The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition kicked off a new season last night, with new judges, hosts, and ten hopeful home bakers competing for the title of America’s Best Amateur Baker (which comes with endless bragging rights).
Keeping in line with its British counterpart, each episode focuses on one particular treat (cakes, cookies, etc.) and has the same challenges (the signature round, the technical round, and the showstopper round).
Most American culinary competitions take place in large industrial kitchens or outdoor food stations, but the contestants on The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition create their culinary masterpieces outdoors, under large, airy tents appropriately decorated for the season.
It’s refreshing compared to what food show-obsessed viewers are used to seeing. So where is this gorgeous location?
It’s actually across the pond in England! The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition is produced by Love Productions USA (a division of the UK-based production company), and this season was filmed in two locations: Heatherden Hall and Pinewood Studios, both located in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England.
Heatherden Hall is a beautiful Victorian country house and actually lies within the grounds of Pinewood Studios, a film and television studio complex, located in a rural area west of London.
It’s more than fitting, considering that this show is a take on The Great British Baking Show (known as The Great British Bakeoff in England), which has gained a massive fan base in the States over the past few years thanks to airing seasons on PBS and Netflix.
Take in the beautiful English countryside while getting your baking show fix, and tune into The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition on Thursdays at 9 p.m. on ABC. Blink and you’ll miss it, though: The season is airing two episodes at a time, and the grand winner will be announced on December 20. If you missed last night’s episodes, be sure to catch up on ABC’s website.