RASPBERRY THIEF

Saku Belongs in the ‘Great British Baking Show’ Hall of Fame

First, she threw a ball of dough at Alison Hammond. Then, she stole a few raspberries from her ingredients as a snack. Now, she’s completely stolen our hearts.

Things got pretty tense this week on The Great British Baking Show, with one of the fan-favorite bakers on the chopping block. Was it just me, or were we all holding our breaths until we found out the final result of this season’s Chocolate Week challenges?

After four weeks, the GBBS fanbase has taken a liking to Saku, a Sri Lankan-born baker who loves to create magical cakes and other goodies with her kids. In a sense, Saku has adopted us all. She is our GBBS mom, teaching us how to perform under pressure and have a good time while doing so. It’s not too early to predict that Saku will likely join the ranks of Jürgen and Janusz, who, in recent years, have become total GBBS icons.

Last week, Saku really put on a show. The baker played cricket with Alison Hammond, tossing a dough ball that smacked the host’s thigh. Is horseplay allowed in the baking tent? I don’t know the exact rules, but it’s probably fine if Saku breaks them. Alison can film without a working leg for a day of production.

As Saku prepared her showstopper later on in Bread Week, she gave us a relatable moment as she slid her bake into the oven. “I’m going to sit here and watch and pray,” she said, plopping onto the floor in front of the oven door, cackling. New life motto just dropped.

Saku never hides what she’s thinking at any time during a bake, with a series of wonderful expressions that range from “I’m a little nervous this isn’t going to work” to “everything is falling apart.” Most bakers have one intense, contemplative look on their faces while they prepare their dishes. Not Saku—Saku’s expressions tell an entire story. The story may not be relaxing or easygoing, but at least it’s a wild time.

This week, we saw ourselves in Saku once again, as she prepared her chocolate showstopper bake. Anxious about her poor performance in the earlier challenges, Saku took a moment to herself. To calm herself down, she scarfed a handful of raspberries from her ingredients, a sugary kick to hopefully give her enough energy to finish out the challenge.

Saku ended up in the bottom two this week, scaring a handful of her fans online. Paul and Prue placed her last in the technical round; neither host was a fan of her signature and showstopper bakes. All signs pointed to Saku’s departure.

Have no fear: Saku lived to see another week. No one was eliminated this week, most likely because one of the other bakers had some health issues and had to drop out of the challenges.

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Next week, however, brings new challenges. The bakers will be on pastries. Hopefully, Saku is strong at making the delicate bakes, because after this week’s lack of elimination, two bakers will be sent home next week. I’ll be crossing all of my fingers until then.

Fletcher PetersEntertainment Reporter

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