Q&A with Benoit Blin
Category: Press Pack ArticleYou're back for series eight of Bake Off: The Professionals. Did you think the show would last so long?
Oh, definitely not. When we’re doing our first auditions, you assume the pastry industry in this country is kind of small and perhaps there will not be enough pastry chefs willing to put in the effort and time to compete at that level. And we've been wrong eight times so far. The pastry industry is getting bigger and more varied. Long may it continue.
Why do viewers love it?
Other than the fact there’s a lot of drama? It's like any race, you live under time constraint. People are not always prepared to put themselves under that pressure, so that creates some lovely dramas. But I hope, also, it’s because there are lovely human stories. It’s a team competition, so that makes it interesting because it's not just how you bake, but how you work together to achieve a goal. And the adventure becomes even more interesting when you come from a small remote place in the UK – working on the shores of a loch or somewhere – and you compete with 10 or 11 other teams. For me, this year has been interesting in terms of the fact we've got people from different regions, different cultures. We have a very diverse industry. When you tick all those boxes, it makes for an interesting show. And people hate to admit, but they love when things go wrong because it shows how difficult it is to be successful in a competition like this. Finally, people might just say, ‘Well, I like to watch this because it makes me feel like I want to eat cakes now!’
The chefs achieve more and more extraordinary things…
I've got the odd message on Instagram saying ‘How dare you give them so little time? They can't complete the things!’ People watching can feel very upset. But it doesn’t happen to every team – some teams manage to pull it off – so clearly there is a different set of skills. Those who are perhaps not competition-ready as such have a reality check. The good thing is, when you progress through the competition, you have an opportunity to get our feedback. They are, more often than not, constructive. You try not to do the same mistake twice. Even the better teams get better as they go along… better and better and better. And, this year, you got a great final. It’s very competitive. It's certainly, for me, the tightest finals we've had. In terms of skill set, it has been a much closer competition than perhaps we've had. Usually, you have one team which tends to move away from everybody else consistently. When you reach the final six, the competition becomes hotter. You could never predict which way it would go. We had a very tough job to move the right teams forward and crown the winner.
What were the highlights for you?
What I have been really impressed with this year is we had a couple of secret challenges. We started with a secret challenge at the beginning to give our teams the opportunity to see how well they’d do with something relatively classic, but with a recipe which is minimal. For example, the first episode’s first challenge is a fruit opera slice, basically, a layered slice. They don't know they're going to have this. They are all on a level playing field. They are given the same ingredients, the same recipe and they have a technical challenge you do fairly easily in the kitchen. But it allows us, first of all, to filter those who are perhaps out of their depth of the basic skills required to do well in this competition. You can be slightly less skilled, but if you are adaptable, you might just be smart enough to be able to do it… if that makes sense. Some teams are extremely skilled, but hate the idea of not controlling the outcome. They like to plan to the last detail and you can't when it's a secret. That I like.
What else did you love?
We brought in a suspended showpiece. When you think about jeopardy, when you think about risk-taking, when you talk about potential drama…you can imagine this creates fantastic moments. The showpiece needs to be completely suspended in the air. The theme was Take Flight, so the showpiece is meant to be flying somewhere one way or another. So, for example, you could work with the idea of balloons. Some of our teams had a theme around the animated movie Up – where a house was flying with balloons. Others decided to work with bees and you get a floating beehive. One team had a chocolate rocket taking off for the stars. There were some fantastic approaches that pushed boundaries.
It sounds very nerve wracking…
Yes. Even for us. It’s something we've seen done in competition before, but not often, so we gave them strong guidance to make sure they understood the concept of attachment in the air. Technically, you can’t say: ‘I'm going to cast 24 kilo of chocolate…’ and expect it to hold in the air because the weight will pull everything down. You have to work with much lighter structures and approach the challenge differently.
Banoffee pie is one of the Ordinary becomes Extraordinary showpiece challenges. Were you impressed with their reinventions?
Well, of course, as usual, you got the good, the bad and the ugly, but there was some beautiful desserts. I remember enjoying dessert every time. One made a banana tree. They had a kind of Donkey Kong story with monkeys in the tree and little bananas… that was a nice interpretation. Others went more classical. There were beautiful designs. What I liked this year was everybody seems to have come from a different angle.
Banoffee pie has just been controversially voted Britain's favourite pie in an online poll – beating steak pie and pork pies. What's your favourite pie?
Oh, I like a nice little pork pie, but – being French – you can look at the pithiviers. Banoffee pie is lovely. When it comes to the sweet side, I’m not difficult. I've got a very sweet tooth. I love everything pretty much.
What have been the strangest ingredients this year?
We have a team from Brazil who brought one of their fruits – a Cupuaçu – which I've never had before. It was a combination of citrusy and a very oxidised, almost rotten, fruit flavour. It was interesting. You had to get used to the idea when you were eating. We had, also, a team from India, who brought a different combination of spices within their bakes. That was pretty original as far as we were concerned because they’re not perhaps something you're used to. That's the beauty of having a diverse group of people in the kitchen. You’re not only discovering new ideas and techniques, but also new cultures and ingredients.
Did you and Cherish disagree much this year when judging?
No. After eight years in the kitchen, we understand what each other likes and dislikes and always find a common ground. Sometimes, when we comment on the work, we will express it differently, but our thought process is the same. When I taste a dish, I taste it differently than Cherish, but 80% of the time we express a similar thing. The remaining 20% is sometimes our personal taste.
Liam has a new co-host. What was Ellie Taylor like to work with?
Within a couple of hours, it was like we've known each other forever. She's very easy to get on with and has a good sense of humour. She's got a playful kind of mindset and it’s always easy to get on with somebody who's got a big smile. All of us, before we knew it, were laughing and enjoying a good competition.
Did she enjoy digging into the bakes?
More than that! She's been extremely greedy. She was stuffing herself with big chunks of cake. She was trying to listen to what we were saying and then, as soon as we finished, she was running to the right table to make sure she had a bite or two of the right cakes. She clearly has a sweet tooth.
It sounds like the job from heaven for her…
Clearly! Especially at the beginning, you could argue there might have been moments where she was on a sugar high because she’d had quite a bit. You say: ‘If I do like you, I’d be getting wider…’ but she doesn’t. She’s got a very sweet tooth, but clearly controls her diet very well otherwise.
One challenge was to make a musical icon in choux. Who would you immortalise in pastry?
Somebody tried Freddie Mercury, another was Elvis. There were really interesting characters. Personally, I’ve got a strong connection with hard rock, so I like the idea of AC/DC or Iron Maiden. You could use perhaps a symbolised approach like Gene Simmons, the lead singer in Kiss.
What was your favourite food as a kid?
Cakes. Any cakes: financiers, chouquettes…. all the dessert pastries. I’ve always had a sweet tooth. My mum used to send me to buy bread and I’d always bring back a bag of chouquettes. I’d have 10 on the way back, but leave two for my mum, so she didn’t feel shortchanged. Chouquettes are little choux buns covered with sugar. When they bake, they get caramelised on the base, so they are a chewy, crispy, caramel, buttery little choux. Ultimately, I always loved an almond financier… one of the reasons I became a pastry chef.
What did you last bake at home?
I'm working on a book of recipes to make at home, so I've done a chocolate lava cake recently. I've also done a banana cake, a Tarte Tatin and I'm doing a millionaire tart as we speak. Normally, I don't bake as much, but because I'm creating a book, I have to practise more than usual.
The family have been well fed…
Yes! And they've made their critiques because – to be honest – not every recipe has been a success. It's one thing to cook in your kitchen, but it’s another to cook at home. You have to know, as a professional, which corner to cut to make sure you still deliver. Otherwise, the family criticise… especially my wife. My wife has a strong idea of what she likes and what she doesn’t, but fair enough. She's chief taster. She doesn’t miss the opportunity to put me back in my place.
If you could have tea and cake with anybody, who would you choose?
I’d like to have tea and cakes with all my pastry chef friends, then we can criticise and enjoy every element. Going down Memory Lane, I remember enjoying afternoon tea with Prince Charles when I was given the Award of Excellence – The Master of Culinary Art – in 2005. It was a moment I’ll cherish for the rest of my life. He’s patron of the Royal Academy of Culinary Art and I was invited to Clarence House. We had some lovely cookies – some were plain, some coated in chocolate. I wish I had had the opportunity to have tea with the Queen.
Have you baked for King Charles?
He came to Le Manoir on a couple of occasions, but no, I've never baked for King Charles.
What would you bake for him?
Something very French like a religieuse or eclairs. Something not overly sophisticated. Having met him on several occasions, he’s somebody who likes authentic flavours, beautifully made, but not overly complex in order to appreciate the origin of the food. There’s nothing wrong with a beautiful apple tart. I’m sure he would love it.
What's next for you?
I’ve got my book out early next year. There’s an across the board selection people could enjoy at home, plus a little element of tuition to help every home baker push the boundaries a little if they want. But they won’t be asked to suspend their desserts from the ceiling! Secondly, I'm going to help at one of our sister hotels to revamp the afternoon tea offering. There will be a lounge with my name on it at the Cadogan Hotel on Sloane Street and we’ll try to bring a French afternoon tea concept back to London. Voilà!