viewers of the Great British Bake Off were unimpressed by this week’s showstopper challenge, which asked contestants to make “savory pies,” which left some people “gagging.”
In the third week of the series, Bread Week, the bakers were asked to create an extravagant smörgåstårtes – an impressive looking dish that assembles layers of bread and savory fillings with fish, vegetables and meat.
The dish, a delicacy in SwedenEstonia, Iceland and Finlandis usually made with rye bread and often uses mayonnaise as a base for fillings.
In week three of the Great British Bake Off, the bread week, the showstopper challenge asked participants to make a smörgåstårte
Originally from Sweden, Maxy made a seafood smörgåstårte with eggs and salmon
James decorated his smörgåstårte with a panda he created by adding squid ink to his milk bread dough
It is served cold and cut into portions as a cake would be, but it is always savory.
Despite the bakers working four and a half hours on their designs, many viewers were not at all happy with the challenge and the idea of eating dishes that look like sweet pies but are filled with mayonnaise and meat.
Some viewers, who took to Twitter to express their disgust, said they felt unwell after seeing the challenge – although a few others seemed to be on board with the idea.
As the bakers in the tent went to work producing their smörgåstårtes, they made their own mayonnaises and bread from scratch while getting creative with their designs and fillings.
A baker, James, decided to give his smörgåstårte an East Asian twist, use milk bread instead of rye, and decorate his creation with a panda, an animal native to China.
He filled it with char siu pork and pork belly cooked in a sweet chili sauce. James’ bread was also marbled with squid ink.
Most viewers were left horrified by the showstopper challenge – but a few came up with the idea
Going for a much simpler design, Dawn gave her showstopper a Greek twist and filled it with chicken souvlaki—although unfortunately the judges thought it was a bit too dry.
Viewers watched the challenge and wrote on Twitter that it made them feel unwell.
One person wrote: ‘These are so strange… They look like cake, but they have chicken and cucumber in them.’
Another said: ‘I can’t handle these Swedish sandwiches. WTAF?’
One viewer, who seemed particularly put off by the smörgåstårtes, said the challenge was “puking.”
They wrote: ‘Stripped, worst bread week ever!’
Many viewers dissatisfied with the challenge made the same reference to the idea of making a savory dish served as a dessert.
They referenced an infamous episode of Friends where Rachel makes a little something for the group as they celebrate Thanksgiving, but she’s known to be a terrible cook and makes a rookie mistake while putting the dish together.
After two pages of the recipe book are glued together, Rachel accidentally mistakes the trifle for a shepherd’s pie and later puts beef, baked with peas and onions, in her dessert, leaving her hungry guests disgusted – apart from the voracious Joey, who eats the whole thing.
While some viewers pointed out that Bread Week wasn’t very much focused on loaves of bread, others harked back to a classic Friends episode where Rachel makes a rookie mistake while making her little something
Referring to the episode, one person wrote, ‘What’s the next challenge? Make Rachel’s little thing out of Friends?’
A few other viewers made it clear that despite it being bread week, ‘not a single loaf of bread’ was being made, while the other two challenges asked participants to make pizza and pain au raisin.
However, there were a few viewers who disagreed with the chorus, and by the end of the episode, they were sold on the idea of the smörgåstårte.
One person said, “Normally I don’t understand the showstopper challenge at Bake Off at all, but the savory pie is totally my thing. Yum!’
Viewers were in shock after this week’s episode, when presenters Matt Lucas and Noel Fielding announced that no one would leave the tent.
After two bakers, Rebs and Abdul, were ill and unable to participate, judges Peu Leith and Paul Hollywood felt it was unfair to send home one of the remaining bakers.
However, their kindness means that in the next episode, Mexican Week, two bakers from the competition will be sent home.