Crime Scene Kitchen: The Hardest Clues For the Bakers

The reality show Crime Scene Kitchen makes competitors and baking show fans put on their thinking caps, and we’re here to talk about clues from the show that were really hard for bakers to figure out. On the show, a mystery dessert can hold the key to $100,000. However, some clues in the kitchen were quite tough this past season. Viewers couldn’t blame the bakers for being stumped occasionally.

Most often, contestants have only two minutes to evaluate the kitchen. They don the black gloves and have to go through everything, from trash to calendars. Thanks to the teams of two, and a few episodes of experience, they can cover a large amount of ground in a short time. Thomas and Cathy became renowned for spotting the Crime Scene Kitchen clues that others missed, and some teams would follow their lead.

Some of the hardest clues are the ones that aren’t obvious. Bakers learned in the first episode that they would have to check if ingredients were sealed or not, and not be afraid to conduct a taste test on what remained in pots or mixing bowls.

The Coffee Cup

Viewers can agree that this coffee cup was utter nonsense and contributed to some epic fails. It may not seem like much, but this one clue sent several teams off-kilter during a challenge. Ironically, the cup had a rather important clue that would have landed the bakers a winner. Instead, no one from the baking competition got the win or the clue for the showpiece round.

Bakers had previously been instructed that if an item looks empty or unused, it is probably a red herring. That’s why several teams ignored the coffee cup or at least didn’t see how it connected with the mango peels in the fruit peeler or the cream cheese in the garbage. Rebecca and Jean had mistakenly thought they had to make a coffee cake.

Then the baking competition contestants found out they had to look at the name on the coffee cup. That, plus a book in the kitchen, revealed a list of people bringing items for a potluck. The person in question was making a cheesecake. Cory and Donte, in particular, were shocked by this, as their bakery specializes in cheesecake and the cream cheese in the garbage was a smoking gun.

A Telltale Ruler

In some rounds, the reality TV bakers would successfully all make the same dessert. Then, the win for the round would come down to little details that could make or break their finished product. A ruler was included, and some bakers assumed that it determined that the cake needed to be cut down. Ken Jeong came from his other FOX hosting duties to request some sweets and got a hug from Joel McHale.

Everyone figured out that they had to make opera cake, aka tiramisu, in the semifinals, for Ken Jeong’s favorite dessert. What everyone didn’t guess was the size, as a ruler ended up revealing that key clue. Rather than cut down the opera cake to size, it was meant to be a full cake.

Expired Cocoa Powder

In one case, a celebrity claimed to have a favorite bake. Kelly Osbourne came in with elegant airs and well before she suffered an eye injury. She asked the bakers to make her favorite U.K. dessert.

Thomas and Cathy got the roll cake right, but the flavors were wrong. They saw the cherries, strawberries, and raspberries. Thomas concluded (with an open and used tin of cocoa powder) that they were making a Black Forest Roulade. Their finished cake was beautiful, if a little messy in some places, but they were off the mark. The judges pointed out that the cocoa powder was opened, and 30 years expired. You would find the real clues in the garbage bin.

Cathy had some choice words about this clue. She felt that it was unfair, as most people don’t keep products in the house for 30 years. What’s more, no one had warned the bakers that expired ingredients were a possibility. Thomas glared into the camera with smoldering intensity. Some Crime Scene Kitchen viewers were feeling the same way.