Q&A with Liam Charles
Category: Press Pack ArticleYou have a new co-host. How did you feel about Ellie Taylor joining the gang?
Excited. A week before I found out, I watched her on Strictly and she seemed really cool. As soon as we met, it just worked. We got on like a house on fire. Ellie’s a great professional and very easy to talk to about work, personal stuff and life in general. We knew what our strengths were and you let each other shine. It was like Rooney and Ronaldo playing up front for Man United again. Between takes, we were always dancing and being silly. It was wicked. We have a similar sense of humour. She meets, if not surpasses, my craziness.
What were your highlights this year?
I always love when the chefs make some sort of chocolate bar. One team made my favourite flavour, peanut butter caramel, in the archaelogy-themed chocolate showpiece. That was outrageous. There was another showpiece where they made a ski village and their moving part was a ski lift. It was so cool. There was one dessert which kind of split Benoit and Cherish and me and Ellie – one with goat’s cheese. I like goat’s cheese, so I was like: ‘Oh, this is nice!’ It was pretty delicious. Obviously, goat’s cheese is an acquired taste and, when you're trying to pair it with something sweet, it can work or be an absolute disaster. There was a Mad Science showpiece, too. One team made a gin distillery…
How did that work?
You know the whole Mentos and Cola thing? They used Mentos. I was expecting the explosion to be massive because I've done that myself: two-litre bottle of Cola, loads of Mentos, shook it up and it exploded. But they only used like one Mento to two litres. It was more restrained. It was quite messy when I did it at 15.
Banoffee pie was reinvented in one of the Ordinary becomes Extraordinary challenges. It’s just been controversially voted Britain's favourite pie ahead of pork pie and steak pie. What’s your favourite?
I love apple and caramel pie. I like pecan pie, too. I can understand why Banoffee pie is ranked up there. A lot of people love caramel. A lot of people like bananas and cream and digestive biscuits. People are also becoming vegetarian or vegan or trying to limit meat intake, so it makes sense why Banoffee pie is up there. I was impressed with how the chefs reinvented it. I was in my element. I love caramel.
Bread and butter pudding was another reinvented dish. Did they surprise you with that?
I was impressed by what they came out with, but there's only so much you can do without diverting from the essence of bread and butter pudding. It’s wholesome, it’s tasty… you can’t go wrong. I ate a lot, I can’t lie.
What have been the strangest ingredients this year?
One team made a curd. Everyone knows passion fruit, but they combined it with sea buckthorn. It’s so tart, but with the eggs and sugar and stuff, it balanced out. Sea buckthorn was a highlight. Goat’s cheese split opinion. There was nothing where I thought: ‘Oh my Lord, what are they doing?’
Do the chefs continue to get better and better every year?
It's definitely getting better. Put it this way, there wasn’t a lot of collapses this year. They’d practised more. When me and Ellie announced who’s going through, we’d talk to them and they were like: ‘Yeah, practising tomorrow, no rest for the wicked.’ They were straight on it. There was no ‘We’ll give ourselves a couple of days off, then go again.’ Once they get home, they're practising. Loads of chefs were really good storytellers. They definitely captured my imagination. When you start a competition, you might be a bit nervous and lack a bit of finesse and detail, but when they got more comfortable, it went up a whole other level. They were a great bunch, there was a good family vibe, but they all wanted it this year.
Any big disasters?
One episode, we were talking behind the set and it was 20 minutes to go and you know when sugar breaks you can hear it? We heard the crack. Oh my gosh. It was rough. Sugar is not forgiving. Chocolate, if it breaks, you can melt it and rub it into shape again, whereas sugar, it's very brittle, isn’t it? Once it drops, it’s kind of game over. Luckily, though, what broke was salvageable.
The two different groups start by making either Opera aux Fruit and a Banoffee pie showpiece or individual Prinsesstårta and Chocolate Amenity followed by a bread and butter pudding showpiece. Were you impressed from the off?
Overall, yeah. There are a few chefs not up to pace solely because it's a new kitchen, a new environment and you’ve got to talk to cameras. They don’t realise what an experience the whole thing will be. And they don’t know what the challenge is for the secret recipe. Their bread and butter showpieces were pretty solid. And the Banoffee pie was banging. You're never really disappointed with the chefs’ ideas because they always want to push boundaries through flavour combinations or textures. It’s great.
You and Ellie found fame in contests, so you know the terror of competing on telly. Do you think that helps you support the chefs since you know how nerve-wracking it is in their situation?
Yeah. We’ve been on both sides, innit? When we have to talk to them in the last 20 minutes and they're running around to finish off the showpiece… Well, Ellie and I know how to read the situation better in comparison to someone that hasn't been in a competition show. That's the whole job for me and Ellie, to look after the chefs and make sure they get it done. You want them to do the best they can.
Are you a feel-the-fear-and-do-it-anyway person? Do you like to test yourself?
Sometimes you might have a sniff of complacency, but you’ve got to test yourself because, if you don’t, what’s the point? In my head anyway. You’re just going to stay stagnant and that's a bit boring.
That's why you dressed up as a candlestick for Masked Dancer, was it?
Oh mate! LAUGHS My God, yeah. When I got the call for it, truth be told, I was waking up from a nap. The offer came through and I was like, ‘Why not? What's the worst that can happen?’ I had to audition. Then, a week or two later, I got it. When I saw the costume, initially, I thought, ‘No way am I putting that on…’ But it's funny because the more I practised in it… it sounds a bit pretentious, but I became the candlestick. I got into character. I wasn’t Liam anymore. I was a candlestick.
Panellist Oti Mabuse was convinced you were a dancer. Your moves were that good…
Yeah, yeah, yeah. LAUGHS That someone as good a dancer as her rated my moves was great. I was taken aback. I remember when I was rehearsing, my choreographers said: ‘Are you sure you haven't had any training?’ I was like, ‘I promise you, I haven’t.’ I thought they were just saying it to make me feel comfortable. When she said it, I thought: ‘OK. I must be pretty solid.’ I was pleasantly surprised. It was so secretive. I had to wear masks or some sort of balaclava all the time during rehearsals. Every part of my skin had to be covered. It was like being in Marvel. We even had to wear jumpers that said ‘Don’t talk to me…’
Would you like to do Strictly now?
I wouldn’t have to wear a mask for that! If I’m honest, no. I did it once. That’s me. I might change my mind in a couple of years, but at the moment, I don't really want to start doing loads of dance shows. And it looks stressful. It looks a lot of fun, but Lord Almighty, I know the amount of hours Ellie had to practise. Crazy.
Would you like to do a musical? Can you sing?
I can hold a note. I wouldn't mind performing in some capacity like that. You might yet see me in the West End, but I kind of prefer TV because you can do more takes. If you mess up a line, it’s alright.
What are your current baking specialities?
I did take a bit of a break from baking. I felt like I was baking for baking’s sake. It sounds a bit silly, but I felt like I had to re-find myself. I’m getting back into it now. I want to do more patisserie. My last bake was a flan with caramel, creme pat and brown-butter apples – a sort of elevated version of a Tarte Tatin/apple crumble in a tart case. That was great.
Who would you most like to have tea and cake with?
Rav [Gill], my co-judge on Junior Bake Off, because I haven’t seen her for a while. We’re planning to meet up in a couple of weeks, so tea and cake might be coming soon.
One showpiece saw musical icons recreated in choux. Who would you immortalise in pastry?
I really like Kano, a rapper from East London. Kano and Drake. I listen to their music when we’re filming Bake Off: Pros. Every time we wrap an episode, we put a speaker on in the dressing room, listen to random songs and dance. Benoit put me onto this song called Euphoria by Loreen and it’s an absolute banger. It’s a nice way to unwind before we head home.
If you go into a bakery, what do you order?
Doughnut! Always a doughnut. 100%. Though, I’ll tell you what, I went to a Bakery in Hackney and they do these viennoiseries, yeah? The flavours depend on the season. They’ve got this rhubarb custard one and this blueberry crumble one and caramel, creme pat and pear. Oh… sensational. Laminated pastry. And they’ve got banging sandwiches. It’s top tier. So good.
Iced or sugared doughnut?
I’m not bothered. I like every sort of doughnut. It’s deep-fried dough I like. Don’t bake a doughnut. If you’re going to bake a doughnut, just have a bagel. Some food is meant to be fried. Do not stick your doughnut in an air fryer. Respectfully. That’s so wrong. I know it’s healthier, but don’t skimp. Everything in moderation.
If you could bake for King Charles, what would you make?
I'd keep it traditional and savoury. In my second book, I have a Coronation Chicken pie. I might make that. It’s a hand-raised pie and you know with pork pies you have jelly? Mine has mango jelly. Curry flavours and mango work really well. It’s a hot water pastry flavoured with turmeric and garam masala. It’s banging.
What are your plans for the rest of 2023?
Well, I've got some children's books coming out. They’re story/cooking and baking books. That’s all I can say.