''The Great Kiwi Bake Off'' is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

television

baking Baking is a method of preparing food that uses dry heat, typically in an oven, but can also be done in hot ashes, or on hot stones. The most common baked item is bread but many other types of foods can be baked. Heat is gradually transferred " ...

competition based on ''

The Great British Bake Off ''The Great British Bake Off'' (often abbreviated to ''Bake Off'' or ''GBBO'') is a British television baking competition, produced by Love Productions, in which a group of amateur bakers compete against each other in a series of rounds, att ...

'' in which 12 amateur bakers compete in a series of baking challenges. The show's first episode was aired on 16 October 2018 on

TVNZ 2 TVNZ 2 ( mi, Te Reo Tātaki Rua) is the second New Zealand television channel owned and operated by the state-owned broadcaster Television New Zealand (TVNZ). It targets a younger audience than its sister channel, TVNZ 1. TVNZ 2's line up consi ...

. The show is hosted by

Hayley Sproull Hayley Jayne Sproull (born 1989) is a New Zealand comedian, actor, scriptwriter, television show host and radio show co-host. She is the host of ''The Great Kiwi Bake Off'' and the New Zealand edition of ''Have You Been Paying Attention?''. Bio ...

and

Madeleine Sami Madeleine Nalini Sami is a New Zealand actress, director, comedian and musician. She started her acting career in theatre before moving to television, where she created, wrote, and starred in ''Super City''. She co-wrote, co-directed, and starr ...

, with judges Dean Brettschneider and Sue Fleischl. The show, like other spinoffs of ''The Great British Bake Off'', uses a similar style, format, and opening theme song to the British series. Like the British series, the show is followed by a recap special called ''An Extra Slice'', hosted by Chris Parker, discussing the episode of the week and interviewing contestants who have been eliminated.

Format

The programme operates on a weekly elimination process to find the best all-round baker from the contestants who are all amateurs, where in each episode the bakers are tasked with different challenges: a signature bake, a technical bake, and a showstopper. The first season only included two of the three challenges with the exception of the finale. All three challenges were included during the second season. The bakes are critically examined by the judges who will then choose a "Star Baker" and a baker that is eliminated from the competition. *Signature Challenge: This challenge allows the amateur bakers to show off their tried-and-tested recipes. *Technical Challenge: This challenge shows who can follow minimal instructions and who also has the technical knowledge and experience to produce a finished product. The bakers are all given the same recipe and are not told the challenge beforehand. The finished product is ranked from worst to best with the judges not knowing who produced which bake. *Showstopper Challenge: This challenge allows the bakers to show off their skills and talent with the judges looking for a bake with both a professional appearance and great taste.

Season overview

Season 1 (2018)

This season premiered on 16 October 2018 and featured four bakers in the finale instead of the typical three. The season was won by Annabel Coulter from

Timaru Timaru (; mi, Te Tihi-o-Maru) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to ...

. Runners-up were Stacey Johnsen, Jeff Poole and Hannah Ward.

Season 2 (2019)

This season premiered on 3 November 2019. The season concluded on 22 December 2019 with Trevor Hall from

Havelock North Havelock North ( mi, Te Hemo-a-Te Atonga) is a town in the Hawke's Bay region of the North Island of New Zealand, situated less than 2 km south-east of the city of Hastings. It was a borough for many years until the 1989 reorganisation of local ...

as the season's winner. Runners-up were Heather Andrew and Naomi Toilalo.

Celebrity Bake Off NZ (2019)

On 23 December 2019, six celebrities competed in the ''Bake Off'' tent to win money for the charity of their choice. The special was won by

Jackie van Beek Jackie van Beek (born 10 May 1976) is a New Zealand film and television director, writer and actress. Early life Van Beek was born and raised in Wellington and attended Onslow College. She studied contemporary dance at the Wellington Performi ...

Season 3 (2021)

After a

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

enforced break in 2020, the third edition of ''The Great Kiwi Bake Off'' was filmed in 2021 in

Muriwai Muriwai, also called Muriwai Beach, is a coastal community on the west coast of the Auckland Region in the North Island of New Zealand. The black-sand surf beach and surrounding area is a popular recreational area for Aucklanders. The Muriwai R ...

instead of the usual location, South Auckland’s Puketutu Island Estate. This season premiered on 14 October 2021 with ten new bakers, and airs weekly, Thursday, at 7:30 PM on TVNZ 1. Sproull, Sami, Brettschneider and Fleischl returned with their respective roles. Mental Health Doctor, Alby Hailes, won the third season with Courtnay Fafeita and Jasmin Hohaia finishing as runner-ups.

Celebrity Bake Off NZ (2021)

On 16 December 2021, six celebrities competed in the ''Bake Off'' tent to win money for the charity of their choice with actors

Rebekah Randell Rebecca, ; Syriac: , ) from the Hebrew (lit., 'connection'), from Semitic root , 'to tie, couple or join', 'to secure', or 'to snare') () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical ...

and

Josh Thomson Joshua Joseph Thomson (born September 21, 1977) is an American mixed martial arts podcaster, commentator, analyst and former mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2001, Thomson has competed in Bellator MMA, PRIDE, Strikeforce, U ...

, comedians

Laura Daniel Laura Daniel (born 1990) is an actress and comedian from New Zealand. She currently reports on television show ''Seven Sharp''. Previously, she has starred in the television series '' Funny Girls'' and ''Jono and Ben''. She has been in a relati ...

and

Justine Smith Justine Smith is a New Zealand comedian, writer, and actress. Early life Smith was born in Auckland and adopted by and raised in a self-described "conservative" family in Wainoni in Christchurch, New Zealand. Smith has an older sister. Her gra ...

, politician

Simon Bridges Simon Joseph Bridges (born 12 October 1976) is a former New Zealand politician and lawyer. He served as Leader of the National Party and Leader of the Opposition between 2018 and 2020, and as the Member of Parliament for Tauranga from the to ...

, and Francis Tipene of The Casketeers.

won the grand prize of $20,000 and other #30,000 were divided across 6 various charities across Aotearoa.

Season 4 (2022)

The next season was confirmed and casting was opened on 9 December 2021. This season, Comedian Pax Assadi joined

as co-host while taking over the judging roles are chef, restaurateur, writer, and food consultant Peter Gordon, alongside Jordan Rondel, an author and co-founder of international cakery ''The Caker.'' Marketing Coordinator, Brooke Walker, won the fourth season while Jonathan Willows and Victoria Hume finished as runners-up.

Celebrity Bake Off NZ Christmas Special 2022

The Great Kiwi Bake Off Celebrity Special

Celebrity Bake Off NZ (2022)

Celebrity Bake Off NZ (season 3) also known as ''The Great Kiwi Bake Off Celebrity Treasure Island Special''. Celebrity Treasure Island's hosts Matt Chisholm and Bree Tomasel joined 2021's castaways;

Candy Lane Candy Michele Lane is a New Zealand dancer, choreographer and television presenter. She co-presented TVNZ's '' Dancing With The Stars'' with Jason Gunn, and also choreographed ''New Zealand's Got Talent'', ''The Singing Bee'', and ''Stars in T ...

& Lana Searle and 2022's castaways; Cassie Roma & Courtney Louise competed in the ''Bake Off'' tent to win money for the charity of their choice.

Season 5 (2023)

The next season was confirmed and casting was opened on 9 November 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Kiwi Bake Off, The TVNZ original programming English-language television shows

New Zealand cooking television series New Zealand reality television series 2018 New Zealand television series debuts Television shows set in New Zealand Television shows filmed in New Zealand Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios New Zealand television series based on British television series