The Great British Baking Show Collection 14 Episode 1 Review: Is Nigella a Worthy Judge?

It’s that time of year again! The coziest time of year when you can grab a cup of tea, curl up on the couch, and watch The Great British Baking Show.

This year, a new judge is replacing Prue Leith. The one and only Nigella Lawson has taken on the impressive role of Bake Off judge.

So let’s talk about The Great British Baking Show Season 14 Episode 1. The good, the bad, the strange, and whether the season looks as if it’s shaping up to be worth watching moving forward.

The Opening

The Great British Baking Show has sunk a chunk of its budget into strange, over-the-top openings over the years. Many of these just leave viewers cringing. However, the beginning of Season 14 left me smiling.

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It begins with Prue Leith. (A surprise for many.) However, it’s not long before she clambers into an iconic TARDIS cheekily labeled “proving box” while Noel and Alison declare that Prue is regenerating, much like The Doctor from the sci-fi classic Doctor Who.

With little fanfare, Nigella Lawson pops out. The “new” Prue.

Prue was very kind to return for this season opener, and it made the transition feel rather heartwarming. It felt like a passing of the baton, and she certainly didn’t have to.

Particularly when she cited her reason for resigning from the show as a desire to “work less” and spend more time in her garden.

Is Nigella a Fit?

The biggest question looming over the show since Nigella was announced as the new Bake Off judge is whether she would feel like a fit.

As an American, I know little else of Nigella Lawson other than she basically built a brand on being a baker who is a little bit sexy. (Good for her!)

Of course, that feels like the opposite side of the coin to the family-friendly show The Great British Baking Show. Did Nigella make sense on the show?

Yes, she absolutely did. And what a relief that is!

In fact, I would say the entire show felt a little more like I remember it feeling around 2016 — give or take a couple of years. The show was cozy, simple, and fun. Exactly as it should be.

Nigella fit herself seamlessly into the tent, and the episode had no more innuendo than any regular episode.

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However, there were an absolutely absurd number of camera zooms pointed directly at her mouth as she shoveled cake in. I swear, if I had taken a shot for every zoom-in directed specifically at Nigella’s mouth, I would be too hungover to write this article.

In fact, I would probably be in the hospital.

Meanwhile, Paul did not get the same treatment. Someone needs to stop adding the camera person’s creepy zooms to the final edit. Right now.

The Judging Dynamic

Of course, Nigella is not the only judge on The Great British Baking Show. Paul Hollywood has been with the show since its inception.

This is the second time he’s had to adjust to a new partner, and rumors have been flying that he and Nigella weren’t exactly getting along swimmingly behind the scenes.

So far, there’s been little to no hint of that on screen.

However, it did feel like Paul was allowed much more speaking time than Nigella. And once or twice, it felt like he was trying to get the last word in. But nothing was obvious if you weren’t looking for it.

A very noticeable good cop/bad cop dynamic played out between Nigella and Paul in this first episode.

Paul was almost reluctant to give any positive feedback, even though it was week one. However, he had no issues praising Gary. Paul already seems to have picked a favorite.

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Meanwhile, Nigella almost seemed to attempt to cushion Paul’s feedback by providing compliments even when you didn’t expect her to.

Where Prue would often quietly nod and agree with Paul, Nigella is willing to go toe-to-toe with him and voice an opposing opinion. It’s refreshing to feel as if there are two judges with their own thoughts rather than one judge with two votes.

The Technical Challenge

Over the past few years, many have griped about how the technical challenge has been handled.

What once was a recipe with redacted bits of information has become a humiliation ritual. Last year, Paul kept angrily bemoaning how poorly the desserts would resemble the original, but the bakers were never allowed to see the original and were given little to no instruction.

It was downright impossible for someone to accurately recreate the technical challenges. That became indisputable when, even in the finals, the technicals were far from polished.

Nigella was the judge to set the technical challenge for Season 14 Episode 1, and what a breath of fresh air it was!

The challenge was to make a chocolate, coffee, walnut cake. And while the recipe had little information, Nigella assured viewers it was meant to be a simple, standard cake using a recipe every baker should know.

The best part? The bakers were given a giant poster board at the front of the room to study and recreate, so everyone’s design had a chance at being what the judges expected.

The technical was not a guaranteed failure for all participants. Thank goodness for that!

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Overall, it Was Cozy

For reasons I struggled to put my finger on, I felt as if I was clawing my way through Season 16 of The Great British Baking Show. I nearly didn’t finish watching because I wasn’t having fun.

It felt like bakes were forced into spectacle over skill, and the bakers were professionals in trench coats, not talented home bakers.

In Season 14 Episode 1, I had fun. I enjoyed the highs — Nigella being brought to tears over a self-portrait cake reveal. And I gasped at the lows — not one, but two cakes fell to the floor!

Unfortunately, nobody going home because Shannon went home sick felt like a bit of a letdown for a first episode … especially when it was so clear who should have been eliminated. (Danni.)

However, we know that means one week will have a double elimination, which will really be gutting when we know everyone better.

Overall, I’m actually looking forward to Biscuit Week next week. I’m thrilled the show seems to have dialed back the high expectations — at least for week one.

What was your favorite part of Cake Week? Did you enjoy Nigella as the new judge? Let us know in the comments below!

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