- Feb. 26, 1996:
Intimate breakfast for 600.Edgy contestants sit with husbands, wives, mothers. I think we're in Texas, but they're in a trancelike state.
Stuffed characters named Sprout (apparently a chip off the old Green Giant's block) and Dough Boy, led by helper, giggling and waving to nervous group.
Food editors flock together to share any last-minute tidbits and names of good restaurants.
TV reporter standing next to doughy company icon, leading live report with . . . "The dough's rising, folks . . . ".
Such a bad quote, it's good. Write it down.
Along with omelette, we get "yada yada" from host Alex Trebek. Accompanied by one small wife and two small kids. Better up close and personal than on TV. Not so pompous.
Trebek: "I'm going to resign as a potential host next year so my wife can compete . . . "
Alex cracks jokes. Contestants wish they were cracking eggs.
. . . "I'm a redneck in training. I've learned these from my friend Jeff Foxworthy (look up who he is?):
"You know you're a redneck if you think beef jerky and Moon Pies are a new category in the Pillsbury Bake-Off."
(Note: Take cab to market - BUY MOON PIES!)
Breakfast finished. True to tradition on Bake-Off day, crowd stands and sings "God Bless America."
Strike up the band . . . straw hats and Dixieland tunes.
George Pillsbury and wife (third generation), each lead contestants into ballroom. All waving, smiling and looking for their oven, their workspace.
Finalists wrapped in blue Pillsbury aprons. One gal wearing poufy hat that says . . . "More dough, boys."
Another bad one. Write it down.
Television cameras everywhere. Poor contestant nearest media entrance. Patricia Lapiezo. Stressed. Can't cut up apples with TV camera inches away from her face.
Regarding the cameras: "I didn't know what to do, so I kept chopping," she said. "It was the strangest, most chopped-up apple I've ever done."
Trebek working the room. Smile for the camera. Arm around woman. Sign autographs. Debate whether to shove my reporter's notebook in his face. Nah. Don't want to Jeopardize anyone . . . shake hand instead.
Decide I need an angle for this story. Start looking for contestants with weird names . . . BINGO! Right next to each other . . . contestants 67 & 68 . . . Beverley Ann Crummey and Mary Lou Cook!
Get this - COOK & CRUMMEY both won $2,000 in the Special Occasion Dessert Category.
Irene Schlotter - Brownie Macaroon Torte (tortes seem to be a hot item) - wearing shirt she made that reads, "Cookin' up some fun in Dallas."
Need to escape the noise.
No. 33 - Patricia Harmon. Nervous! Freaked out, claming her oven didn't work. Pillsbury home economist checked it. Harmon just couldn't hear the timer go off. Feverishly peeling apples, trying to find her cooking rhythm to catch up.
Move outside the velvet barriers and into the crowd of family members watching their finalist. Interview daughter cheering for her mom. I ask if her mother is nervous.
"She's usually very calm. But this morning she dropped an earring down the bathroom sink . . . and she fell apart."
Happy ending/good quote: "The maintenance man took the sink apart and found it."
Better quote: "My mom's already a winner. It's an honor just to be here."
Back on the floor to find her mom. Rooting for her (quietly).
10 men in finals. Good for them! Jeffrey Robase, Contestant No. 40 being pressed by TV pretty boy reporter. Camera on Robase who sports a pony tail, goatee and earring. He says, "I've had 17 finalists in my family."
His Cranberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake looks delicious.
Pretty Boy TV Guy Question No. 1: "Can men cook as well as women?"
PBTVGQ No. 2: "What do your friends think?"
PBTVGQ No. 3: "Do you think it's odd to be here among all these women?"
Unbelievable. Need fresh air . . . leave vicinity of Pretty Boy.
Looking for interesting quotes. Find one in Karen Stuteville, Parsons, Kan.
Q: Are you nervous?
A: "I'm chilled out now. My two children are upstairs in the room with my husband - screaming for me . . . and I don't care!"
"Now I'm having a good time!"
Remember the days . . .
Find oldest Bake-Off person - 73-year-old woman. Wants no part of chitchat.
Most finalists tell good-natured tales of cooking disasters, including blue cookies, unpeeled "breaded shrimp," peas washed mistakenly with laundry detergent.
Another horror story: A yeast bread that rose so much it pushed open the oven door.
At the age of 12, finalist Pamela Kennedy tried dipping chicken wings in presweetened strawberry Kool-Aid. She baked them until they glazed over and "permanently stuck to the pan."
Contestant No. 85, Cindy Atwood, first attempted bread baking at age 11. She remembers the finished product being so hard that she smashed it with a hammer and used it as sidewalk chalk.
But, most of these contestants "hang in there" and finally made it to the final competition - a 1 in 100 chance at a million dollars.
A MILLION BUCKS FOR A CAKE?
Be still, my heart.
Pretty Boy now admiring his reflection in an ice bucket on the First Aid table.
Speaking of First Aid: Contestant No. 51, Greta Eberhardt. Young woman who traveled to the Bake-Off by herself. While slicing chicken, she cut thumb badly. All finalists are using brand-new Cutco knives. Taken to hospital for stitches by Pillsbury representative.
Watching her struggle to maintain her composure. Feel like shouting "Go, Greta!"
Tears. Determined. A bit of luck - her chicken salad only takes 30 minutes to complete. Greta desperately trying to make up for lost time.
Only a few minutes left to get her recipe to the judges on time.
Forget the lost earring lady. Here's the underdog. Cross fingers, leave her surrounded by Pillsbury people for privacy.
SHOWTIME!
Cameras, action, APPLAUSE.
Trebek announcing winners on national TV.
YES!!!! Fiesta Chicken Salad wins $2,000! Greta Everhardt can buy all the Band-Aids she'll ever need!
It's over.
But just beginning for the Million Dollar Man - Kurt Wait.
And so, as as the sun sinks into the Dallas horizon, the Pillsbury people scurry and hurry to wrap up the 37th Bake-Off, so they can begin organizing the 38th.
And the Macadamia Fudge Torte?
Delicious! Definitely Much Ado About Something!
*****
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Million-dollar book
Hot off the press, the Pills-bury Classic Cookbook features all 100 finalist recipes from the 37th Bake-Off, with color photos of all 100 recipes.
The cookbook is on sale now at supermarkets and newsstands.
To order by mail, send $4.50 (includes postage and handling) to:
Pillsbury Publications
Dept. 8077, P.O. Box 400863
Des Moines, IA 50340