Great British Baking Show The Professionals Season 7

2022 brought us The Great British Baking Show spin-off, The Great British Baking Show The Professionals: Season 7. Netflix only has Seasons 6 & 7 of this series. It’s blasphemous, but I think this is the weakest of the baking shows from this family. The original is still and forever king. The Christmas specials get better and better. This one pairs up two professional bakers who join forces in an attempt to win the grand prize. Two things make this confusing for me. First, there are twice as many people to keep track of, and you never really get to know anyone intimately like you do in the original show. Second, half the teams compete first, then the second half, then they combine the top three to create the best six and whittle it down from there to a winner. Confused? I was for sure. The judges are annoying – aggressive and definitely not Prue and Paul. Cherish Finden and Benoit Blin are definitely enthusiastic and a bit comical, as well as dismissive. A true departure from the casual excellence of Paul and Prue. I still can’t figure out if I like them. This season had former Bake Off winner Liam Charles and Stacey Solomon as presenters. Stacey steals the show with her enthusiasm, gentle charm, and addictive smile. I definitely did not swoon over this incarnation the way I do over a new season of the original. Which by the way is headed our way in the near future. Meanwhile, I give The Professionals 3 out of 5.

The Great British Baking Show The Professionals currently streams on Netflix.