Bake Off star Candice tries a slice of Greece
IMMEDIATELY after winning the Great British Bake Off in 2016, I escaped to the delightful Greek island of Kefalonia to kick back after such a hectic time in the tent.
I can still remember the moment when I was floating around in the pool and my triumph finally sank in: ‘I’ve won Bake Off!’ I said to myself. It was truly wonderful.
My partner Ian and I recently returned to Greece, this time staying at the Miraggio Thermal Spa Resort in Halkidiki. The resort sits at the heart of a large beachside park facing the Aegean, and our first impressions were good.
Inside, things got even better. The smartly designed rooms all had balconies or patios with sofas, there was free wi-fi, flatscreen TVs, and tea and coffee-makers (amazingly these days there are still some ‘posh’ hotels that think that offering coffee-makers is somehow naff).
As someone who has a professional interest in cooking these days, I was delighted to discover that the Miraggio has four smart restaurants (and six bars).
One of the hotel’s key attractions is its luxury spa that features hot spring water: there are also outdoor pools and a very good gym.
When you’re in a resort as good as the Miraggio, it is so easy to stay put. We had a suite with a private pool and it was just what we needed relaxation-wise. We did lots of chilling out and not very much sightseeing! In fact, we left the resort just once for an evening in Paliouri, a gorgeous fishing village located on the Kassandra peninsula.
During a lovely stroll around the village, I just had to check out the competition from the local bakers. I couldn’t resist the baklavas – rich, sweet dessert pastries made with layers of filo, filled with chopped nuts and held together with honey. They were gorgeous.
If you do want to be busy, there are organised activities during the day: everything from archery to zumba, and beach volleyball to water-polo. The organised fun continued after dark thanks to the in-house entertainments team putting on their versions of musicals including Grease.
I would love to return to the Miraggio and do a baking demo. Maybe my version of the Parthenon made out of nougat would be a good showstopper.
The Miraggio Thermal Spa Resort (miraggio.gr/en) offers junior suites from £429 per night including breakfast. British Airways (ba.com) offers return flights from Gatwick to Thessaloniki between March and October from £126.