The Great British Baking Show on Netflix has become a favorite of my granddaughter and daughter. Most evenings, they enjoy watching an episode as the extremely skilled amateur bakers from the United Kingdom use all their culinary skills to meet the challenges set forth by the judges.

The Baking Show has been around since 2010. Each show has three bakes. The first is called the Signature Bake and gives contestants a chance to show off their skills. The second is the Technical Challenge and bakers must produce an exemplar of a designated baked good with minimal instructions.

Lastly, bakers are asked to produce a Showstopper, another item they have been able to practice at home. At the end of each week's show, one person is awarded Star Baker and one is eliminated. On the final episode, three bakers are left to compete, and one goes on to win the coveted cake stand and a bouquet.

That's it. No monetary prize, though some winners have gone on to become professional bakers or to write cookbooks. Of course, all these bakes are done within a strict time limit to add to the suspense.

Competition to get on the show is intense, with thousands sending in applications. Only twelve make it into the tent to compete after passing through rigorous interviews and baking two items in front of the producers.

One thing I've noticed is that the competitors are uniformly lovely to each other. You often see them helping out when someone has difficulty and cheering each other on.

My favorite winner is Nancy Birtwhistle, a lady so quintessentially British that the Union Jack salutes her every time she walks by. This grandmother of nine was named Queen of the Bake in 2014 and has kept herself busy since then, writing cookbooks, gardening and, of course, continuing her baking journey. She is truly practically perfect in every way.

The judges for the early episodes are dear Mary Berry and roguish Paul Hollywood, both famous British bakers. They like to talk about the “bake”, whether too dry or still raw, the dispersion of the added ingredients and, of course, the presentation. Flavor is important as well, as contestants often use spices and herbs that seem surprising to an American palate.

My daughter and granddaughter found that watching all the baking was quite inspirational. While visiting over the holidays, they made éclairs filled with crème and topped with chocolate. On the Great British Baking Show, they would call it a choux pastry filled with crème pat. Either way, it was delicious.

Getting into the spirit of the show, I tried my hand at some shortbread which my granddaughter pronounced delicious but decided could be improved with some melted chocolate for dipping. Who was I to argue?

The only difficulty I've found with the Great British Baking Show is that it is impossible to watch without having a cup of tea and some kind of cookie or dessert to munch. The caloric demands of this show are a bit frightful, but in the spirit of the Brits, I will carry on.