Netflix Announces Premiere Date for Season 11 of ‘The Great British Bake Off’

The Great British Bake Off is hitting the States next Friday

American fans of the Great British Bake Off can finally unclench, as we now have an official U.S. air date for the next season of everyone’s favorite baking show/feel-good screen therapy. Netflix announced that this season — which was filmed in a coronavirus quarantine bubble over the course of four weeks earlier this year — will start streaming on Friday, September 25, with new episodes available every Friday (three days after they premiere in the U.K.).

The new season will feature some key differences, among them new host Matt Lucas replacing Sandi Toksvig (don’t worry, Noel Fielding will still be there), and a lack of judge Paul Hollywood’s signature handshake because, you know, best not to promote skin-on-skin contact right now. It’s likely that there will also be plenty of references to the pandemic, judging from the trailer poking fun at the flour shortage that defined the early lockdown period. Should be interesting!

For further details about this season, including a list of contestants as well as weekly mini recaps, our pals — sorry, mates — at Eater London have got you covered.

And in other news…

• The pandemic has exacerbated America’s existing hunger crisis, with 29 million (or 11 percent of adults) saying they sometimes or often do not have enough to eat. [The Counter]
• Demand for McDonald’s “Travis Scott Meal” is so high that some locations have reportedly started to run out of key ingredients like lettuce, onions, bacon, and beef. [Restaurant Business]
• Kraft Heinz is selling off most of its cheese business — but not its Kraft singles — to French dairy company Lactalis for $3.2 billion. [Food Dive]
• Chuck E. Cheese is looking to shred 7 billion excess prize tickets that have piled up in its supply chain and, if somehow procured by the general public, could be traded in for $9 million worth of prizes. Time for one last heist, anyone? [Bloomberg Law]
• The new editor in chief of Cook’s Country, America’s Test Kitchen’s magazine and public TV show, is Toni Tipton-Martin. [NYT]
• Five kitchen gardens from chefs around the world. [NYT]
• Mountain Dew and Red Lobster have created a cocktail called the “Dew Garita” … okay! [@MountainDew/Twitter]

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