Q&A with Jesy Nelson
Category: Press Pack ArticleCan you bake?
Absolutely not! In capital letters!
Describe your baking style in one word.
Catastrophic.
What’s your favourite baked good?
Ooh. For savoury, I just love a bit of bread. Sweet would be some kind of brownie. Anything chocolate, basically.
Do you cook much in everyday life?
No, also another ‘absolutely not’.
If you had to make something to impress someone, what would you turn to?
I wouldn’t, actually. I’d just get Deliveroo and pretend I’d made it.
Have you ever had any complete culinary disasters?
Yes. Today. In the tent. Literally, the whole task in the Bake Off tent has been a disaster.
What are the strengths and weaknesses you’ll bring with you into the tent?
My strengths are that I’ll just go with the flow. My attitude is “It is what it is, and all I can do is my best.” I’m quite a positive person in that sense. The weakness is that I can’t cook for shit.
Are there any skills from your professional life that you can bring to bear in the competition?
I’m quite competitive. That’s not really a skill, is it? But I’ll always try my hardest to win.
So even though you don’t rate your chances, you’d still like to win?
Well, after seeing all the other guys do the first task, there is literally more chance of seeing pigs fly in the sky than of me winning this.
Obviously, music plays a huge part in your life. What would you listen to, to calm you down in the tent?
Probably a nice bit of classical in the background. Or some spa music. Something you’d hear in an elevator.
What aspect of the show are you most nervous about?
I’m really nervous about the showstopper. But I’ve been nervous about the whole thing, just baking something for the first time ever, and having it filmed and judged on the TV.
Are you a fan of Bake Off?
I LOVE Bake Off so much. It’s one of those programmes that anyone can watch and enjoy. I love watching it when I’m on a diet, I love tormenting myself with what I’d pick and choose to eat. And this sounds really bad, but I find it really entertaining watching how stressed people get, and how they react when things go really wrong. And now I’ve had that happen to me! It’s horrible.
What’s it like, walking into the tent for the first time?
It’s actually quite surreal, to be there in real life, having seen it so much on the TV.
This is actually your second appearance on the show – you’ve appeared before in biscuit form, haven’t you?
Have I??? Oh my God, I have, with Jade. I was thinking “When have I been on before?” Yes, this will be my second appearance.
Do you think that the biscuit Jesy might have Made a better competitor?
Oh 100%.
Have you sought advice from anyone ahead of the show?
Not really. Friends did try and warn me to practice before, but I wasn’t having any of it. I knew I’d be crap, so I thought “I’m not going to try, because that’s ging to go badly anyway, it’s just a waste of my time.” So I just went in there and threw myself in at the deep end.
What’s it like facing Paul and Prue?
Oh my God, the first time is actually terrifying. But now they know how bad I am, they just know what to expect. They don’t expect anything from me, to be honest, other than a disaster.
Is it difficult to concentrate when they’re looming over you?
Totally. Paul’s tried to scare me about three times already. You can’t concentrate at all, and they always seem to come over at the worst time, like when things are at their worst.
What would it mean to you to get a Hollywood handshake?
It would mean the absolute world, but it’s never going to happen outside of my dreams.
Why is Stand Up to Cancer important to you?
It’s such an important cause. Cancer is everywhere, and it’s so important to make people aware and just raise as much money as we can.