Sugar Rush Review

I have never considered myself a big fan of cooking shows and, when I've watched them in the past, it was mostly just to humor my wife. However, we recently discovered some shows on Netflix that managed to change that. This is one of those shows.

At first, I wasn't sure if I would like this series, mostly because it featured professional bakers rather than amateur ones (or, in other words, people who are more like me). Plus, I felt the faster pace of this show would make it harder to relate to and cheer for a specific team. But, as it turns out, there are a lot of things to like about this.

I think the biggest thing that makes this show unique is the time clock. The teams are given three hours to make their cupcakes and confections but, since they are allowed to add any leftover time to the cake round, have incentive to finish faster. This makes the show a lot less predictable than expected because a faster baker could be eliminated because they were too safe while another baker could use up almost all their time, make it to the final round but have a severe time disadvantage.

The decision to leave the clock running between the first two rounds is also intriguing because it means a team could start on round 2 only to be eliminated a short time later. This makes some of the eliminations a little more heartbreaking than they would be if the elimination happened prior to them starting.

Another thing I like about this show is the way it allows the bakers to be themselves. Other than a basic theme (sea life, for example, or using sweet potatoes in one of the rounds), the teams have no restrictions about what they can present to the judges. This allows them to be as creative as they want to be, both with how they decorate their desserts and what they use for ingredients. This, again, makes the show much less predictable than it would be if the contestants had to make the exact same dessert and it was easier to compare them as a result.

This is an entertaining baking competition that I have enjoyed watching whenever we put on an episode. I would recommend taking the time to watch it.

My Grade: A