Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Blue Ribbon Baking Championship’ on Netflix, Where Jason Biggs and Sandra Lee Host A Baking Contest Set At The State Fair

Jason Biggs and Sandra Lee are the famous faces of the new Netflix baking competition Blue Ribbon Baking Championship . The premise of the show is based around the state fair – the bakers are all ribbon-winning competitors at their local fairs, and the challenges on the show are directly inspired by food from the fair: think pie-on-a-stick and fried Oreos. But the challenges force the bakers out of their comfort zones, asking them to riff on these classics, and in most cases, the results are impressive.

Opening Shot: The moment the Blue Ribbon Baking Championship begins, it gives big Great British Baking Show vibes: sweeping orchestral music, bucolic, green pastures, a barn instead of the signature Bake-Off tent.

The Gist: This riff on a reality cooking competition takes place at the state fair, a bastion of Americana. The carnival rides, the deep-fried everything, the baking contests, it all evokes a charming depiction of wholesome fun. Jason Biggs serves as host, which seems weird, you’re like, “What pie did he f—k to get this job?” but then you realize that, while yes, he can competently deliver line readings, he’s still coasting on pie f—ing all these years later, as evidenced by fourth-wall breaking quips like, “Take it from someone who knows, that is a very attractive pie.” In case you heard a couple of thuds, that was my eyes rolling so hard they fell out of my head.

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The show is judged by cook and TV personality Sandra Lee, baker Bryan Ford, and former White House pastry chef Bill Yosses, and it brings together a group of bakers from all over the country who have been competing in state fair baking contests for years. In each episode they compete in the equivalent of a Quickfire, called a “Fast Fair Bake” where they have to reimagine classic fair food, and the winner earns a “Judges’ Choice” ribbon. For this challenge, they had to create a sweet snack on a stick.

In the first episode, the ribbon went to a Long Island potato farmer named Larry, whose chocolate covered potato candy surprised and delighted the judges.

That challenge is followed by a more elaborate “Blue Ribbon Bake;” in the first episode, they have to turn the blue-ribbon-winning dessert they’re known for into a layer cake. Surprisingly at the end of judging it was Larry, the same contestant who won the first ribbon, who was eliminated from the show due to a too-dense peanut butter and jelly cake. The rest of the showings ranged from impressively precise, elaborately decorated layer cakes to downright homey, rustic fare, a testament to the fact that the skill levels of these bakers is a wide range, but while some excel more at decoration, most of them impressed the judges with taste. (Larry was dismissed when Biggs told him, “Larry, your time at the fair has ended,” an elimination phrase that, I feel, could have baked a little longer.)

While it was disappointing to see Larry go, he took the loss in stride, and was bid farewell by tearful fellow contestants. And with his departure, the other contestants are that much closer to the final $100,000 prize.

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What Shows Will It Remind You Of? The show’s mild-mannered format and aesthetic are pure Great British Baking Show .

Our Take: Though my initial knee-jerk reaction to this show and its hosts was “indifferent shrug,” the fact is that the bakers are all incredibly competent and skilled, and the challenges are creative enough that they’re producing bakes that we haven’t really seen before on baking shows (says the woman who has watched ALL the baking shows.) While Biggs lacks baking credentials, he’s ultimately a competent host who provides levity in the form of corny dad jokes. The choice of Lee as a judge – the woman who made a name for herself on the Food Network by using pre-made, packaged foods in her recipes – feels a little like being judged by Ellen DeGeneres on American Idol , but here, she is polished enough that I can forgive her for her Kwanzaa Cake and other past indiscretions. Ford and Yosses provide the more formal criticisms and accolades, offering their technical thoughts, but no one is here to crush dreams or chastise, the harshest commentary arrives as comments like “Needs more huckleberry!”

While the hurried “Fast Fair Bake” challenge feels directly inspired by Top Chef , the rest of the show really does owe a debt to The Great British Bake-Off in every other way, from the festive decor and colorful appliances in the baking barn to the illustrated renderings of the contestants’ bakes as they describe them to the camera.

For fans of show’s like Bake-Off , Blue Ribbon is an Americanized version of that show with supportive contestants who are mostly self-taught. While they’re not quite at the level of Bake-Off competitors, the concoctions they dream up are still impressive and (mostly) look damn delicious.

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Parting Shot: Biggs tells the remaining contestants to “get out there and enjoy the fair” after explaining that the next episode’s challenge will be all about apples.

Performance Worth Watching: Yosses and Ford are baking professionals with decades of experience under their belts, so their judgment and commentary is honest, fair, and constructive.

Memorable Dialogue: “In the baking world, ribbons are everything,” contestant Nathan says, adding, “I should just wear a shirt that says ‘I have a lot of blue ribbons.” Own your success, Nathan!

Our Call: STREAM IT! Blue Ribbon Baking Championship definitely scratches a baking TV itch, it’s comforting family fun that keeps its focus on positivity rather than cutthroat competition, and unlike so many American baking competitions where many contestants are incompetent to an offensive degree, the cooks here, despite some minor failures take big swings and tend to create some genuinely interesting and impressive stuff.

Liz Kocan is a pop culture writer living in Massachusetts. Her biggest claim to fame is the time she won on the game show Chain Reaction .

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