Funny girl’s reality cheque
Claire Hooper’s landed her dream job, and that’s before you get into the perks of what’s baking in the tent, writes Alison Xiao.
After devouring series after series of The Great British Bake Off, Claire Hooper picked up the phone and heard ‘‘the most delicious four words that [she] could possibly hear’’. Great Australian Bake Off.
‘‘It was such an exciting phone call … about them wanting to screen-test me. It was so off my radar,’’ the some-time 7 Days panellist says. Making the transition from stand-up comedian to television host isn’t always easy.
Even acclaimed British comic Noel Fielding couldn’t escape controversy when he was cast in The Great British Bake Off after it moved from BBC to Channel 4, causing uproar for a prank in which he hid in a fridge. ‘‘You don’t become a comedian so you can end up hosting a reality show,’’ Hooper said. ‘‘If I didn’t know the show, that wouldn’t sound like a particularly tempting offer.’’
The premise is simple – 12 amateur bakers are put to the test to deliver three challenges an episode. From crepe cakes to waffles and sausage rolls, sweet and savoury treats are judged by culinary icons Maggie Beer and Matt Moran.
In a genre run amok with confected drama between contestants and a constant stream of personal sob stories, The Great Australian Bake Off retains the simple country charm of its British counterpart.
‘‘I wouldn’t enjoy the process of watching contestants be manipulated and put under unnecessary pressure,’’ Hooper said. ‘‘We have tears and drama and we put our arms around them … we don’t hang them out to dry.’’
She said contestants who were struggling were led outside the shed and made to feel better, instead of being put in front of the camera.
While watching reality television is admittedly a guilty pleasure for Hooper, she said she would be ‘‘so uncomfortable watching that process close up’’.
‘‘I’m not such an idiot as to think that people don’t go home pretty devastated afterwards by what they’ve been through.’’
Luckily for Hooper, the Australian reincarnation is far removed from the off-screen drama plaguing the British original, where star after star declined to follow the show’s move from the BBC.
Hooper speaks highly of her fellow host and judges, appreciating the opportunity to ‘‘make stupid jokes at the judges’ expenses as often as possible’’.
She and co-host Mel Buttle are always ready to pounce on any ‘‘terrific’’ double entendres delivered by Maggie Beer.
‘‘Mel and I [enjoy] the fact that in our job we’re allowed to be mean to Matt Moran, who is financially and socially our better,’’ she said.
The comedic chemistry between the hosts is palpable, and yet another drawing card for the show.
‘‘It’s a good work relationship,’’ she said. ‘‘It’s almost like Mel has the ridiculous ideas that kick it off and I’m the one that puts the punctuation in the right place.’’
Hooper admitted she may be underselling her talents with that quip.
‘‘We are so far from perfect but we are balanced … I would call it a delightfully clumsy balance.’’
Hooper said she felt comfortable working with Buttle since the very first day of season one.
‘‘It’s such a rare thing to cohost a show as well … it does add a level of complexity,’’ she said. ‘‘You’ve really got to get two people who get each other’s vibes really well.’’ Another perk of the show is the constant availability of delectable baked goods.
‘‘I’m definitely not being good enough … I don’t want to go home and regret not trying that black forest cake that everyone said was delicious,’’ Hooper says.
‘‘I don’t want to be lying in bed wondering if it was really that good.’’
And the dish that haunts her dreams remains Beer’s baguette (fig, walnut and fennel seed) from season two.
‘‘At first, I was like ‘eugh, sounds gross’ … but I reckon I could eat that for the rest of my life, if I had to pick one thing.’’
Despite learning numerous cooking tips from Australia’s premiere chefs, Hooper says it gives her ‘‘tremendous pleasure never to put it into practice’’, instead leaving the kitchen duties to her husband who she gifted a KitchenAid upon Matt Moran’s insistence.
‘‘If my husband and I ever break up, I will eat toast for the rest of my life. I’m going to be in deep trouble. ‘‘
While New Zealanders are only now getting to experience the first season, Aussies are just going in to season three.
The Melbourne mother-of-two filmed the first season while pregnant, and spent the second season breastfeeding a baby on set. Hooper expects Australian and – eventually, perhaps sometime in 2020 – New Zealand viewers will notice she looks more relaxed this time around.
‘‘I look tired. I don’t look any better, but [it’s] just the contentment on my face knowing that when a bake ends, I’m not racing back to a trailer to feed a baby,’’ she says.
The fourth season has already been commissioned. – The Age
❚ The Great Australian Bake Off, 7.30pm, Tuesdays, Prime.