‘Great British Baking Show’ Standout Saku Survives “Chocolate Week” to Dazzle Us Another Day 

The big headline coming out of The Great British Baking Show “Chocolate Week” was undoubtedly the fact that poor Tasha Stones fell ill and had to leave the competition mid-episode. However the development I am most excited about is the fact that this year’s breakout Bake Off diva, Saku Chandrasekara, is still in the tent! While every season of The Great British Baking Show introduces us to a new cast of wholesome amateur bakers to fall hard for, there is always one or two charismatic standouts we hardcore obsess over. They give hilarious soundbites, incredible banter, and face each judging with indefatigable self confidence. Saku is that person this year and it’s far too soon to see her go. Hence, I’m thrilled that judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith decided to save this week’s elimination for when Tasha can return to the tent…because I’m pretty sure Saku would have gotten the boot on The Great British Baking Show “Chocolate Week.”

The Great British Baking Show “Chocolate Week” is always a brutal test of the bakers’ ability to manage their own tempers as they attempt to temper chocolate in a brutally hot tent with no air conditioning. While we didn’t see producers break out the fans originally needed during the heat wave of 2019, everyone said the first day of “Chocolate Week” coincided with the hottest day of the year so far. Noel Fielding joked with Dana Conway that they shouldn’t have worn jumpers (i.e. sweaters), chocolate work melted right before the bakers’ eyes, and Tasha even used the freezer to try to cool herself down. However, no one handled the heat with quite like Saku.

Saku has emerged as an early favorite in the tent thanks to the fact that the 50-year-old Sri Lankan emigré wears her heart on her sleeve. She’s quick with a joke, blunt about her opinions, and will even improvise a cricket match with host Alison Hammond on the fly (and then, uh, hit Alison in the leg). Saku is just a freaking delight! You either love everything she says or you laugh at everything she says, and usually you are doing both.

Saku struggled during “Chocolate Week.” For the Signature Challenge, she decided to put a personal spin on the traditional Sachertorte, which she dubbed a “Saku Torte.” However, both the heat and her nerves conspired against Saku. Her “rough and ready” torte, complete with some poor piping, wasn’t to Paul and Prue’s standards. And do you want to know something? During her confessional, Saku revealed she doesn’t care!

“They said it is not elegant. I accept that. Just like myself, simple!” She smiled warmly with a giggle in her voice. “That’s how I like everything.”

Then came the Technical Challenge. Prue tasked the bakers with producing eight individual cheesecakes made with caramelized white chocolate. Saku came in last. According to Paul, they looked “terrible” and “over-baked.” Saku’s reaction to all this? HYSTERIC LAUGHTER. (We love her so much!) 

“Still, there’s hope for tomorrow,” she says once she’s collected herself. “It’s a new day. A new bake. Still old me. We’ll see.”

Which leads us to the Showstopper Challenge for The Great British Baking Show “Chocolate Week.” Saku and Cristy were the clear bottom two heading into this challenge. While Paul explains at the end of the episode that they both had great flavors, but dry cakes, he’s not telling the whole story. That’s because the Showstopper Challenge was to make an edible chocolate box, full of cake and additional chocolates. While their cakes were even, Cristy’s chocolate work was better. Her heart-shaped box was visually stunning to behold and there was a better temper on the chocolate in general.

Because of those slight differences and because Saku was last in the Technical, I truly believe she would have been the baker going home. Paul and Prue decided, instead, that it was unfair to kick either Saku or Cristy off since Tasha left in the middle of a down note.

The good news is no one went home this week. The even better news is our beloved Saku will stay to warm the tent with her wit for yet another week of The Great British Baking Show. The awful news, however, is that next week two bakers will be eliminated from the show.

Making next week’s episode, The Great British Baking Show “Pastry Week,” all the more nerve-wracking for fans is the reality that “Chocolate Week” upended the proverbial leaderboard. Middle-of-the-pack baker Matty won Star Baker over Nicky, who struggled in early episodes. Previously-assumed frontrunners like Tasha and Josh Smalley found themselves floundering in the tent. It’s no longer quite so obvious who has an edge going into next week’s episode and who is flagging behind the pack. That’s going to put even more pressure on all the bakers during “Pastry Week,” but it also suggests this could one of the most exciting seasons of The Great British Baking Show yet.