Bake Off - 2022 winner revealed

16 November 2022

Twelve bakers entered the Bake Off tent at the start of the competition, but only one could be crowned the winner of The Great British Bake Off 2022, and tonight Syabira, 32, from London celebrated her win in an amazing final episode.

Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith judged 12 Bakers with 30 Challenges over 10 episodes for the thirteenth series of The Great British Bake Off.    This series the Bakers have baked everything from a showstopper that resembled their home to a 3D biscuit mask, trick or treat piñata, Smorgastarta and floating islands.  None of it was easy, but they all coped magnificently.

In the final episode, the three remaining Bakers had to battle it out in the iconic white tent for their last ever challenges of 2022 and for Syabira, Abdul and Sandro the stakes couldn’t have been higher as Paul and Prue set three challenges that would test every aspect of their baking prowess, using sustainable ingredients.    In a most challenging ever signature they had to make a seasonal summer picnic comprising of small vegetarian pies, beautifully decorated mini cakes, and baking their own classic white bread loaf to make finger sandwiches from.  Next was a summer pudding bombe in the tricky Technical and ending with an edible sculpture of Our Beautiful Planet in the stunning Showstopper showing three different baking skills.

The three Finalists put their all into this series and produced amazing baking creations. 

Paul said: ‘Well done Syabira.  She can be a bit of a risk taker with her flavours and it has worked  Some of the flavours we have never had in the tent before and  unlikely to have again, she is an incredible baker.’  Prue added:  ‘She is creative and she is careful, she practices like anything and she is imaginative, she just has the lot.  She is a very skilful baker.’

2022 was to be Syabira’s year, and she triumphantly took the trophy home. 

On hearing her win, Syabira said:  ‘Thank you so much.  I can’t believe it, honestly it hasn’t sunk in yet, this is the biggest achievement in my life.  All the hard work, all the trial and error, it has all been worth it.  I am very, very proud.’

The two runners up wanted to congratulate her and Sandro said: ‘I am so proud of Syabira, she is the Queen of Flavours, she fully deserves it.  I am so happy for her. I am happy that I have got this far, and I am blessed, I am grateful.  It’s been an amazing experience, it’s been a dream.’

Abdul added: ‘For me this is a massive achievement, and I am so happy and proud of myself and I am happy for Syabira because she has worked so hard for this, and I am just so happy for her.’

Syabira, The Great British Bake Off Winner 2022, talks about her win: ‘I think I am coming out as a new person after this competition, I became more confident and I trusted my instincts.   We can do anything we want as long as we have all of our heart and we work for it.

 ‘Each of the finalists had won star baker.  I had got to the final so that was a massive bonus, for some reason I was very calm that week.  Whatever you do in that last week, well it’s the Final, so I was just excited to bake and really enjoy the experience.  There were no nerves as we all knew we wouldn’t be in the next week.  So I think we all just really enjoyed it.

‘Sandro and Abdul – I love both of them.  Abdul is just hilarious, he is like a cartoon character, he doesn’t talk that much, but he comes out with one liners that just crack the whole room up.  Sandro is competitive and focused and maybe in a way that helped me to up my game.   I was so glad to be with both of them in the tent for the Final, it felt like being with my mates, especially at the Showstopper.  We were all so desperate to see our friends and family who were patiently waiting outside.

‘It was a shock when Janusz went, we were great buddies throughout and always backed and supported each other.  We had such a good relationship and we celebrated finishing the Showstopper each week with a shot of Tequila later!   It became a weekly routine and maybe more than one shot as the weeks went on.

‘I couldn’t believe it when I got Star Baker three weeks running, I had hoped that wouldn’t jinx it for me and I would be eliminated!  And to top off all my good memories from the tent, I got a Hollywood Handshake from the man himself in Halloween Week.  That was a really good week for me which I didn’t imagine I would ever get, because the week before I was actually at the bottom, so that was a great result.

‘I was a risk taker with my unconventional flavours, but I think I managed to please the Judges presenting them with something they weren’t used to or expecting.  They usually ended up liking it, despite their reservations!  As the weeks went through they trusted me more.

‘My worst challenge was always the technical. The love hate relationship between me and technical is real. However, in the very first week the Technical was a Red Velvet Cake set by Paul.  It’s one of my favourite bakes so that helped me and gave me confidence.  But not all the Technicals were that kind to me!

‘In the final, the judges loved my signature of a seasonal summer picnic; my no porky pie using aubergine and mushroom, quail’s egg and piccalilli;  and then broadbean, coriander and salsa verde in my finger sandwiches ; I used elderflower to infuse my swiss rolls with strawberry jam and rosemary cream.   The judges said my sizing was good, and they really liked the flavours and my sponge on the swiss rolls. 

‘My summer pudding bombe for the Technical hadn’t quite set properly but Paul liked the flavours.  For my showstopper of an edible sculpture Our Beautiful Planet  Prue liked my shortbread and said it was delicious.   Paul said my flavours were superb.’

‘Matt and Noel – I loved both of them particularly when we were stressed and panicking – because they felt nervous for you.  Your relationship with them develops as you go through each week.

‘The judges were a bit scary at first and I tried to avoid eye contact with Paul, and Prue was always good cop.  Each week I gained more confidence at the judging. Paul and Prue are both really great people.

‘I had such a great time in the tent, I really loved the interviews in between filming and chatting during the filming with the fantastic crew. My best moment was when I was waiting for the technical challenge. We would try any way to communicate with each other and feel like naughty school children if we got told off!  My worst moment was when I cried and nearly gave up.  And my favourite challenge was always the signature as it is short, simple and if you do well, it is a good start to the week. 

‘I watched the final at home with the family and friends and made some cakes and we had some pretty expensive champagne on the side.  I will of course keep in touch with all my fellow bakers, and we meet up when we can.

‘Bake Off has helped me broaden my baking experience entirely and it has taught me a lot of basics that I didn’t have before I went in – which showed up in the Technicals!

‘I would like to say thank you to my partner Bradley who always said he would support my dreams, he always knew that I could do it.  I feel like I have won the lottery jackpot, I don’t usually win anything so maybe baking is my hidden talent.  Bradley said you are already a winner to get into the final.

Syabira ends saying ‘I hope GBBO might just change my life and outlook.  I have learnt to be more confident in myself. I believe there is only one way to know if you can do it, just do it!  I will also try to never be too shy again and the knowledge that hard work always pays off.

‘I am not sure what’s next for me, it will be more like what door is open?  I am also planning to have a YouTube channel showing how to conquer basic techniques in baking.’

 

Q&A with Syabira:

Did you ever dream that you would actually get into the Bake Off tent, and what was your reaction when you got the call confirming your place?

I always dreamed to be in the Bake Off tent, however I never dared to dream to be one of the 12 bakers during the application and interview processes. I was very excited and couldn’t wait to bake when I got the confirming call.

Over the years, who or what has helped your baking improve?

Over the years, books, youtube, my partner, family and friends have helped my baking improvement.

You are given the prize of going up in a hot air balloon with a previous baker, who would you choose and why?

I would love to go up with Kim-Joy.

What’s the one kitchen utensil that you can’t really be without?

I can’t live without my spatulas!

In the very first week of filming what special memories do you have of that time? 

I have my first relationship encounter with the induction hob and she is high maintenance. I don’t know how to make her work happily. :D

If you had to make a cake of yourself in your proudest moment – what would it be and why, and what kind of cake would it be?

If I have to make a cake, I would make a big butterfly cake, because this experience changes me as a person (in a good way).

As a baker what would you say are your strengths….and what are your weaknesses?

My strength is I am quick to learn and a resilient baker. Throw me anything, I will make it work. My biggest weakness is perfection.

Can you describe your emotions when you walked into the tent on the first day, was it what you expected it to be?

On the first day I walked into the tent, it felt surreal! I couldn’t believe that I am one of the 12 bakers. I felt sweet, nervous and at the same time excited.

If you had plenty of time at home, what’s the craziest kind of Showstopper you can think of to make?

If I had plenty of time, I would learn new crazy techniques or anything other than a showstopper. It is very big and I have concerns how I can distribute the cake because it’s massive!

Is there any kind of cake or biscuit that you really don’t like and what is your all time favourite?

My favourite cake is red velvet cake. I am not a huge fan of biscuits, but if I have to pick, I would go for ginger nuts or  caramel shortbreads.

 

BIOGRAPHY

Syabira, 32, London, Cardiovascular Research Associate

 

Malaysian-born Syabira is one of seven children. She moved to the UK in 2013 to study for her PhD and is now happily settled in London with her boyfriend, Bradley. She loves gaming and often spends evenings playing an online World-War-II simulation game, which she credits with teaching her about leadership in the real world. Syabira started baking relatively recently – in 2017 – with a red velvet cake, which reminded her of the treats she shared with her friends back home. She is all for giving Malaysian flavour twists to British classics – chicken rendang cornish pasties are a particular favourite.