by Thinus Ferreira
9¾ TVs
Is there still something like television for everyone? Something that any combination of people, any combination of ages, any family members and any person can plop down for, switch on, watch, and instantly will love and watch to the end? Yes. And Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking on the Food Network is it.
And it's perfect.
The very idea and conceptualisation of Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking on the Food Network (DStv 175) is genius. So is its television production. How did nobody think of this years ago?
In a muggle world so divided, so hurried, so angst-filled, so full of stress and in-fighting and people scattering to their own screens, the cake-make show is a delightful, utterly magical, extremely unifying TV watching experience perfect for any combination of family members to watch together, or just a magical treat for yourself.
Within the hallowed halls of Hogwarts (the "real" one at Warner Bros. Leavesden Studios that was never struck after the films were completed and is a studio tour experience by day), Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking is Netflix's Is It Cake? on a flour and icing sugar high.
With the beloved Carla Hall and Jozef Youssef as judges, keep the remote control close: You will want to press pause and also press the rewind-and-play buttons as you stare, and stare again, at what's possible when muggles are able to create magic.
In Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking that transports you to another world - literally - nothing is ugly, as a piece of television that truly transfigurates the viewing experience. Watch just an episode - any episode - and you cannot but go away and be left inspired.
Extremely talented cake makers and pastry artists (of course one will even have an architecture background!) craft the stuff of dreams.
Here, for an hour, the only challenge is really just themselves to conjure up cakes that truly defy belief but really exist, as if by magic, within a real world bound by things like time, gravity and the stickiness (or not!) of chocolate viscosity. Will it hold?
The Food Network's latest series is a spellbinding culinary TV adventure for any age and any person who just needs that moment of escapism, that moment of getting filled up again, and to literally see that there are still many people aspiring to achieve, be better, and to make beautiful things in a fractured world.
Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking will obviously captivate fans of the wizarding world created by J.K. Rowling, but baking enthusiasts alike, as well as ordinary viewers who might care not for cake baking or the Potterverse.
While this enchanting competition series brings together the magical realm of Harry Potter and the art of baking, resulting in a truly unique and captivating viewing experience, its viewing impact and ability to surprise, stretches much wider than Potter or cake dough.
The attention to detail from both a production design perspective to the detail the creators bring to their cakes are superlatively impressive.
If you dream of making things - anything - this show and the people in it will inspire you to dream bigger and be better at what you can or want to do.
As an immersive experience, colourful and well edited, the 6-episode Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking crafts and presents an enchanting environment that perfectly captures the whimsical spirit of the Harry Potter world.
The contestants, all skilled bakers and Harry Potter fans, bring their A+ game to the competition.
Throughout the episodes they face challenges that test their baking skills, creativity, and knowledge of the wizarding world. They don't bake - they overwhelm you with head-shaking, jaw-dropping, visually stunning impossibilities.
Of course Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking is an owl-delivered love letter to the Harry Potter franchise, with clever references and nods to the beloved books and films.
At the same time, it's a celebration of the art of baking, with creative challenges and mouth-watering creations that will inspire viewers to get baking.
It's also a love letter to the better part of what television is capable of and the better part of humanity: Of upliftment, of inspiration, of TV that brings joy.
Watch Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking and be inspired by seeing people who don't just have big dreams but practically work to turn their magical aspirations into reality.
Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking is on The Food Network (DStv 175) on Wednesdays at 17:00, from 4 December 2024
