She tries desperately not to cry as she brings up the pieces of cake, and manages to say she's having a "bit of a wobbly week," which seems to help her pull it together. The judges are deeply kind; Prue says it tastes like heaven and it's a shame it collapsed, and Paul agrees. He loves the colors even though the sponge was too heavy.

Gill’s 'Geoff's Cafe': The only non-ugly cake of the bunch, Gill, who lived through this decade, understands how to make the 1970s colors work harmoniously. Prue calls it a real showstopper of a cake, and Paul agrees he loves it, even the shag carpeting piping. Prue is delighted it's all chocolate without mint or booze; Paul seems surprised that her cake was the batch's best since he's mentally dismissed her. Maybe she will make the final? One can hope.

The problem this week is that no one really deserves Star Baker. Dylan probably should take it for his Signature, but his mint flavors worked against him; Christiaan also failed on flavor; Gill might have been the most competent, but that doesn't get you Star Basker. Being Paul's favorite does, obviously, which is why Georgie gets Star Baker a second time, this time, far less deservingly. Illiyin, of course, is out.

Next week, it's the semifinals, which means it's Pâtisserie Week. We'll see if Gill can pull off a miracle. Otherwise, the final will be Christiaan, Dylan, and Georgie.

The Great British Baking Show continues on Netflix with new episodes every Tuesday in the U.K. and Friday in the U.S. through the end of November.