He’s so sweet! Boffin Rahul is the darling of Bake Off
TO most of us it looks almost as hard as rocket science.
But to Rahul Mandal, creating showstoppers for the Great British Bake Off is far tougher.
As a research physicist, he finds equations much simpler than whipping up the perfect cake.
Bake Off viewers may find that difficult to believe after the 30-year- old quickly established himself as the star of this year’s series so far.
He has gone from outsider to favourite for the Channel 4 competition after winning Star Baker twice in the first three weeks. Yet Rahul took up baking only five years ago, to help him make friends. He had not made a cake until two years ago.
His shaking hands often betray his nerves – he even admitted: ‘Inside me is like a pressure cooker. It can burst any time.’ And despite his scientific approach he always winces as he presents his creations to be judged.
He even apologised on Tuesday night for putting too much fruit on his Chelsea buns, only for Paul Hollywood to tell him they were ‘baked to perfection’ and later describe him as a ‘little genius’ for his korovai – a sweet Eastern European bread served at weddings – which he decorated with swans.
In week two, his collar cake with chocolate shards earned him a coveted Hollywood handshake, the first for a showstopper, perhaps to make up for earlier calling him ‘chubby faced’.
His spreadsheet recipes and timid nature have already won an army of fans on social media for Rahul, who moved to the UK from Kolkata in 2010 to do a PhD in optical metrology – precision measurement using light – at Loughborough University.
He also melted hearts by revealing in week one that he Skypes his parents in India every day. This week he was seen carrying a giant sponge into work for his colleagues at the University of Sheffield’s Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre.
Rahul, who lives in Rotherham, admitted: ‘Even as a child, rather than watching
‘I was feeling lonely’
sports, I enjoyed watching cookery shows. I never baked when I was in India. My baking journey began in the UK about five years ago when I was feeling lonely.
‘The first cake I made was about two years ago, when my parents visited the UK for the first time. Even five years ago I really had no idea about Bake Off. One of my colleagues kind of pushed me to apply. I think pretty much everybody I know will be surprised.’
After Tuesday’s show he was inundated with social media requests from viewers begging to be his friend. One wrote: ‘“Rahul bakes to make new friends” could be the best line from Bake Off ever.’
Another said: ‘ I want to adopt Rahul and fill him with self-confidence and for him to fill me with cake in return.’
A third added: ‘Rahul, I will be your friend.’
While Rahul shone, Goldman Sachs worker Antony Amourdoux, 29, was the third baker to leave the tent after his garlic naan and tiered korovai failed to impress the judges.