In the first episode, the bakers get to work with the theme ‘cake’, and they each have to deliver an old-fashioned Dutch classic: the cream cake. And that is quite difficult without, for example, gluten or lactose. One of the ten candidates is a vegan baker and there is also a candidate with a gluten allergy. But Janny and Robèrt only like that, because there are really ten unique copies.
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The technical round is just as fast. The bakers have 50 minutes to make 6 pink cakes. A challenging assignment, because: how do you get the fondant so nice and firm on the cake without dripping? For some, the assignment is extra difficult, because Yannis and Mary have never seen a pink cake, let alone made one! There is panic in the tent. “I have no idea what to do at all. I’ve never seen them, never eaten them. So for me it’s real…”, laughs the Greek Yannis. Although Mary did not grow up in the Netherlands, Janny and Robèrt do rate Mary’s cakes as the best.
The baking weekend is spectacularly concluded with a construction of at least 40 madeleines. The bakers use all their creativity and make sure that all 40 have a ‘belly’. They only get 3.5 hours to do this, so the participants have to work hard (dot intended). The result may be there. From a swan to an artichoke; everything will pass. “I’ve never heard you give so many compliments in all these years,” concludes Janny when they deliberate after tasting all the cakes. “I think this is the highest arrow we’ve had so far, as a group. It looks nice, the flavors are good, the technique is good. It’s going to be a tough year for us.”
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However, not everyone is waiting for Robèrt and Janny’s comments. The pregnant Lynn, in particular, seems to have an excuse for everything. For example, she did not use too little whipped cream, but someone has ‘stolen’ hers and her madeleines are not dry, but they have just been there for a while. Maybe it’s the hormones..?
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Despite all the talent, one person stands head and shoulders above the rest: 25-year-old Zeinab. “I am speechless, because the level is super high. So to become a master baker in the first week is really great,” she says.
Presenter André van Duin has less good news for 33-year-old Siham: she must be the first to leave the program. Still, she won’t give up. “Of so many registrations in the best ten is also very special”, she thinks. “It’s a shame, but someone has to be the first. I thought it was super fun to participate, it’s very special and I wouldn’t have missed it for anything.”
Whole Holland Bakt can be seen every Saturday at 8.30 pm on NPO1.
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