Part work, Baked and Delicious has been a big hit on Facebook with 14,000 people who “like” it, several thousand of whom declared their love before copies were on sale.
The first issue costs 99p, the second £2.99 and subsequent issues are £4.99. It claims to be “packed with international classics and traditional favourites” and that it “brings the very best of baking to today’s cooks.” As a further sweetener, each issue comes with a piece of colourful silicone bakeware. Subscribers also get “free” gifts such as electronic kitchen scales, cake tins, cake slices and the all important binder.
I’ve been amazed how many people have raved about this magazine in other blog reviews, to the point I’m wondering if they haven’t given it much thought or feel uncomfortable calling it a dud.
We call spades spades here. My impression after reviewing issue one of Baked and Delicious was that it is:
- Flimsy at fewer than 30 pages per issue
- Cheap with pound shop quality bakeware gifts
- Overpriced for such a short magazine even bearing in mind the “free” gift
- Dated with 1980s yellow tinged photography
- Dreary with graphics that look like they were created in MS Word
- Unsophisticated with uninspiring food styling
- Badly edited with inconsistent layout and typos
On the plus side, the Gateaux St Honore recipe was the most useful but you’d do better to spend your cash on some generic baking books instead of doggedly committing to this week after week. For around £7.99 you can easily pick up little hardback baking books in the supermarket and discount book stores. You can add to your bakeware collection as necessary.
(For a highly informative post on the pros and cons of silicone bakeware, check out my friend Ozoz Kitchen Butterfly’s excellent post here)
Baked and Delicious has been out a while now but new subscribers get to buy back copies. Sixty issues are planned. If you want to back out, I’m informed you can cancel subscriptions at any time.
sarah dot maisoncupcake dot com 
I’ve seen these magazines around in the shops and wondered who the heck buys them, and to he honest got. Bit annoyed that a company would produce such crap that will sooner than later end up in the landfill. They don’t look very good quality, and have never seen such a gimmicky magazine before in North America, but it seems as though they are a bit more popular her judging from the other collectable w/free gift magazines I regularly see. Thanks for publishing your review. It will be interesting to see if all 60 issues ever actually make I on the shelves…
Those binders are definitely bulky landfill..,
I was weary about it after I did some digging and found it’s published by a company that makes magazines about model trains and planes (so I didn’t ask for a copy to review).
I liked silicone bakeware when I was learning how to bake but I prefer the old fashioned metal stuff now.
I had read lots about this as well, Alltel reviews pretty glowing as you mentioned. But my initial thoughts were that it was all a bit of a gimmick-glad my instinct proved correct! As you say, all you really need is a few classic, good baking books, a few key ingredients, a couple of essential kitchen gadgets, enthusiasm and a couple of willing tasters!
It’s horridly gimmicky, just sucks people in to subscribe.
I always think the magazines are for those who don’t know better. There’s not a lot of people that do bake at home. There’s not a lot of people that own a cake tin, let alone of the silicone kind!
I hope that some people buy an Issue or 3, and then start exploring outside the magazine – and it’ll start a new world of bakers.
PS – I actually bought silicon cases for a pound, and they’re flimsier than the ones I own but do actually work, even months later! They matched the look I was going for, I thought it was quite a nice thing to bake some birthday cupcakes in, that way they could reuse the wrappers
The silicone wrappers look quite cute but I can’t be bothered cleaning them…
I never buy things like this magazine…they always seem something of a rip-off, hooking people in with a low price to start with & then inflating it hugely. I did stand behind some ladies buying one in Smiths the other day and their conversation spoke volumes…”I haven’t made anything out of them yet, but you get a free gift every time!” Clever marketing….very interesting post, thanks x
Yeah, I think you’ve nailed it…
They emailed me asking me to review. Said no. Sounded crap. Obviously is.
Ha ha Mr P you put it so eloquently!!
Hooray! Well done, I am so pleased you have been ‘brave’ enough to present an honest opinion. After all the blog reviews I’ll be honest, I was miffed they hadn’t contacted me to review the product, after leaving a comment on another blog they did contact me and out of pure spite I refused to be sent a copy. Frankly publications should do their homework much better than this one seemed to … and as far as the silicone bakeware goes, form what I have seen at least, it seems cheap and flimsy and I doubt would help people new to baking to achieve great results first time round.
I’m not saying that silicone bakeware is all bad, hence my pointing everyone to Kitchen Butterfly’s excellent guide but the stuff with this magazine looked very shoddy.
Writing about something I didn’t like has been such fun. I must do it more often!
They sent me a copy, I said I didn’t like it, politely and didn’t review. However they kept bothering me to review it until I explained less politely why I said no thank you in the first place! You can get decent silicone wear cheaply and recipes free online if you can’t afford books, or go to the library! I got my cupcakes trays in Aldi for about £2 and they’re still going strong 3 years later!
Ha ha, I phoned them up and told them I thought it was rubbish! I haven’t rushed to get a review up but every time I saw it on my list I just got cross thinking about it and decided to give it to you folks all straight!!
I can’t understand why one would prefer to buy a magazine with recipes instead of a book to be honest.
And concerning this magazine in particular its first issue looked quite unprofessional – the layout, the pictures, the styling… Not mentioning the bakeware. I wouldn’t use it even if it is a gift. I don’t understand the silicone bake ware craze either, sorry, I prefer less plastic if possible.
Great you persist in your honest opinion on them!
The second I saw the cover I thought mmm this looks bit naff doesn’t it…
Saying this, I am and have been a subscriber to food magazines, but I still prefer books. At least they are straight to the point and not so much if any “empty” pages with ads
Admittedly this part work wouldn’t had ads… one of the few bonus things about it…!
I’m very pleased to see that my instinct to refuse to review this product was correct! I pretty much refused on principle due to a hatred of marketing that tricks people into parting with a *lot* of cash gradually. It would be much better, as you say, to buy a couple of decent baking books and the necessary tins to get yourself started than end up with flimsy magazines and flimsy silicone bakeware.
Although having looked at the initial email, I wasn’t offered a copy for review, merely asked to promote it on my blog, erm…. no! I replied saying so and subsequently ignored their response…..
Yeah, they were hesistant to send me one too, they were asking people to promote it without them having seen it hence my pestering for an actual copy of it. Imagine if I’d just said to my readers “oh blah di blah there’s a lovely new magazine out about baking”?!
Interesting review this… I normally used to flip between Olive, Delicious and Good Food when I was in the UK, but only the odd issue… I ended up collecting a year’s worth of magazines, and they were all seasonal, so I think I did well. I brought them all to Canada with me too. But I started subscribing to Canadian Living here, and I think its a really good one, as far as recipes and food styling are concerned. Plus its a half lifestyle magazine too, so I satisfy my mag craving without having to buy something like Glamour.
You don’t hesitate to call a spade a spade though, do you? One of the reasons I come back to your blog
The baking revival has been going for a fair while now and the bottom feeders are now all getting in on the act; see the various reviews on I Heart Cupcakes and American Cupcake in London about the crap cakes being produced by the bandwagon jumpers.
I’d like all the food magazines to recognise that some people who were beginners a few years ago, are now probably ready to tackle some more challenging recipes. It feels like almost every other recipe book or magazine out there has the word ‘easy’ in it.
Apparently it’s a partwork so there are a finite number of issues and it would take something like £400 to collect them all! Honestly people must be mad. If I had £400 to spend on baking-related stuff I’d buy a couple of (decent) books from Amazon and have a Lakeland shopping spree.
Well precisely…
I love a trouncing once in a while too. Good for you Sarah. Huge fan of Kitchen Butterfly.
Kitchen Butterfly rocks!
I know someone who subscribed to this and keeps raving about it. I wasn’t convinced having only seen it in the newsagent’s as you say it looked cheap and flimsy. Great interesting post!
Thank you!
Never mind the subject, the very thought of collections of magazines gives me the heebie jeebies ;-O
Don’t succumb to it people!
Why clutter your home with £100s worth of magazines when you could buy a good book and some useful tools?
I absolutely agree!
I was a bit miffed they hadn’t asked me to review when it seemed that so many other bloggers had, but when I looked at a copy it seemed really cheap and badly thought through. I agree, I’d recommend novice bakers try a good baking book and then once they’re confident have a play around.
I don’t get on with silicone bakeware at all though, I just thought I was old fashioned, glad to see I’m not the only one!
ho ho, at least you know now you didn’t miss much and actually they weren’t necessarily people who’d had copies… I had to push to get one!
I totally agree with you. I thought I was the only person in the UK that thought it was rubbish.
I flicked through it once then it went straight into the recycling. Poor quality magazine which only has about 4 recipes – won’t be buying it!
Heh! It appears the response is “lousy lousy lousy” all round then?!
I too was unimpressed with this. When I saw the TV advert I was indeed drawn in and decided to buy the first issue as it was only 99p. However with cheap bakeware and a rather thin magazine I decided that I would save my money each week and instead invest in recipe collection when I saw books that really appealed to me. One of my favourite things about baking books are when the imagery is really enticing and makes you want to try the recipe. I think good design really draws me to books and I love looking at a book full of luscious images. I don’t feel the magazine delivered this and so like you I wont be buying it again!
Totally!
I subscribe to the magazine and have had 7 issues so far. I have to say, for the beginner they really aren’t that bad.
They are definitely over-priced for something with so few pages, but the free gifts are not bad quality. The recipes are easy to follow and quite varied.
I wouldn’t go so far as to recommend it, but it’s not a bad magazine in my opinion.
I also subscribe and i like it i have tried some of the recipes n they have been very nice and my cooking isn’t great lol and they fit nicely in the binder the free gifts so far im very pleased with, so good on ya on behalf of not great cooks like me lol
Would you go and spend £50 on a crappy book with a few ‘half baked’ recipes in and then go to pound shop to buy the tins? Think about the lovely books you could buy after a few months of not subsribing and the lovely bakeware you could get! Or why pay when the internet is full of things to make! Post New Year it is always a wonder to see what Deagostini and like can come up with for part works!
How right you are!!
Well, I did review it but wouldn’t say I raved about it, just said what was in it. I didn’t actually mind the layout, but do agree that it is old fashioned compared to some of the other magazines on the shelves. It’s NOT something I would subscribe to, I prefer to spend my money on decent bakeware – but there are quite a few people out there that do collect these magazine things, not sure why though!
There was a complaint from someone in my comments section about the cupcake cases being damaged – and I can see why – they were rather flimsy.
I was offered to do a giveaway of the first few instalments but I declined as it wasn’t really for me after seeing the first one.
I think the lesson I’ve learned from receiving the Baked and Delicious mag and probably the Cadbury’s Cocoa House post is that I’ve decided not to preview anything I’ve not seen. Otherwise you’re just reproducing what the PR has given you and it might not be what you’d say if you’d experienced the venue/product!
This is really interesting to hear what everyone has to say and good for you for writing what you think in a review. I’m amazed anyone would ever promote something they haven’t actually seen – I always ignore those requests, I did do a review of the 1st issue a while back though and I quite liked it – mostly because it had a simple layout and no advertising and I like silicone bakeware. However, I didn’t know at the time that they would be charging £4.99 a copy – that’s outrageous.
@Joanne, do you know how I can contact the Guardian Money Page?
on day 91…and closer to resolution…trying to locate email addresses for Phil Soar – Chairman of Dagostini, Eaglemoss and participant with Database Factory.
Kind regards
Claire
Have heard nothing but bad things about this magazine, if you look on the facebook page it’s just full of complaints about issues and free gifts not arriving, not very organised company if you ask me, I bought the first one, didn’t bother with the rest, I had ALL the recipies in my books anyway
xxxx
I have been subscribing since the beginning mainly for the free gifts you get with subscription. Also because when the magazine was released I couldn’t find it in the shops anywhere, of course Smiths now seem to have quite a few in stock but nevermind.
Yes the magazines are expensive for what they are and I already own several baking books with similar or sometimes better recipes. But the way I see it is that I am buying the bakeware and getting a free recipe guide with it. It may not be the best quality but I am a student and it is nice to be able to get reasonably priced stuff to use when I have time to bake. I certainly don’t intend to buy the whole series as I know that some items will just not get used by me.
I am a teenager and love cooking and ihave subscribed to this magazine. The silicone is NOT flimsy and is very useful and easy to use and easy to wash and clean up. The recipes are easy to follow and are varied and yes, £4.99 is slighlty pricey, but the magazines in the binder begin to make a cookery book withthin the binder. If you go and buy a normal cook/recipe book for 7.99 you dont get extra recipes every fortnight so when you get bored of them recipes you have to buy another one and another one! This is a great magazine for people of all ages and i know plently of people who use it! If i where you buy a few of these magazines and give them a chance before you start slating them because they look ‘cheap’ and people say my generation is sterotypical……..
The company is Eaglemoss/Data Base Factory… I feel rather stupid for subscribing…but as I am disabled, don’t get to leave the house often and wanted to pick up some new skills, dishes, recipes etc…their 100%
Customer Guarantee inspired me..plus Free gifts.
This is their promise:
When you subscribe to Baked & Delicious you’ll receive 2 issues per month direct to your door. Each issue comes with recipes from around the World, and colourful silicone bakeware or fancy decorating tools building into a complete baking collection. Every recipe has been
tried and tested by our baking team to help you achieve great results.
If you live in the UK then postage is free and you can cancel at any time. Plus, by subscribing
you’ll receive 4 fantastic gifts worth over £35!
But it has been nothing but HASSLE, I call and get hung up on, I email ..they never respond.
I am subscription day 84, and so far I have 5 issues (3 of which took over 3 months to arrive) full of typos and mistakes…the silcone items fail to hold there shape…and blow out mid bake. They are still promising the cake slice and tins…but nothing.
What I have gotten is that the recipes are expensive…require too many ingredients … example Scones… 12 ingredients…when 5 will do.
Lemon Drizzle cake … ingredient cost £7.10 … or £4.50 from Betty’s Tea Shop http://www.bettys.co.uk/Freshly-Baked,37.aspx
I am disappointed by the open attacks and bulling on the facebook site…for posting my experience…and starting a discussion topic asking B&D to respond.
I have complained to watchdog, OFT and trading standards…what else can I do.
I declined to review this for similar reasons to some given above, plus I’m not really a cake blogger
Claire Will you could try writing to the Guardian Money page, they can be quite helpful if they decide to feature your complaint.
I do agree that this magazine is a bit flimsy and that it has had its problems but it’s a treat for me.
I am liking the fact that I am being introduced to new recipes and to a new world of social communication via the Facebook page.
I may end up cancelling soon as it’s getting expensive to keep buying additional bakeware that isn’t free with the magazine.
my grandfather buys them for me! but i will look and see what is coming in the next issue! the recipes are terrible with few useful ones but buying the magazine is cheaper than just buying the bakeware. so im going to stick with it!
thats exactly why i buy it! I don’t find the silicone to be flimsy or seem cheap from the magazine and there is the odd recipe that i will see and think “oh i’ll give that a try” theres an almond tart in one of the earlier ones and its soo delicious my whole family love it no exaggeration i get requests to make it which is … actually a pain some times haha.
but ye i have limited kitchen space so they get crammed into a box and seem to retain their shape.
i have purchased magazine from day one, but i am still waiting for free gift of scales. how much longer will i have to wait
I did subscribe to the mag. without reading any reviews and have found the magazine quite fun, until recently. I get these magazines as a treat from my boyfriend. Recently however there has been a problem, whereby we have paid for them and they have not been delivered. My free gifts have not arrived and when I opted for the ‘special edition’ mag. that hasnt arrived either. Upon emailing them (4 times) I have had no reply and my boyfriend is out of pocket. I can’t believe that I have been soo stupid as to not review first. I normally do the research.
sometimes things get lost in the mail. they have a telephone service why not just call them rather then sending emails if you are not getting a response… sorry common sense
i had the same issue as you. missing issues, i called them up they apologised and sent some more. didn’t take long to arrive
[...] But the odd negative review can make great reading, like Ed’s review of “How to Feed a Man“, and Sarah’s honest appraisal of Baked & Delicious. [...]
do not agree with what youve said at all, as someone who has recently started living alone and wanting to try new foods i find this magazine brill as im trying something new every week, also the bakeware is easy to use and easy to clean-so whats the problem.also never had a problem with money being taken out or customer service