Great Chocolate Showdown season 3 premiere: Here we go again

Great Chocolate Showdown came back on The CW on Thursday, Aug 12, 2022 and it was as chocolatey as ever. Cynthia Stroud, Anna Olson, and Steve Hodge were back as hosts and judges and 10 new bakers stepped into the chocolate explosion that is the Great Chocolate Showdown kitchen.

The episode started off with Steve Hodge demonstrating how to make a chocolate carousel and then telling the contestants that this was their first technical challenge. Considering last season’s first technical challenge was tempering chocolate, this was an extremely difficult challenge. Making chocolate support weight is no joke.

They also had to make a signature dessert to go with the carousel as if making a chocolate sculpture wasn’t hard enough. The judges were not playing!

This was also the challenge to determine which three bakers were immune from the next challenge. But the catch? The judges would only be trying six of the baker’s creations.

Great Chocolate Showdown is back on The CW with season 3

The bakers did really well. While not everyone’s carousel looked perfect or were tempered, they all stood up straight and in my book, that’s pretty great. The three that were on top and immune from the elimination challenge included Connie, Evan, and Shyam with Shyam having the best one.

Next up, the elimination challenge! This time, the bakers had to pick an object from “the cabinet of curiosities” and then make a dessert inspired by it. This included things like ballet shoes, books, a microphone, and a small canoe. The bakers didn’t have to make a dessert that looked like the object, just inspired by it.

The final desserts included an opera cake, chocolate coconut mini pies, a chocolate box filled with biscotti, and a fruit tart.

And the winner was…Ian! He had the microphone and made an amazing opera cake. To make that many layers in that short period of time and make it look that gorgeous is truly outstanding!

As for who went home, it was unfortunately Vince. The judges were not impressed with his presentation or his flavors (or his ability to wear a hat and bake at the same time which I thought was very impressive).

This episode was entertaining and stressful in equal measure. As the judges weren’t really acquainted with the bakers yet, I can forgive them for not being as open and fun as they were during last season. But the bakers were truly fun and supportive throughout the episode.

Next week, the nine bakers will have to make choux pastries and then create a specialty ice cream sandwich. When ice cream is in a hot kitchen, nothing good can happen.

What did you think of the season 3 premiere of Great Chocolate Showdown? Let us know in the comments below