Brendan Bakes

The excitement surrounding the final has receded and there is now time to step back and reflect on my journey on the Great British Bake Off. This journey began nearly a year ago when I sent in my application form, continued through the audition process at the start of 2012, then the weeks of recipe […]

Getting to this stage of the competition brought with it a lot of tension. We were so close to the final and nerves were jangled. I think that we were also pretty fatigued. Everyday life of study and work hadn’t ceased for any of us and the cumulative effect of all those weekends spent filming […]

After the dramas of the previous episode, this week felt relatively calm. We had all originally been asked to prepare recipes for two different buns. However, after John’s injury the week before and the consequent decision to evict two people the following week, we were asked to drop one of the buns and double up […]

Sarah-Jane’s comments about GBBO being like a “massive rollercoaster ride” felt especially apt this week. Viewers will have seen the dropped puddings, flying pastry, John’s injury, and the tears at the end. These incidents give some sense of the pressure that we were all feeling. On one hand the competition was moving up a notch. […]

This was the only episode filmed midweek. It was a busy and hectic two days with several visitors, including a journalist from the Daily Telegraph who interviewed us all. The weather was still pretty grim  – I had to wear a fleece until the warmth from the ovens kicked in. The salmon coulibiac was one […]

The setback I experienced in Episode 3 was a real turning point for me in how I approached the competition. For the first 3 programmes, I found the environment somewhat alien and unsettling. Nothing to do with the extensive Production Team, who were consistently encouraging and helpful, but the many mini interviews that preceded each […]