‘The Great British Baking Show’ Season 10 Hits the Festivals

As if “Dairy Week” wasn’t nebulous enough this season as a theme week, The Great British Baking Show goes even more meta with the Top Six and forces them to think “Festivals.” I might go so far as to say this sounds like the worst, most useless theme the show has attempted since Season 7 (PBS Season 4)’s Botanicals Week, which failed flowers in several different and odd ways.

Part of the problem is the word itself, “Festivals,” which in America brings to mind things like state fairs, butter sculptures, Renaissance festivals, and turkey legs. (Noel thinks of musical festivals, bless him.) That’s not what the theme week means here, not in the slightest, so for a U.S. audience, this could be the worst-titled theme week since “American Pies” from Season 3 (PBS Season 5).

“Festivals Week” is instead derived from the “secular” term the British settled on to substitute for Christmas, “Festive.” (For example, the BBC refers to the holiday editions of Doctor Who and Call the Midwife as “Festive Specials.”) In short, think of this as “Holidays Week.” All three challenges are based on holiday celebrations around the world, and the bakes associated with them. Given how obscure some of this season’s challenges have been, the contestants may not feel very festive this week.

(On the other hand, many of them might want to take a holiday.)