The Great Millennial Bake Off! Half of new contestants under 30
GONE are the days when cakes were ‘just like granny used to bake’. Now it seems youth has taken over. More than half this year’s baker’s dozen of Great British Bake Off contestants are in their 20s and only one is over 40.
With an average age of just 31, they are the youngest group to step into the tent in the show’s history. Last year’s series had an average age of 36 and in 2017 it was 39.
The line-up for the tenth series includes student Henry and part-time waiter Jamie, both 20. HGV driver Phil, at 56, is the youngest ‘oldest baker’ since the first series in 2010.
Channel 4 is clearly hoping to appeal to the Instagram generation – although older contestants have always proved popular with viewers. Judge Prue Leith, 79, insisted that the show is concerned only with seeking the best contestants.
Fellow judge Paul Hollywood, 53, said baking is now trendy among young people who like to show off their bakes on social media.
Here is the line-up for the series, which begins on Channel 4 on August 27 at 8pm.
1 THE BAKING BOOKWORM
Henry, 20, is one of this year’s youngest bakers. His passion for sponges began at the age of 12 when he became fascinated by the creations in the Bake Off tent, which fortuitously pitched up in his local park in series two. The English literature student keeps his housemates at Durham University happy with his bakes, which are composed of delicate and carefully combined flavours.
2 THE SECRET ROMANTIC
Dan, 32, got serious about baking in a bid to impress his future wife with a themed birthday cake. The support worker from Rotherham was shown how to bake a Victoria sponge by his mother and plait and bake bread by his Army chef father. Dan loves to decorate his creations and even made his own wedding cake.
3 THE TWIN HOPING TO PEAK
Jamie, from Surrey, is the joint youngest baker this year, aged 20. He was taught the basic skills by his grandmother and parents, but his passion for baking truly took off after an episode of Bake Off inspired him to make a plaited loaf. Jamie, who has an identical twin brother, is working part-time as a waiter before going to university to study sports science. He relishes a challenge and has a traditional approach to flavours.
4 THE BRIOCHE-MAD BIKER
Phil, 56, is this year’s oldest baker. The HGV driver from Essex only started to bake seriously six years ago. Working early shifts means Phil can bake for his wife and two daughters, as well as taking treats to his friends at his motorbike meetings. With a preference for bread, often making focaccia and brioche, Phil has worked hard on improving his decorating and piping skills.
5 THE SPORTY YORKIE
Amelia, 24, originally from Halifax, has been baking since she was five after watching her mother and grandmother decorate cakes. Born to a Caribbean father and British-Polish mother, the London-based sportswear designer honed her skills at university, baking for friends and college fundraisers. Amelia’s Yorkshire roots inspire her – she believes freshly farmed produce is essential for a satisfying bake.
6 THE CAKE-MAKER FROM SCONE
Michael, 26, from Stratford-upon-Avon, learned to bake from his mother who encouraged him to learn from old handwritten recipes passed down through the family. The theatre manager, raised in Scone, Scotland, is inspired by the flavours of his Indian heritage and says that while he has tried most disciplines of baking his strengths are in pastry and cakes.
7 THE FLAVOUR VOLCANO
Alice, 28, from London, is a geography teacher who turned her hand to baking while recovering from a back operation for scoliosis – curvature of the spine. She uses cakes in her lessons to demonstrate coastal erosion and volcanic activity. She describes her baking style as ‘intricate and delicate and has to make people go ‘wow’ with her flavours. She perfected the fruit pavlova when she lived in New Zealand during her early 20s.
8 THE HALLOWEEN FAN
Helena, 40, enjoyed watching her Spanish grandmother bake growing up but it was living with a Mormon family during a school exchange
trip to Las Vegas that Helena really started baking. Originally from Ceuta, an autonomous Spanish city in north Africa, and raised in Lanzarote, the online project manager lives in Leeds with her husband and baby daughter. She enjoys baking with American and Spanish flavours, and is often inspired by Halloween.
9 THE HEALTH FREAK
Steph, 28, found a love of baking through her grandfather who used to bake bread with her. The shop assistant from Chester, who has focused on baking for the past three years, is primarily self-taught and considers herself an ‘intermediate, stilllearning’. Her baking is inspired by her passion for sport and wellness, as she enjoys making healthier bakes.
10 THE KEEN EXPERIMENTER
Michelle, 35, from Tenby in South Wales, began baking as a child watching her mother at home. The print shop administrator likes to bake almost every other day, experimenting with flavours using seasonal vegetables from her own patch to add to her bakes. Michelle shares her creations on her Instagram dedicated to her baking.
11 THE ‘BONKERS’ PERFECTIONIST
Priya, 34, from Leicester began baking as a way to relax but when she received a stand mixer seven years ago she went ‘baking bonkers’. A freelance marketing consultant and self- confessed perfectionist, Priya is known to bake well into the night – she even had time to write a book as well. The mother of two has experimented with vegan baking and would love to travel to taste the flavours of the world when her children are older.
12 THE AVOWED ADVENTURER
David, 36, was inspired to bake by his mother, who never ate a shop-bought loaf at her home in Yorkshire. The health adviser, who lives in London, developed his baking skills on his work travels to Malawi where he learnt to build an oven out of an oil drum and invented a cake that could steam cook over a village fire. David is a keen bread baker, preferring robust flavours and solid bakes.
13 THE NIGHT-OWL VET
Rosie, 28, found a love of baking at the age of five when she was given a children’s baking book. The Cambridge University graduate, now qualified as a veterinary surgeon in Somerset, will bake through the night to keep the practice nurses well fed. A box of mixed pastries is her ‘go-to’ bake and she is inspired by her rural surroundings.