Interview with Mo Gilligan

7 April 2020

Can you bake? Rate yourself out of 10.

Out of ten, I’d give myself a five. Because I can cook, but I can’t bake. So I’m definitely a baker who’s still learning.

Who taught you how to bake?

No-one, really. My mum and my sister are very good bakers. They’re very good cooks as well. But they haven’t given me any tips. You can have too much information.

Do you have a signature dish? 

Mac and cheese, if that counts as a bake? I’m more of a savoury guy. If I’m cooking I like a bit of chicken, jerk chicken, in a nice marinade, sticky barbecue ribs, stuff like that. 

Are you a Bake Off fan?

Yeah, it’s a great programme. You don’t need to know about baking to watch Bake Off. That’s the cool thing. It’s very light-hearted, it’s good entertainment, and it’s a really warm programme.

Is it something you’ve been nervous about doing?

Not really. I’ll be honest, I was a bit nervous at first, but I spoke to a lot of people, and they all said “Don’t worry about it, you’ll be fine”. It’s for a great cause, and no-one is expecting me to do well. If I was doing actual Bake Off as one of the contestants, yeah, I’d be nervous!

Who do you want to impress the most? Paul or Prue?

You know what? Everyone puts it on Paul, like “You’ve got to get the Hollywood handshake” but I met them on the Jonathan Ross Show last year, and Prue is quite stern!

Who do you see as your biggest competition?

I wouldn’t say competition, but Rob Rinder told me that he’s never actually opened an oven. So I need to be better than him. I can’t get beaten by the guy that’s never opened an oven.

Have you had any baking disasters?

I once burned my mum’s kitchen down! It didn’t actually ‘burn’ burn down, but it caused a lot of smoke damage. It wasn’t exactly baking. I was frying chips in a pan, and I went upstairs for a moment, I heard the fire alarm go off, and thought “That’s weird”, so I went downstairs and I saw smoke coming out from under the door. So I opened the door, and it was pitch black in there, even though there I’d left a light on. The light had melted off the wall. The fire brigade had to come and everything.

What’s your strength in your baking?

I’m all about the flavour. I’ll be honest, I’m not great at presentation. But if it tastes good, that’s what it’s all about. I always think, if you taste something blindfolded, and it tastes good, then you’ve won. I don’t want to make something that looks great but doesn’t taste good. I’m all about the flavour. 

Why are you supporting Stand Up to Cancer?

It’s a great cause. I have a lot of young people following who watch my stuff, and if I can get more of them to talk about cancer, think about cancer and raise awareness, that’s great. Because it can happen to anyone, young or old, rich or poor.  So I’m proud of being part of this great cause to raise awareness. I had an uncle who passed away from cancer not so long ago and that’s the thing isn’t it? Everyone knows someone who has had cancer. Cancer doesn’t discriminate who it affects.

Did you get any advice when you were preparing for this show?

Everyone has been telling me I have to practice. Every part of me was like “Yeah, I’m going to practice.” And I kept thinking “I’ll do it next week… I’ll do it next week.” Even up until yesterday I was going to make a sponge cake, and then I thought…  “Well, we might not be making sponge, so there’s no point in practicing for something you’re not going to do.” So I’m just going to wing it on the day!

Are you competitive? Do you want to be star baker?

I am competitive, but I’m not desperate to be star baker. I think I’d be very surprised If anything. I don’t bake. As it is, I’m happy just to be here and compete.

How do you feel about the technical challenge?

I think the cool thing about the technical challenge is that no-one knows what it will be. With the other rounds, everyone can practice at home. Everyone says “Oooh, I’ve never tried this,” but you look at their presentation and it’s clear they’ve practiced. But in the technical, no-one knows about it, so we’re all going in at the deep end together!

What would be the worst possible thing you could be asked to make in the technical?

Something that has to raise just the right amount. You know, something where you’ve got to take it out of the oven at a really exact time, and if you get it wrong it’s ruined.

Did you get any advice from Big Narstie about appearing on the show?

[Laughs] No! He wouldn’t be the best person for advice. I didn’t get any advice from him, and if I had, I don’t think I would have taken it!