The Great British Bake Off: Meet the bakers

29 August 2017

THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF: MEET THE BAKERS

Chris, aged 50

After being dubbed the ‘Heston Blumenthal’ of his street by his friends thanks to his crazy bread creations, Chris decided to pursue one of his ultimate ambitions – to go on The Great British Bake Off.

And yet despite spending every spare moment devising new bread recipes, the chatty 50-year-old didn’t think in a million years he’d actually get a place in the coveted tent.

“Everyone kept telling me I made amazing bread and pastry,” reveals the software developer. “They called me the ‘Blumenthal of my street’.

“I am really obsessed with breads and pastries and creating strange combinations.

“I’ve got lots of goals I want to achieve and going on GBBO is definitely one of them. It’s such a British institution.

“But my wife, Catherine, thought I was mad when I told her I was actually going to apply and to be honest, I thought I would never hear anything either. And wow! Here I am! It’s so surreal.”

Bursting out laughing, Chris says his brain quickly turned to mush, however, when he entered the famous white tent for the first time. “I was terrified – as we all were,” says Chris. “It just felt so surreal to be suddenly in there. We were all giggly as we were so nervous.”

Readily admitting ‘cake is not my thing’, Chris admits the first challenge went wrong. Says the Somerset-based baker: “It was brilliant when I practised making my cream cake at home but as soon as I got in the tent, things were different. I squirted some cream and it made the cake look like a pancake.

“They talk about ‘tent brain’ and there really is such a thing. “When I went to read the technical challenge for the first time, I found myself not actually reading anything, then having to have another go!”

So which judge was he most scared of? Paul or Prue? “Oh I wasn’t scared,” replies Chris. “Prue was adorable and as I am obsessed with bread, it was just nice to be able to chat to Paul off camera about all the bakeries we have both visited.

“That said, the judging experience is charged with emotion. It reminded me of if you are on a hospital trolley and going down to theatre. You are terrified and then there is the relief afterwards.”

Full of energy, Chris says his love of science, which often sees him recording timings, humidity and temperatures on a spreadsheet, were quickly scrapped when it came to baking on GBBO. “I am very methodological and I’ve got more spreadsheets than you’d know,” he adds. “But they all went out the window in the tent.”

Proud and thrilled to be part of this year’s line-up, Chris also hopes he will inspire viewers at home watching. In his mid-twenties, Chris was given just three months to live after being diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma “I have had cancer,” he reveals. “I was in my mid 20s at the time and I was given three months to live. “I’ve only got one lung as a result but I am still here. When you are poorly and in hospital for such a long time, your life revolves around the television a lot. I hope those unfortunate enough to find themselves in hospital watching this year’s GBBO will think ‘hey that can be me next year, I can do that’ when they watch me. I really do hope I can inspire people. That would be amazing.”

Chris, who also has the ‘Most published newspaper article’ Guinness Book of Record after writing a piece about prostate cancer, adds: “I keep setting myself lots of new challenges. I’d love to sail around the world singlehandedly too. Achieving one of my goals of getting on GBBO has been amazing. It’s the pinnacle of baking. Catherine, my wife, is so proud of me. I love her to bits and I wouldn’t have been able to go on this show without her amazing support.”

 

Flo, aged 71

Liverpudlian Flo readily admits landing a place on this series of The Great British Bake Off has brought her out of a very ‘bad hole’ after her beloved husband died two years ago.

Flo had been married to Richard for 48 years when he sadly passed away from leukaemia.

Devastated and heartbroken, Flo says she struggled so much to get through each day, it was only when one of her sons, Stephen, suggested she started baking for his restaurant from time to time that she found a mechanism for coping.

“Even then, I would still cry for hours and hours,” says Flo, who at the age of 71 is the show’s eldest ever contestant. “I was so devastated when Richard died and I was in a bad place. I couldn’t laugh, I couldn’t be bothered with life and I just found it so tough. He was such a good man and he was always putting me first.

“Stephen, my son, could see how upset I was and he said ‘come on, bake for me’. That helped me with the grieving process and that’s how my journey to get on The Great British Bake Off started really as my daughter, Nicola, then decided she would apply for me after she spotted an advert! She knew how much I enjoyed baking.”

Flo, who also has another son, continues: “I was so shocked, then, when the producers phoned me to chat about the show. I couldn’t believe it and I didn’t ever think I’d actually get through all the auditions and find myself in the tent. But somehow I did!”

As she looks back on her first day, Flo confesses she felt tremendous pressure on her shoulders but she says she was determined to enjoy the experience. “I was actually quite calm when I met Paul and Prue,” she confesses. “We were baking sponges and I like cakes, so I was in my comfort zone. Immediately, Paul and I struck up a bond as he is a Northern lad, too, and we both have the same sense of humour.”

Bursting into fits of laughter, Flo – who used to work in a sausage factory – thinks it was her ability to have a joke with Paul that saved her from falling to pieces when her citrus orange tiered cake went slightly wrong on the first day. “Paul and Prue did ask me if I would have time to do everything but I was sure I would”, she says. And so what happens? I forgot to add one vital ingredient.”

“I don’t want to spoil it for viewers about what Paul then said, but I loved that he wanted to have a banter with me.”

And the fact she did enjoy it so much the first time she walked in the tent is, she says, the reason why her whole life has been transformed for the better by her daughter’s decision to apply on her behalf. “Bake Off has given me a new lease of life,” she confides. “The fact that I am part of the 12 bakers in the tent makes me feel proud. “It’s taken me out of the black hole I was in and it’s brought me back to the place I was in before Richard died. Suddenly for the first time I am finding myself talking about making plans like having a new kitchen fitted and doing things to my house. Don’t get me wrong, I still sometimes have my bad days but this show really has helped put a smile on my face again.”

What would Richard have said if he knew she was on Bake off? “He was that laid back, he would have just said ‘oh you will be alright’,” she replies, chuckling. “I am so glad I’ve been picked to be on Bake Off. I really am...”

 

James, aged 46

As a high-flying city project manager, James is used to feeling under pressure but baking in the iconic Bake Off tent for the first time was, he says, far tougher than he ever envisaged.

But the 46-year-old – who lives in Essex with his wife and two sons – says memories of the first time he set eyes on the white tent still send goose bumps down him even now.

“When you see the tip of the tent as you arrive in the grounds, you really do get goose bumps,” he explains. “I still do to be honest as being on GBBO is, for me, just so amazing. I can’t believe it!
“But oh my goodness! Is it harder baking a cake in the tent than working in the city? 100 times, way harder!

“My dad, Brian, first inspired me to bake as he was always baking at home with us and since working in the city, I have found baking a stress reliever. I do have a high pressured job in project management but now I’ve stood in front of Paul and Prue watching them try my cake, work is easy!”

Readily describing himself as Brentwood’s ‘bald baking banker with a bad back’, the jovial baker had first day nerves like everyone else, he says the friendly atmosphere meant he found himself feeling at ease. Then it was a question of finding his way around his new kitchen workstation, chuckles the 46-year-old. “It’s quite small and so I kept throwing stuff into the sink on the first day,” he adds. “I thought it might be quite regimented but they do put you at ease.

“I decided I wanted the first cake I made in the tent to be one with rhubarb and custard. I knew it was high risk strategy and it needed lots of time to bake but I wanted to give it a go as we all love rhubarb so much in our family!”

Who did he want to impress? “I did want to impress Paul,” he replies. “But Prue’s breadth of knowledge is phenomenal.“

Practising beforehand also paid off. “I literally didn’t stop,” he says. “I kept making so many cakes I think my parents have gained about 14 stone! I am joking but I literally wouldn’t let them leave the house without trying a piece of my cake!”

As for what the future holds for James, he says being part of this year’s line-up has inspired him to dream about pursuing a different career one day. “My dream would be to own a small holding with a little café on it with fantastic artisan coffee and delicious home made bakes,” enthuses James. “Bake Off has really reignited my passion for baking and I would love to inspire others, be it helping out at the kids’ school club, blogging my new recipes or running classes. I once lived and travelled in the US, too, and one day, I would love to document the ‘United Bakes of America’. There is such a diverse baking culture that I would love to capture the essence of.”

 

 

Julia, aged 21

She was so determined to land a place on The Great British Bake Off one day, Julia admits today she has been practising non-stop for three years.

And when she heard she’d finally fulfilled her dream to take part, the 21-year-old – who is originally from Siberia – immediately quit her job as an Aviation broker so she could pour her heart and soul into the Channel 4 series.

“I moved to the UK just over three years ago and shortly after I arrived, I started watching Bake Off,” explains Julia.

“I was a big fan and I quickly got hooked. I realised that is what I wanted I to do. I had a plan to apply but only after I had practised and practised. And so I have practised for three years to reach a good standard. I also wanted to make sure that when I entered the tent, whatever challenge they threw at me that first week, I’d know what to do!”

Recalling the moment she received the phone call telling her she was part of the dozen bakers, Julia, goes on: “As soon as I heard, I quit my job. I was working as a broker organising and finding private jets for clients. I knew I had to leave, as I knew I would not be focused 100 per cent anymore.

“Thankfully my husband, Matt, is just so amazing and he was fully supportive of my decision. He knew how much it meant to me.”

Given baking on the show was such a huge dream, how did it feel to walk into the tent for the first time? “That moment really was unbelievable,” she confides. “Unless you have been in the tent, it’s such a difficult thing to explain what you go through but oh my goodness, you do feel emotional. Everything takes over. And it was also just so nerve-wracking. I never normally bite my nails but I literally ate my hands and fingers throughout that first day!”

She says facing Paul and Prue was scary simply because she wanted them to enjoy her cake.

Although she is hugely proud of her upbringing in Siberia, which saw her cooking apple cake at an early age with her family, Julia didn’t want to introduce any unusual ingredients that British viewers had not come across on GBBO. “I didn’t want to bake a cake with weird stuff nobody had heard of,” says Julia. “I tweaked things to show I was different but I didn’t want to go over the line.

“It was also really important to me knowing how Matt, my husband, was willing me on from afar on my first day. “He was so patient and I don’t know how he actually coped as all I talked about was cake!”

And now the secret is out she is on the show, Julia can’t wait to share her adventure with the couple’s friends and family. “Matt was the only person who knew I was doing Bake Off,” she says. “Nobody knew I had applied and now I can’t wait to tell the world! I know everybody will be so proud of me for going on this programme.”

As for what the future lies for Julia, it’s definitely a career in baking. “I do plan to concentrate on baking now,” she replies. “I’ve always wanted to be on Bake Off. Now I have been chosen to be part of the 12 bakers, it’s been such a great experience for me that I have. What is nice is I have also made such a great group of friends, along the way too. We will be friends for life now.”

 

 

Liam, aged 19

At the age of 19, he may be the youngest contestant on this year’s series of The Great British Bake Off but Liam says he wants to embrace everything about the show as he pursues a brand new adventure.

Nicknamed the ‘cake boy’ by his friends at Goldsmiths University, the drama student reveals he is such a big fan of the programme that up until this year, he would regularly join in each week alongside the TV bakers.

Explains Liam: “I have always loved baking and I wanted to apply to go on GBBO because I wanted a new adventure. By that I mean I wanted to push myself further. I am such a massive fan and so every time I watched it, if they made cakes, I would then go and bake cakes. Biscuit week for them – it would be the same for me!

“I love cakes so much because it is a ‘go to’ bake. It isn’t that stressful and everyone loves a cake. Anything with caramel in and I am right down there!

“My fellow students at Uni started to call me ‘Cake Boy’ because they didn’t know my name! The nickname stuck and now that is what I am known as! But I certainly don’t mind because I don’t want baking to be thought of as a stigma.”

Hoping to inspire a new generation of bakers by taking part on this year’s series, Liam readily admits, however, that it is only when he entered the grounds of where GBBO is filmed that reality started to kick in. “I was so apprehensive,” quips Liam. “But it’s just so surreal. You arrive on a coach and when you see the tent, you find yourself going ‘oh gosh, this really is happening to me.’ OMG and when I saw Prue and Paul, well that was just totally nuts. My brain was trying to register everything but it couldn’t! The whole first day was just so bonkers!”

Smiling, Liam says his overactive mind didn’t calm down when Sandi and Noel told everyone to start baking either. “I actually had loads of self doubt, “confides Liam. “I had to keep telling myself that I could do it. Things could definitely have gone better, that is for sure. You are standing there as one of the 12 by your station and you are baking away but thinking at the same time, ‘I’m not in my house now, I need to get this right’.

“And when Prue and Paul said my name for the first time, that was another crazy moment!”

Still buzzing from his first day in the tent, Liam says one of the best ways of practicing has been to cook alongside his nephews, who are eleven and five.

“They really love making doughnuts and so I like to bake with them,” adds Liam. “Baking is cool.”

As he is studying drama, did he ask Sandi and Noel if they had any advice about pursuing a showbusiness career? He replies: “Whenever they came to my station whilst I made my cake, we actually talked about drama and the industry in general. I didn’t want to lose my concentration whilst I made the icing! It really was such a massive rollercoaster during that first day but it was also the best experience ever. I don’t have any regrets about applying even though it was so nerve-wracking!

“What do I now want to do when I finish Uni? I’d actually like to combine drama with baking. I am not sure how but I’d love to do it…”

 

 

 

Kate, aged 29

It’s thanks to Kate’s work colleague that she made it on to this year’s Great British Bake Off line-up after he told her she made amazing cakes.

Persuading her to apply, the 29-year-old Health and Safety Inspector said it then felt like she had been handed a ‘VIP backstage pass’ when she first walked into the famous white tent.

“I was a big fan of Bake Off as I love watching cookery programmes,” explains Kate. “I would regularly take my cakes into work and one of my friends, Fran, told me: ‘Look Kate, this is really lovely, if you don’t apply for the show, I will. And I am being serious.’

“And so I decided to give it a go. I didn’t think any more of it and now here I am!

“It was just so surreal walking into the tent for the first time. It felt like I was on some backstage pass kind of thing. It didn’t feel like I was part of it and it still doesn’t!”

Smiling, Kate readily admits she had a lot to grapple with during the first week of filming. “I haven’t got a mixer at home and the first time I used one was in the Bake Off tent,” she chuckles. “I didn’t have a clue how to use the equipment and when I bake at home, I am just in my own little chill out world.

“Suddenly when you are stood by your workbench, you realise you are in a competition and I kept going to myself ‘OMG I am actually doing this!”

She says she was determined to not let the enormity of being on such a fantastic show spoil the experience. “I wanted to enjoy it all,” she says. “I wasn’t scared of Prue and Paul as they really know their stuff. “The only surreal part of it was thinking ‘Paul Hollywood is going to come to my workbench to try my cake’ but I was determined to enjoy the experience. I take most things on the chin and I just wanted Prue and Paul to like what I had made.”

Bursting out laughing, she admits, however, that whilst her role as a Health and Safety Inspector means everything must be in order, when it came to baking in the tent, her workbench definitely was not tidy. “There is so little space and you’ve got time pressure,” she adds. “Having said all that, I was calm in the tent because I just wanted to enjoy it, have loads of fun and take part in what is a great challenge.

“My family are so proud of me for reaching the final 12 bakers.”

So what’s next for Kate? Would she ever consider swapping her high-pressured job as a Health and Safety Inspector for a baking career? An avid blacksmith fan, Kate loves creating things from scratch and she says she’d like to have a go at making her own crockery. “I’d actually love to make a dinner set one day,” she reveals. “I want to make plates, spoons.

“Getting to be on Bake Off can change people’s lives but I just want to see what happens. I want to just go with the flow. Baking in the tent really is a once in a lifetime experience.”

 

 

Peter, aged 52

“I am such a huge fan of Bake Off and to get a place really is such an amazing thing for me,” says IT Programme Manager Peter. “Whenever I have watched it in previous seasons, I’ve found myself shouting at the TV screen telling the other bakers to put more salt or flour in to make their bake better! We love watching the show as a family and so now to have got a place in the tent as one of the 12 bakers is such a special moment for my wife and two children, not to mention me! We are all incredibly proud.”

Peter first got into baking eight years ago when he fell ill after buying a loaf of shop bread. “My digestive system wasn’t coping at all well,” recalls Peter. “I felt ill eating the shop bought bread and I started to then notice that I fell ill whenever I ate the bread. It wasn’t a gluten thing because I ate other things with flour in.

“I decided to make my own bread and soon I was hooked. It was such a great, new passion and before long, my wife was telling me I was better than her! It started as a hobby and then it just grew and grew and I would spend lots of time in the kitchen.

“This year does feel a lucky one for me because the first time I applied in series four, I only got as far as a phone call. I am much more prepared this time because I have been practicing so much.”

Overjoyed to have made it to the final 12, Peter goes on to reveal, however, that when reality set in on the first day, he began to overthink the cake challenge. “The pressure of the tent meant I thought everything was so much harder than it probably was,” says the health conscious baker. “I over processed the task in my mind as soon as I entered the tent and before I knew it, I was feeling so nervous!”

For Peter’s main cake, he decided to opt for a fruitcake. “I’d practiced it three times before that first time in the tent,” recalls Peter, laughing as he does. “And each time, it was perfect. “I don’t want to spoil it too much about what happens but let’s just say it didn’t quite go to plan!

A fan of savoury food, Peter who moved to Nigeria with his parents’ work said his time in the country has made him experiment with coconut. “I love putting the coconut spin on every bake,” he says. “With a Nigerian diet, you don’t really have much sweet and I have to say I am a big savoury fan when it comes to my own bakes.”

Still buzzing from meeting so many like-minded bakers, Peter says he would love to act as a food consultant one day. “I’d love to develop new recipes and new products,” he says excitedly. “But we will just have to see. I am just so positive about being part of Bake Off. It’s an incredible thing to be part of.”

 

 

Sophie, aged 33

As a former officer with the British Army and a potential film stunt star of the future, Sophie is used to action packed adrenaline but put her in The Great British Bake Off tent and life, she admits, is way more pressurised.

Smiling, the 33-year-old says it’s far easier climbing up a vertical rock climb than it is baking under the watchful eye of Prue and Paul.

But the chatty baker, who lives in Surrey, would not have it any other way as she readily confides being part of this year’s Bake Off is a great life experience.

And it would never have happened if it had not been for the help of her boyfriend, David.

“He actually put the initial application in,” she explains. “I had been looking at going on a course for a while at a patisserie college as it’s something I love doing but I couldn’t really afford it. I saw they were accepting applications and before I knew it, David had started applying.

“But never in a million years did I think I would get on! I just thought ‘let’s chuck it in and see what happens’. And now here I am talking about being one of the 12 bakers taking part in this year’s Bake Off. “

A self-taught baker, Sophie says she vowed from the start to put everything into the experience.

“Walking in to that tent first time is so much harder than training to be a stunt woman, which I am currently doing,” she says. “For that, we have been doing everything from rock climbing to equestrian but there is just so much pressure baking in the tent.

“That said; I am the type of person who puts 110 per cent effort in. Being on this show is an amazing experience and I vowed right from the start to try my hardest.”

She says one of the main barriers she found herself overcoming on the first day was reminding herself not to keep worrying about who would go first. “You don’t want to be the first one to leave and so there is that added pressure,” she adds. “Of course it was nerve-wracking but at the same time, I really think it helped me that I was from a military background as we set about making our cakes. Just like the military, you know that if something doesn’t go right, there is always a way around it. She pauses and then jokes: “But I am not so sure my cleanliness in the tent was up to military standards! My work station was carnage!”

Paul was the judge she wanted to impress most. “My heart was racing when they came up to look at my cake,” she says. “Paul was the judge I wanted to impress most because he had been there from the start. When you are standing there, the enormity of it all really does hit you.”

Sophie thinks she will take away a lot from the experience. “Getting a place on GBBO is life-changing for me,” says Sophie, beaming. “Obviously my boyfriend takes all the credit for taking the first steps! But what’s lovely is our passion for food is something we both have in common and he is so proud of me. It still feels surreal, to be honest, and I don’t think it will really sink in until the first episode airs. Being part of this year’s line-up will be something I will remember for the rest of my life.”

 

 

Stacey, aged 42

A self-confessed perfectionist, Stacey admits her biggest challenge taking part on this series of The Great British Bake Off has been learning how to take constructive criticism from judges, Paul and Prue.

Readily admitting she does speak her mind, the 42-year-old says she finds it tough when people criticise her cakes.

“I am a perfectionist and I will do things again, if I need to which isn’t necessarily the best thing!” explains the baker. “If I am at home and I make something I don’t like, then I start again. Everything has to be perfect. I once made a bake 17 times because I was determined to get it right. I don’t like criticism and I do speak my mind. I try not but I can’t help it!’

But the mum of three stresses taking part on this year’s series has been absolutely fantastic because it has enabled her to do something for herself.

A loving mum to three boys, she has spent the last nine years throwing herself into running the family household in Hertfordshire rather than pursuing a career herself.

“Part of the reason why I applied to go on this year’s Bake Off is because I wanted to do something for myself,” explains the former primary school teacher. “I’ve not worked for nine years and it’s now really lovely to do this for me.

“I’ve loved baking for such a long time. My amazing grandmother, Phyllis, who sadly passed away a couple of years ago, first inspired me when I was a young girl and she was such an amazing woman and my best friend. I then took it up properly when I was at University. Now to be part of this show is such an incredible opportunity for me. I feel really lucky.”

And Stacey certainly put lots of effort into practising before entering the famous tent for the first time. She has spent the last 12 months baking morning, noon and night. “I spent a month on bread and then when I nailed it in my mind, I’d move onto something else. I have been practising so much, I’ve actually put on a stone and half in weight because I’ve been trying my own food and I love a good cake!

“On that first day in the tent, I really did have a special feeling where I thought ‘this feels right’. I couldn’t wait to tell my sons about the day as I felt that it put out a strong message to them– it doesn’t matter how old you are, if you put your mind to something, you will get there eventually.”

So given she finds it tough hearing if something isn’t right, how did it feel to be judged by Paul and Prue for the first time? “It was tough as I torment myself when things go wrong,” she admits. “Paul was scary!”

Stacey goes on to say she couldn’t have been part of this year’s GBBO line-up if it had not been for the incredible support of her husband, James. Juggling three children with baking in the tent would have been far harder if he hadn’t been around to help, she says. “I’d be on the go from 7am until 10pm but James was just so supportive about everything,” she adds.

“He’s been brilliant.”

She thinks that whatever happens over the coming weeks, she will take a lot from ‘this ludicrously amazing experience’. “Baking in the tent for the first time made me realise I am a better baker than I think I am, “ adds Stacey. “I’d love to do something for others in the future. I’d love to help inspire.”

 

 

Steven, aged 34

Steven credits his love of baking to his beloved mum – Judi.

He is buzzing that he’s been given what he describes as such ‘a brilliant and potentially life-changing opportunity’ to pursue his big passion in life.

“My mum, Judi, has been such a massive influence on me,” says Steven, eyes lighting up as he does. “My grandmother was a war time nurse and she was always on the go, so never had the time to bake.

“When my mum had children, she wanted to provide a warm environment where the oven was always on. Toad in the hole, pies, cakes, she always had something on the go. I learnt so much as I grew up watching mum bake.

“The first thing I ever made was a lemon drizzle cake at the age of nine and I carried on from there. I’ve now been baking for 25 years!”

Immersing himself in every cookbook he can lay his hands on, Steven admits it felt almost ‘Disney like’ when he first stepped behind his GBBO workstation. Says Steven: “When I stepped in that tent, it felt such a precious moment seeing the pastel colours and all the production team getting ready for our arrival. None of us had slept the night before and it felt like as if we were children going to boarding school for the first time. There was such an air of nervous excitement around us. It really was Disney like.”

Any nerves quickly evaporated when Sandi and Noel walked into the tent. “They really are beautiful human beings on and off camera,” says Steven. “They have genuine concern for everyone and I know everyone will have an opinion but for us, they really were such a special part of this experience. They calmed us down when we started baking our cakes.”

He says that as soon as he started throwing himself into the cake challenges, the adrenaline soon kicked in. “That first day was a long day,” recalls Steven. “But it was exciting. I wanted to hear what both Paul and Prue had to say. I am obviously very familiar with Paul thanks to Bake Off, but I know Prue is such an accomplished chef.”

And what made the first day really special was telling his mum that he was actually baking in the tent. “She was in floods of tears,” he reveals. “She has never been one of these people where you had to get high grades. She could hear how happy I was and she was so happy for me that I was fulfilling a huge dream of mine.”

But his mum is the only person Steven has told and the gregarious 34-year-old admits he is so relieved his big secret is now out. “I felt like I’ve been cheating my friends as I have not been able to tell them,” he says. “I’ve had to be really secretive and now I can tell them, they will know why I have been acting so oddly. I’ve wanted to throw myself into this whole experience and so I have found myself living, breathing and sleeping all things baking. But what an amazing programme to be part of.”

Steven now feels swapping his career in marketing for a baking one is a possibility. He says: “Landing a place in the line-up for this year’s show has made me realise what my big passion in life is. It’s a real cliché but you have to love your job. I’d definitely love to swap my career one day.”

 

Tom, aged 29

When Tom came face to face with Prue Leith for the first time in this year’s Bake Off tent, he admits it was one of the most nerve-wracking experiences ever – because he was desperate to impress her.

The 29-year-old architect decided to apply to go on this year’s series after watching back-to-back episodes of the show one day when he was off work ill.

Very familiar with Paul’s tough talking but honest critiques, he says Prue was the one judge he really did feel nervous about.

“Prue was the unknown in terms of Bake Off because it’s her first series as a judge,” he explains. “I was more nervous about what she would say as I knew she was really into her flavours. With Paul, I knew he would be tough to crack but I really wanted Prue to like my cake!

“Thankfully I am good with taking criticism because as part of my degree course, you regularly had to stand up every week and be told what was right or wrong. I can take things on the chin. I am all for criticism. It’s important to learn.”

He describes the first day on set as ‘surreal’.

“I wasn’t shaking when I walked in for the first time,” admits Tom. “But it was kind of surreal. It felt familiar in one sense because you had seen it so many times on television but it felt unfamiliar in another. All the equipment is new and everything is different. It’s totally different to your own kitchen.”

Tom has been a passionate baker for many years. His mum works as a Home Economics teacher and both his grandmothers loved making cakes. His sister owns a teashop. “My whole family loves baking and my partner had been encouraging me for some time to apply,” explains the friendly baker. “He thought I would enjoy the experience and I am so glad I did take his advice and apply. Everyone in my family is so chuffed for me that I’ve got to be part of the 12 bakers who are in this year’s tent.”

Practice, practice, practice has been Tom’s motto from the start. Says Tom: “You are thinking about it all the time – the recipes, the cakes, what cake to make for your signature but it’s enjoyable at the same time because there is that end goal of standing proudly with your cake in the tent!”

He says he learnt so much during the first day of filming. “You immediately meet all these like-minded people and I quickly started to learn from them so much,” adds Tom. “There’s a lot of expectation but by swapping ideas, you can learn how to do things better. It’s also nice to be able to crack a joke about pastry with someone who will laugh as well!”

He says he isn’t sure yet if he’d ditch his career as an architect. “Yet even that first day has definitely made me walk away and feel a lot more confident,” reveals Tom. “I also really like the fact I’ve made so many new friends.”

This year’s GBBO bakers have already formed a new WhatsApp group – and a close-knit bond that they are doing something so uniquely together has been formed, adds Tom. “I guess I am as ready as I can be for what is to come now it is going to start soon,” says Tom. “I am realistic about what to expect and what a wonderful challenge it is to be part of…”

 

Chuen-Yan ‘Yan’, aged 46

It was make or break for superstitious Yan who vowed to apply to take part in the eighth series of The Great British Bake Off – because eight is her lucky number.

And the 46-year-old, who moved to the UK when she was two from Hong Kong, admits she still finds it ‘totally surreal’ that she is part of the latest line-up.

“I’ve been baking for ten years and I’ve got really into it,” the 46-year-old explains. “And the more I got into it, the more my friends kept telling me to apply. They said my personality would suit the tent. I promised I would apply when I finished my Masters degree. People then really did take me for my word and they kept reminding me.

“I was excited in a way about what might happen if I did as I realised it was series eight and eight is my lucky number in Chinese symbolism.”

Overjoyed to have been chosen, Yan says nothing, however, could prepare her for the moment she arrived at the Bake Off location. “I was like a rabbit caught in a headlight for the entire day,” she admits. “But I work in a high profile laboratory and you have to show a cool exterior. If you panic in the lab, everyone else does. In the tent, I tried to keep a cool exterior, too, even though I was feeling apprehensive inside!”

Determined to throw everything into her first day, Yan says her avid GBBO fan brother was a tremendous help giving her lots of advice. “He loves the show and he watches it all the time,” she explains. “He was my main guide and he gave me lots of tips but the trouble is that all goes out the water when you are in the tent. He told me beforehand everyone would either cut their hand or not switch on the oven. So what do I do? Not switch the oven on high enough! You practice and practice beforehand but being in the GBBO tent is not like being at home. You don’t realise how well you know your own kitchen until you are somewhere else. You find yourself going ‘where’s the peeler, knife?’ I found I kept looking for stuff on my first day.”

Prue, Sandi and Noel were ‘the best’, adds Yan, as she declares Paul isn’t nearly as scary as people might think. “I don’t know if he wants this banded around as it might ruin his reputation but he is such a lovely guy!” she chuckles. “Sandi and Noel couldn’t be better hosts. We were all made to feel at home by them on the first day. They are the best. Prue is lovely too.”

Very proud of her heritage, Yan admits she decided she wanted to keep it simple. The scientist explains: “For Bake Off, I didn’t draw on my background. Flavours, perhaps, but I knew I needed to keep everything as traditional as possible in cake week. I didn’t want to mess up if I tried to over complicate things.

“I know my own family used to steam cakes and use the oven as storage space – but that’s because flats are tiny in Hong Kong. And I still use my oven as storage because my kitchen is tiny – but I didn’t do that in the tent!”

Living in North London with her wife, Marian, Yan is so interested in savoury dishes that she even calls her sourdough starter ‘Muvver’. “I love bread,” she admits. “I call my starter Muvver and one of the best things about chatting to Paul when I met him on the first day was chatting about bread. I learnt so much in a matter of minutes.”

Incredibly excited her big secret that she is going to be on GBBO is finally out, Yan is still unsure if she would ever swap her life as a scientist for a role in a bakery. “I am a cancer scientist and that’s my path,” she adds. “That is what I am comfortable with and to find yourself in the tent being critiqued made you feel like a fish out of water. But how lucky am I?

“Even now, I still can’t believe I have been chosen to take part in this series."

 

ENDS