Cooking competitions have a fascinating history that stretches back centuries. One of the earliest recorded instances occurred in Medieval Baghdad, over 1,000 years ago, where a culinary face-off took place between the caliph al-Maʾmūn and his brother, al-Muʿtaṣim. Fast-forward to the modern era, from Iron Chef to Bake Squad, the cooking competition has become a staple of the world of reality TV.

Bake Squad

Unlike many intense culinary contests, Bake Squad takes a more lighthearted approach. There are no eliminations or grand prizes; instead, a recurring cast of expert bakers collaborate to create elaborate desserts for clients’ special occasions. Hosted by Christina Tosi, founder of Milk Bar, and co-created by the mind behind “The Final Table,†this series stands out for its focus on epic execution and next-level dessert ideas.

BAKE SQUAD: PARENTAL NOTES

Be sure to read the disclaimer in the WOKE REPORT section.

• Netflix bills Bake Squad as a family program, so some of what might only normally make its way into our Woke Section for adult-oriented programming is doing double duty as also inappropriate for children.
  • Season 2, Episode 6 is devoted to making confectionaries for The Varsity Gay League, specifically for one of its founding members.

WOKE REPORT

Disclaimer:

The series is, for the most part, completely innocent. However, there is one episode that is 100% woke.

Our final rating scores are derived by averaging those of the individual episodes. So, while one episode is a woketasteophe, the overall Woke-O-Meter score for the series, as a whole, doesn’t drop below the threshold for Basedness.

We Are The Letter People, LGBTQRV

• Season 2, Episode 4 celebrates a woman who, it is revealed during the intros, volunteers with LGBTQ organizations. This is given as one of the reasons she should be honored.
  • It should be noted that this is only mentioned once and is not the focus of the episode.
• Season 2, Episode 6 is totally gay.
  • This is the only episode in either season that isn’t titled after what is being celebrated (e.g., Brother Birthday Bash, Vow Renewal, etc.). Instead, this one is named after the organization founded by the person being honored. It is titled The Varsity Gay League.
    • Titles don’t fall out of the sky. This solitary departure from the format was clearly a choice to promote an agenda.
  • The squad isn’t just making a cake for a person who happens to be homosexual. They are baking in celebration of homosexuality.
  • In one episode of the previous season, the chefs paired up into two teams of two. Season 2, Episode 6 of Bake Squad sees them paired off once again, this time as same-sex couples. Do you get it?
  • The ladies make a gay pride parade float-inspired desert that is only missing leather fetish dudes in ball gags and crotchless chaps.
  • The end of each episode shows a video of the events for which the cakes were made. This one is a pool party right out of Schmitts Gay.

I Love You, Man

• There’s a self-described bromance between the two male chefs.
  • They occasionally say things to one another in a faux flirtatious way.
    • It’s important to note that both men are in heterosexual marriages and that the “flirtation†is never more than one line.
      • These lines are seemingly intended to be humorous, but it can be a bit much, especially if you binge episodes.

There’s Your Water Fountain

• Season 2, Episode 4, highlights a non-profit created solely for black people. However, I couldn’t find anything on their site or from other sources that promoted radical ideas like those espoused by other organizations like BLM. That said, it’s hard to contextualize any organization that excludes people based on the color of their skin as anything other than racist.