This was one of my least favorite "challenges." No one I talked to liked it, because it was perceived as poorly designed and executed. Besides the issues already mentioned, I found it terribly unfair that the gentleman in the contest was considered an "amateur," and yet he does bake as part of his job. Granted, he is not a specialized or classically trained pastry chef, but if you get paid to cook/bake, then you're not an amateur (not that this helped him any ). There are so many great professional contests that I would love to see. It would be a great way to see the up-and-comers in the profession and to view new ideas/techniques. If Food Network would work on getting these shown, then maybe they wouldn't be getting desparate for new material.