Cristy’s ‘Great British Baking Show’ “Botanicals Week” Showstopper Meltdown Was the Most Stressful Moment of the Season So Far

Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith might have thought the bakers did rather well in The Great British Baking Show “Botanicals Week” on Netflix, but chaos reigned throughout the episode. Not only did Noel Fielding almost break the tent — well, he certainly broke something in the tent — with a tossed lemon, but the real drama hit poor Cristy Sharp during the tense Showstopper Challenge.

**Spoilers for The Great British Baking Show “Botanicals Week,” now streaming on Netflix.**

Last week’s Star Baker was top of the class heading into the final challenge of “Botanicals Week,” but she had a personal melt down when the heat ruined her white chocolate molded dome. Tears were shed and Cristy left the tent in frustration. Noel Fielding, Alison Hammond, and fellow baker Dan Hunter all stopped by her bench for hugs and words of encouragement. And with seconds to spare, Cristy attempted the complex dome one last time. Did it work? Or would it be one of the few disasters in The Great British Baking Show history to wind up in the bin?

After the backlash to last year’s off-color “Mexican Week,” The Great British Baking Show producers decided to nix national-themed weeks once and for all. Hence the return of “Botanicals Week,” a theme we’ve only seen once before, in Candice Brown and Andrew Smyth’s 2016 season. The idea behind “Botanicals Week” is that each bake should highlight and celebrate the flavors of nature, be they spices, herbs, or edible flowers. (One feels the early elimination of foraging queen Abbi Lawson most acutely here.)

Judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith asked the seven remaining bakers to make twelve perfectly fragranced spiced buns for their Signature Challenge, which Cristy, Showstopper King Josh Smalley, and fan fave Tasha Stones all smashed. While Tasha shockingly came in last for the Technical Challenge — a lemon and thyme drizzle sponge — Cristy came in first place, with Josh hot on her heels. This means that heading into the all-important Showstopper Challenge, Cristy and Josh were at the top of the heap. With Cristy’s recent Star Baker win and Josh’s consistent success in the Showstoppers, the pressure was on.

While some bakers thrive under the pressure, or at least, can laugh it off, Cristy has struggled with her confidence over the course of the season. Even while Alison hyped her up early in this week’s episode, Cristy’s nerves were top of the surface.

“This is gonna be good,” Alison said to Cristy while she was working on her spiced buns. “Can I just say something? Star Baker, [Hollywood] Handshake, there’s no tears in this tent today, is there? Let’s be honest.”

“I don’t know. Let’s see how these go,” Cristy said sheepishly of her Signature.

“Go girl!” Alison cheered, unaware that she might have accidentally foreshadowed the tears to come.

For the Showstopper Challenge, Paul and Prue wanted a spectacular floral-inspired dessert with multiple layers and at least one baked element. While Tasha, Josh, and Saku Chandrasekara hoped to top their deserts with gelatin domes decorated with suspended flowers, Cristy wanted to encase her elderflower, strawberry and rhubarb entremet with delicately-molded yellow-tinted white chocolate ganache topped with daisies. Paul had…concerns.

“White chocolate?” he asked.

“Yeah. Does it work?” Cristy asked. “You do look worried.”

“It’s quite warm today.”

“It’s really hot,” Cristy concurred, fanning herself.

“And using a white chocolate ganache molded on the top…” Paul said, without pointing out that the one week where Cristy struggled was…”Chocolate Week.”

Prue said, “If you get that chocolate ganache out of the mold intact, it will look very pretty. I think it sounds good.”

Less than three minutes (in show time, not real time) later, Noel hovers over Cristy as she attempts to get her white chocolate ganache out of the mold. “I don’t know if it’s set enough,” she mutters, struggling to lift the mold. “I can feel something not good.”

“Really?” Noel asks, before putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Breathe. Trust your instincts. I sound like Obi-Wan now. I’m Yoda.”

As Noel attempts a Yoda voice to distract Cristy from her nerves, she lifts up the mold to reveal a disaster. The ganache has broken in several places. And while it still looks delicious, Cristy’s dessert has not reached the levels of perfection she has charged herself with while in the tent. She puts her dessert as is in the freezer to chill while she tearfully begins tempering white chocolate once more.

“Babes, don’t worry,” Alison says, coming to comfort Cristy. However, even as Alison attempts to point out how good she is, Cristy begins sobbing about how hot she is. Alison takes over mixing the chocolate and tells “a really upset” Cristy to go cool down outside the tent.

The Great British Baking Show‘s editors make the last fifteen minutes of the challenge so tense the tent feels like a pressure cooker. Even while other bakers struggle with their gel molds and isomalt decorations, Cristy is the one skittering the closest to disaster. We watch as she quickly deconstructs her existing dessert while her last minute mold cools. It’s a far messier picture than we’ve seen before from the usually tidy baker. However, when she lifts the mold for a second time, a miracle has occurred. With seconds to spare, a mostly intact white chocolate ganache mold has released from the mold, decorating her Showstopper desert. Noel gives her a little high-five before giving her time to scatter a few candy daisies.

Cristy’s fortitude is rewarded by Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith. Although the judges remark upon the flaws of the dessert — the molded chocolate is still a little messy — they point out that the flavor was delicious. Then they give the most important compliment of all: she persevered.

Paul “I have seen people throw theirs in the bin before”

Yeah it had the nation on its KNEES #GBBO #bakeoff pic.twitter.com/gZ4Vkx5Wu1

— tasha louise | 𝙰𝚞𝚝𝚞𝚖𝚗 🍂 (@eds_afterglow) October 31, 2023

“I’ve seen people put it in the bin before,” Paul said, referring to the few, but “scandalous” times, bakers preferred to throw out their imperfect creations rather than face judgment.

“I was determined I wasn’t going to be one of them,” Cristy said with a cheeky smile.

There’s no doubt that Cristy struggled with her Showstopper this week, but as Paul and Prue noted, she rallied and tried again. Cristy might not have won Star Baker this week, as that honor finally went to Josh, but she did conquer herself. Throughout the weeks, we’ve seen signs of Cristy’s insecurity pop out at tense moments. Surely, her nerves struck her hard this week. However, with Paul’s note telling her to stop hedging her work before the Showstopper critique and her reveal that she would not give up at the end… I feel like maybe Cristy will start believing in herself more going forward.

If nothing else, Cristy’s commitment to working as hard as she could in spite of a setback was a beautiful thing to behold. Her spirit overcame her nerves and her bake was still good enough to save her for another week. That is the sort of moment that The Great British Baking Show is all about. It’s never been about perfection, but being the best baker you can be in spite of what’s thrown at you.