Each episode has three rounds, each testing distinct aspects of patisserie.
Cyril's Challenge / Le défi de Cyril This challenge consists of contestants making their own recipes in line with a given theme, usually a particular foodstuff (like the lemon) or a traditional bake (like the tarte Tatin). However, Cyril expects the bakers to revisit classics, revamping them with the kinds of style, flavoring, and meticulous beauty that a professional pastry chef would employ. Oftentimes, Cyril demands a trompe-l'œil that resembles the foodstuff (like a pie that looks like an egg dish), rather than something merely incorporating it. Contestants do not know what the challenge's theme will be until Cyril unveils it, but they are free to create on the spot any recipe they want with materials and ingredients at hand, or which they had previously brought with them. The judges and host interact with the contestants, and once they've judged the bakes, they announce their "top" ones along with their worst "flops."
Mercotte's Technical Test / L'épreuve technique de Mercotte In this challenge, the bakers are tasked with making a particular bake by scrupulously following a recipe provided by Mercotte. These bakes can involve classic desserts of French patisserie, or the latest modern trends going around the internet. Mercotte's bakes tend to be less meticulous than Cyril's, while being more playful and casual with decoration and flavors. Their finishing touches often incorporate elements of
Cake decorating (
le cake-design). As in the British original, the recipe is deliberately written with crucial details omitted, forcing the contestants to rely on their technique and know-how. Unlike the original show, Mercotte's recipes are often printed in creative and offbeat ways befitting the theme, such as calligraphy on a scroll or in a spiral on a record. They often come with long accompanying texts that at first seem completely extraneous but which prove to reveal critical information. Mercotte only gives one piece of advice to the contestants:
Lisez bien la recette ! 'Read the recipe well!'. The judging is blind, but just as strict as the first round. The judges rank the bakes from worst to first.
Creative Test / L'épreuve créative The final phase involves creating and successfully baking a recipe that fits the challenge's theme (for instance, a dessert that is a trompe l'œil of a regional savory dish). The presentation often includes decoration around the bake, which itself is usually grand in scale and sometimes monumental in size. The contestants’ skill, creativity, and aesthetic sensibilities are all put to the test. A
VIP guest (e.g. a ''
or a top-tier professional pastry chef) joins the judges for this challenge, giving advice to the star-struck contestants and contributing to the commentary during the judging. Starting in season 11, the VIP judge also designates their favorite (le coup de cœur''). This award contributes significantly to that contestant's standing in the competition that week. During the baking, the judges and host interact with the contestants, along with the VIP guest. They offer advice and lay out expectations for the contestants' plans.
Deliberation and judgement / Délibération et jugement Once the bakes are completed, the two judges meet alone in a room to compare performances. In doing so, they reveal who is in line for Pastry Chef of the Week/the Blue Apron, and who is at risk of elimination. After this the judges meet with the contestants. The VIP judge announces their
coup de cœur, and the host announces who wins the Blue Apron, and who goes home. Starting in Season 11, the eliminated contestant is kept behind and told that they have a chance to return to the tent, in a side competition, the Secret Kitchen (
La cuisine secrète). In this competition, they immediately face off against another eliminated contestant, in a duel to survive. The winner will face the next eliminated contestant the next week. After Week 10, the survivor will be able to rejoin the main competition. == First season (2012) ==