Great British Bake Off episode 6 2020 – Japanese Week

Great British Bake Off episode 6 2020 – Japanese Week: Noel Fielding and Matt Lucas host the show’s first ever Japanese week. For the signature challenge the bakers tackle a Japanese version of Asian staple steamed buns, while the technical round involves a tricky recipe involving multiple layers. The showstopper round is themed around kawaii – the Japanese love of all things cute.

“Cakes are boring,” one of the remaining bakers tells Noel Fielding, which is a controversial thing to say on baking show. However, (for the first time ever) it’s Japanese week so they’re hardly going to be making a traditional Victoria sponge.

In the filled steamed buns challenge, two contestants plump for hamburger flavours only to discover that Paul Hollywood absolutely loathes gherkins. That’s a bit of a relish handicap, but then you have to ask why the bakers aren’t given a list of the judges’ allergies and hated ingredients before they devise their recipes.

There’s been a wonderful air of frivolity in the tent throughout this series that even Hollywood’s scathing critiques haven’t squashed, although there are tears of disappointment tonight before it’s time for someone to say “sayonara”.

Great British Bake Off episode 6 2020 – Japanese Week

Great British Bake Off episode 6 2020

Bake Off in the time of a global pandemic is very different behind the scenes as the 12 contestants, judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith and presenters Noel Fielding and Matt Lucas leave behind their loved ones to enter their own bubble.

But this sacrifice means that on-screen, fans will be relieved to learn, all is as familiar and comfortable as a well-loved bobble hat. The opening episode is a corker, with a bunch of good-natured, self-deprecating and often brilliant amateurs and the funniest round I can ever recall. It’s the showstopper and it’s hilarious. A fondant Freddie Mercury, anyone?

Paul Hollywood

The elder statesman of Bake Off, Paul is the only member of the team who has been with the show since its very beginning, originally judging alongside Mary Berry until the move to Channel 4 in 2017. Paul also hosts the US version of the programme, The American Baking Competition and has served as head baker at a number of hotels in the UK and abroad, after first beginning his career at his father’s bakery when he was still in his teens.

Although it was Bake Off that really made Paul a household name, he had made some other TV appearances beforehand on shows including The Heaven and Earth Show and This Morning, while since making his name as a judge he has appeared on a number of programmes including his own show Paul Hollywood’s Pies and Puds.

Paul is known for his often harsh comments and for setting frequently challenging tasks in the signature challenge, while his coveted “Hollywood handshakes” reserved for the very best bakes have become a popular feature of the show.