LETTER FROM LONDON
The spring confinement and the fall reconfinement had at least one advantage, on this side of the Channel: to give us the opportunity and the excuse to discover some typically British reality shows. Two, in particular, with this little grain of madness so exotic for French people who are often far too serious: “The Great British Sewing Bee” (“GBSB”), whose season 6 began to be broadcast in April on the BBC, and its first cousin, “The Great British Bake Off” (“GBBO”), which we taste – exclusively with the eyes – season 11, which began at the end of September on Channel 4.
The two shows are carried out on the same model: two judges, three challenges per episode (technical, creative, reinterpretative), around ten candidates at the start, all amateurs. The only difference is that in “GBSB” they compete with the sewing machine, while in “GBBO” they are armed with spatulas, piping bags and cake molds. The memories of “GBSB” are already fraying a bit but we still remember that it was Clare, a young doctor from Winchester (south of England), who won and that it was obvious from the first episode. .
Yellow and black kilt
This 1940s fan, dressing exclusively in home-sewn clothes (skimpy cardigans over knee-length dresses), largely dominated her classmates on the technical side – her cuts were always impeccable, her finishes perfect. Impossible to surpass her yellow and black kilt, her “science fiction” dress, with pipes and fabric scraps, or her cute smocked dress made with Provençal tablecloths which are frankly ugly. She often chose childish prints and bold colors (orange, yellow, chocolate brown) but both judges loved it. We preferred Nicole, less flawless in the finishes but much more sophisticated in terms of prints and cut.
With “GBBO”, filmed last summer somewhere in Hertfordshire (north London), we can see even better how the relationship to good taste differs on both sides of the Channel. The British view food in an undeniably more playful way than the French. Let’s be honest: the show rarely whetted our appetites, but it did make us laugh. First episode, first rather brutal appetizer, with the creative challenge of making a “head cake”.
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