‘Spring Baking Championship’: Fans Claim Food Network ‘Bias’ After ‘Best Contestant’ is Eliminated

Spring Baking Championship narrowed down its three finalists on Monday’s (April 29) episode, but some fans claim the “best contestant” was unfairly eliminated.

As reported by The Sun U.S., viewers took to social media to complain after budding baker Alexandre “Alex” Bonnefoi was eliminated by judges Duff Goldman, Kardea Brown, and Nancy Fuller just one week before the Season 10 finale.

The final four, which included fellow contestants Nickey Boyd, Robert Gonzalez, and Steven Tran, were tasked with a wedding-inspired challenge. With Gonzalez and Tran already having earned their spots in the final, Bonnefoi and Boyd had to fight it out for the last spot.

In the head-to-head showdown, Bonnefoi and Boyd had to “borrow” a dessert from the other two finalists to go along with the “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue” wedding rhyme.

Bonnefoi was challenged with making Tran’s favorite dessert, tiramisu, while Boyd had to create Gonzalez’s favorite, key lime pie.

Despite showing off his technical and creatively impressive desserts all season, Bonnefoi fumbled with the tiramisu. The judges said the cake had a little too much soak and an off-putting, soggy layer.

The judges also had criticism for Boyd, telling her that parts of the dessert were not totally cohesive. However, the fact she’d transformed the pie into a pavlova showed off her passion.

Contestants Nickey Boyd and Alex Bonnefoi on Spring Baking Championships; Food Network

Ultimately, Boyd’s creativity won out, and the judges declared her the winner of the head-to-head battle, cementing her spot in the finale.

That meant viewers had to say goodbye to Bonnefoi, and they weren’t happy about it.

“Alex was the best baker this year, really biased judging,” wrote one disappointed fan on X.

“So Alex who was perfect and made a five star dessert gets sent home over a sub par baker who made a pie,” added another. “[The show] needs blind judging. Alex never had a chance he was always better than everyone. BIASED.”

“Why isn’t there blind judging on #SpringBakingChampionship? Alex had the more complex dessert, but the bias against classically-trained French chefs just had to continue,” said another commenter.

“Alex got shafted. He was the best baker,” one fan wrote.

Related

Giada De Laurentiis Admits She Was ‘Very Fearful’ to Leave Food Network

Another added, “Alex got screwed. Troll Duff hates men that are more talented and better looking than him. The favoritism has always been obvious on this show.”

“Please make the bake off taste tests judged blind. The favoritism is obvious,” said another.

However, not everyone agreed, with one viewer writing, “How was [Alex] screwed. We all saw him put too much liquid on his cake, and then we saw the messy presentation. Nikki’s looked better and tasted great. If she didn’t win, she would have been the one that got screwed.”

The winner of Spring Baking Championship Season 10 will be crowned on next week’s finale, airing Monday, May 6, at 8 pm ET/PT on Food Network.

What did you think? Was Bonnefoi screwed? Who had the best dessert? Let us know in the comments section below.