Rahul Mandal
The Great British Bake Off winner we all fell in love with…
Has your win sunk in yet? I’m getting there. It was such a whirlwind experience. Getting to the Bake Off tent itself was more than a dream, and then with the result and everything, it was so overwhelming. Did you watch the final with any of your fellow bakers? My parents came over from India after week four, so I watched with them, some of my colleagues, and Luke and Terry from Bake Off. I sat between them, literally clutching their knees – I was so nervous – and Luke whispered in my ear, “But you know what’s going to happen!” And I was like, “Yes, I know, but I want to watch it like other people.” Is it strange being recognised now? It’s really nice. An old lady came up to me in a bank and said. “You’re doing great – start being more confident.” It was so touching that somebody actually wanted to say that they like me. I went for a book signing and there were little kids coming up and they were literally trembling. It’s so overwhelming. Do you have anything fun planned for the Christmas holidays? I like to get a Christmas tree, buy presents for my friends and colleagues and put them under the tree. I usually invite people round and bake for them. Every year, I bake mince pies and stained-glass cookies to hang on the tree and to give as presents. What are your future plans? I don’t really know. At the moment, I’m back at work [Rahul is a nuclear engineer], but I’ll be excited if something comes along. I really want to inspire young school kids to do more science and engineering – and baking. You don’t have to be a chef to cook, it’s just a nice gesture to bake something for friends or family. I think baking is love – it’s celebrating being together.
‘I bake stained-glass cookies to hang on my Christmas tree’