Need a break from politics? Comfort food for the brain is back

My favorite “brain comfort food,” providing a much-needed break from politics, is back and I can’t wait! “The Great British Baking Show” will start airing its 15th season, with a dozen of Great Britain’s best amateur bakers competing in the famous white tent.
Streaming on Netflix for a U.S. audience comes three days after airing in the U.K., so if you just can’t wait to see who was sent home each week, head to X, where you can find the inside scoop. (I may have done that last year to find out who won …) Otherwise, you can tune in on Fridays. The show, called “The Great British Bake Off” in England, offers 12 lucky bakers the chance to compete for a cake plate, a bouquet of flowers and a title (no cash) in front of famous hosts Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith.
Filming typically begins in April and runs 10 weeks, into the height of the English summer. It seems like every year, there is some baking challenge that involves chocolate or ice cream and hits on the hottest stretch of the year, resulting in some gooey messes. The big white tent where the baking and filming occur is set up in Welford Park in Berkshire, England, where it’s been since 2014 (except for two COVID years when it was filmed at a resort hotel). The park originally housed a monastery before Henry VIII called for its dissolution in 1536. He later used Welford Park as his hunting lodge before giving it to a courtier, Sir Thomas Parry, as a gift. You can visit Welford Park, but no, not the white tent.
Co-hosts and comedic relief providers Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond also provide emotional support for the contestants as they compete in three weekly challenges: the signature bake, a technical challenge and a show stopper. For the signature bake and the show stopper, contestants have the opportunity to practice perfecting recipes ahead of time, but the technical is just what it sounds like: a challenge. Contestants receive all necessary ingredients to create the perfect bake, chosen by Paul or Prue, but with increasingly sparse instructions.
Here’s an example of some of last season’s technical bakes: Custard Cremes, Devonshire Splits, Caramelised White Chocolate & Blackcurrant Cheesecakes, Dauphinoise Potato & Caramelised Onion Pithivier (say what?!), Orange & Ginger Treacle Puddings and a beautiful Tarte au Pomme. Did I mention these are amateurs?? I mean, I can make an apple pie, but not one like that!
The two-minute Netflix trailer says thousands apply every year. This year, the 12 lucky challengers range in age from 19 to 71 and include a car mechanic, a birth trauma specialist midwife, a menswear designer, a pediatric nurse and a transplant originally from New York.
Gill, 53, a senior category manager from Lancashire, said she had just attended a funeral when she found out she had been accepted on the show. “I heard my phone vibrating in my bag,” she explained. “I couldn’t call back straight away but I ended up pulling over to the side of the road on my drive home as I couldn’t wait any longer,” according to a local publication.
Andy, 54, the car mechanic, said finding out he was in the show brought a little joy into a difficult time in his life. He was on his way to visit his father-in-law, who was on end-of-life care, when he got the call. “I was en route to see him at the time. I pulled over and just screamed of joy, what an absolute dream,” he said.
Date night for the next 10 weeks is taken care of.