Next Great Baker - Episode 1

Since I love The Cake Boss, I had to at least give Next Great Baker a shot.

I think I'll watch the whole season just to give it a full go and it sounds like I may learn a thing or two.  I am a little disappointed so far.  It's not that it's a bad concept or anything, it just sounds so forced.  Maybe it's because Buddy has a script?  I don't know, but it doesn't flow and it feels awkward.  The other thing is that Buddy is the only one talking most of the show and I think it would appear a little more natural if say the guest judges give a summary or two.

As far as this episode is concerned, I loved the little intros to the competitors.  I noted that most have gone to a school and have some form of a technical training.  There are a few who just bake on the side and while some are really talented, I do think that they may be the first to go.  You got a small preview of the competitors, but not enough to fall in love just yet.

Joe Glasser won the Baker's challenge which was the first part of the show where competitors had 2 hours to make any dessert to wow the judges.  Joe blew the judges away with his Rosemary flavored cake, but later banked on the immunity that he had won.  His cake for the Elimination challenge, with the theme of "Celebration", was the worst cake by far and the judges (Mauro and Mary) even wondered about revoking the immunity since it would only be fair to the other competitors.  However, even when Joe admitted that he deserved to go home, he wanted to stay, so Buddy kept his word and Joe will be back to bake next week.

Another character that was easy to hate right away was Pamela Ahn.  She had also done really well with her Taro cake in the Baker's challenge, but her Chinese New Year cake for the elimination challenge was horrible.  Not to mention this, she had left cakes in the oven overnight and could have burnt the bakery down.  She lied about her knowledge of it and seemed insincere as to the effects it could have caused.  I wanted her to leave so badly.

Kendra Jordan left first and it was anticlimactic.  I think she wanted to leave, so she did.  She left on the box truck, which was hilarious and they should have done more focus on that!  I loved Danny's little cameo!

I have a feeling that the crowd favorite with be Gregory "Greggy" Soriano, who is self-titled "The Lady Gaga of Cakes."  He is a sweet and flamboyant character that has fun lingo that is "fab" and makes everyone "jel."  Initially, my favorite is Corina Elgart who is house wife turned baker and seems to have a lot of talent.  I will root for her, but that can always change especially seeing the different clips for the upcoming episodes.  I'm excited to see where the show takes me and perhaps teaches me.