Isn’t ‘American Pie’ Star Jason Biggs the Last Person We Want Judging A Baking Competition?
It seems like an obvious rule of thumb that the producers of TV competitions should exclusively hire hosts and judges whom they would trust to be left alone in a room with one of the contestants. I mean , imagine if the organizers of the Westminster Dog Show had RFK Jr. on their shortlist.
On the recently released Netflix cooking contest series Blue Ribbon Baking Championship, state fair-winning bakers from across the country compete for a $100,000 prize in order to determine which state produces the very best carnival confections in the country. The show is draped in all the family-friendly pageantry of an all-American state fair, so it’s only natural that the producers of Blue Ribbon Baking Championship set out to find a master of ceremonies whose name was synonymous with both America and its most patriotic pastries. That, I’m assuming, is how Netflix settled on hiring American Pie star Jason Biggs to host Blue Ribbon Baking Championship — they saw that the title of his most recognizable credit evoked exactly the vibe that they wanted to bring to their state fair bake-off, and they never bothered to actually stream the movie because it wasn’t in their own library.
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“There were no pies harmed” in the making of Blue Ribbon Baking Championship, according to Biggs in a recent interview with USA Today — possibly because he used protection.
“Take it from someone who knows, that is a very attractive pie,” Biggs moans in the introduction of Blue Ribbon Baking Championship as the camera zooms in on a seductive slice of cherry pie.
That’s the kind of tone Biggs takes in the Netflix cooking show, though he insists that Blue Ribbon Baking Championship is “safe for family viewing.” However, while the easy punchlines may attract American Pie fans to the cooking competition, Biggs says that he isn’t just in it for the bit. “I’ve really wanted to host something in the food world,” Biggs insisted to USA Today. “Of course, there’s the wink at the camera and the audience with me as a baking show host. And whenever I can’t think of something to say, I always have a pie joke in my back pocket that brings the house down.”
This isn’t the first time that Biggs has capitalized on his American Pie fame for culinary purposes either. Last June, Biggs partnered with Edwards Desserts on a line of frozen fruit pies, playfully remarking at the time, “Apple pie and I have a very long storied history together, lots of ups and downs, mostly ups.” The limited-edition Biggs-partnered pies also came with an autograph from the actor, which is hopefully the only part of Biggs that was ever put inside the pastry package.
Now, Biggs is the face and voice of a wholesome, heartland cooking competition centered around his most famous sexual partner. And, though Bigg’s interest in dessert entertainment seems sincere, it does seem strange that no one has questioned whether a guy who is best known for fucking pies is the right spokesperson for a family-oriented cooking competition. Though having Biggs as a host certainly comes with some unusual perks, should a competitor ever misplace their baking thermometer.
