The Golden Spoon

Bake Week, the fictional television show in The Golden Spoon, bears a resemblance to real-life competition shows, most notably The Great British Bake Off (or, as it is known in the United States, The Great British Baking Show), where a group of contestants from diverse backgrounds showcase their amateur skills in the kitchen, undergoing a series of challenges and attempting to survive regular eliminations. As in its real-life inspiration, Bake Week takes place in a tent and is filmed on the grounds of a large country house; however, in Maxwell’s novel, that country house is in Vermont rather than England.

The Great British Bake Off, along with its many spinoffs, is a relatively recent addition to a sub-genre of food reality television that also includes cooking-related shows such as Top Chef and Hell’s Kitchen. More broadly, these types of competition shows are part of food reality television, a category that focuses on the production, consumption, history, and sociology of food. The forerunners of today’s food reality shows are educational programs of the 1940s and 50s. Many of these early shows focused on demonstrating skills to viewers and providing commentary on homemaking. Studio sets mimicked the kitchens of middle-class Americans, while close-up shots displayed the cooking process and preparation techniques in real time. The popularity of food reality television cooking shows continued into the 1960s with the rising fame of television hosts like Julia Child, who detailed her experience with French cooking. Child transformed the burgeoning format of food reality television into to a celebration of cooking as a form of artistic expression—and entertainment. The founding of the Food Network in 1993 further enhanced the connection between food and entertainment. Food-related content continues to be popular on major social media platforms like YouTube and TikTok.

The Great British Bake Off debuted on BBC Two in 2010 and aired its 15th season in 2024. Although it is difficult to ascertain the exact number of viewers because of its presence on streaming services such as Netflix, Bake Off remains intensely popular among millions of international viewers. In the UK, the show sparked an interest in home baking, a boost in the sales of bakery books, membership in baking clubs, and the opening of independent bakeries. Despite the show’s massive success and cultural impact, criticism and controversy have surrounded the show. As with many reality shows, food-based or otherwise, accusations of favoritism and sabotage have arisen throughout the show’s run, leading to intense discussions on social media; Maxwell places these controversies at the center of her fictional Bake Week.