If I can’t bake, I do Lego ...It’s my happy place
WITH TWO bestselling books and a thriving gastropub to her name – plus more than 360,000 social media admirers – insecurity is not something you’d expect from the infectiously enthusiastic past Great British Bake Off winner Candice Brown.
But the sensitive ex-PE teacher, who captivated judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood with her vintage cake decorating, pillar-box red lipstick and frequent double entendres, struggles to accept she deserves her place at baking’s top table.
“I still get imposter syndrome,” admits the 37-year-old publican’s daughter. “I still get nervous when each new series comes out. I think my time’s up and I’m about to get shifted out of the way. Sometimes it’s worse than ever, especially if I don’t get work. It really is a pure panic. It’s quite a brutal industry and it’s something I struggle with in my head. That little voice might go, ‘It’s because you’ve done this,’ or, ‘It’s because people don’t like you,’ or, ‘You don’t fit.’
“It’s something I will continue to have to deal with.”
Despite her fears, the popularity of her book Happy Cooking and the enduring success of The Green Man pub that she runs with her brother Ben in Eversholt, near Milton Keynes, suggests Candice will continue to be very much part of the culinary establishment whoever lifts this year’s Bake Off trophy.
And with the pandemic and her divorce from former tree surgeon husband Liam Macaulay now behind her – plus a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder that has helped her better understand herself – she is feeling optimistic about the future.
“I live with depression, I have chronic phobia and PTSD but I’m trying to be a little bit kinder to myself, because I’m not always the kindest person to myself,” says Candice, whose language is never less than utterly frank.
“Sometimes, I have to step back and go, ‘Actually, you’re OK,’ and I’m trying to use different bits and pieces to help myself. I do affirmations before I go to bed. I say, ‘You’re strong. You’re kind. You’re good’, ‘You are enough’ and ‘Good things are coming your way’.”
An altogether unexpected tool Candice, now dating rugby player Nicky Mercer, employs to soothe her overactive mind originates from Denmark, but Danish pastry it isn’t.
“I’m obsessed with Lego,” she smiles. “Lego is my happy place. If I can’t bake, I like to do Lego. I can’t bake all the time and Lego does the same thing for me. I get my head down and I just crack on with it.
“It’s working with my hands, and it is giving my brain something to do, because my brain is very, very loud. It’s
very busy. I’m making loads of Harry
As the current series hots up, former Great British Bake Off winner Candice Brown reveals how the little plastic bricks help combat her insecurities… and why she channels Barbara Windsor when she’s behind the bar of her gastropub
Potter stuff right now, but my dog Severus keeps eating my Dumbledore figure.
“I’ve part-made the Hogwarts Express and I’ve got Hermione, but her head is missing. I’m also making the Spice Girls heads, and I’ll do Adele too when she comes out. I’d love to do a Bake Off Lego creation with Mary Berry and she’s tiny so wouldn’t need too many bricks. Maybe they should do the Bake Off tent? Why haven’t they done that yet? I’m going to speak to the Lego people!”
Another Bake Off Lego fan is judge Paul Hollywood, according to Candice.
“It doesn’t surprise me that Paul’s into it at all,” she says. “I think a lot of people love it, whether it’s sporty people or creative people, and it’s such an all-consuming activity, it’s brilliant for calming your brain down.”
Lego aside, Candice’s current focus is on her gastropub The Green Man which, after being forced to close for several months during the pandemic, is now flourishing. And as well as giving punters the opportunity to sample her baking, Candice is passionate about sustainability and has teamed up with Heineken Smart Dispense, to launch the first ever Green Pub Guide, featuring Britain’s most environmentally progressive hostelries.
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HE EXPLAINS: “I love doing things I can speak passionately about, and sustainability is hugely important to my brother Ben and I. We’ve had a massive drive on recycling, and we use as many local suppliers as possible to reduce food miles.”
Visitors to the refurbished 200-year-old inn she took over in 2018 also get the chance to see Candice, whose parents ran pubs in north London and Bedfordshire when she was growing up, pulling pints behind the bar. And so far, she’s not had to eject any unde
sirables, unlike her small screen heroine Peggy Mitchell, played by the late Dame Barbara Windsor.
“I was incredibly lucky to meet Dame Barbara before she died,” says Candice. “My fellow Bake Off contestants used to call me Babs because of my laugh and my innuendo, and I love anything vintage. I love old things. I love old films. I love old comedy.
“Carry On is one of my favourite things in the world so I fell in love with Dame Barbara through EastEnders. I used to love watching her say her famous catchphrase, ‘Get out of my pub’. I’ve not had to say those words yet but, if the day comes, I think I’ll be able to pull it off.”
Candice’s real-life encounter with Dame Barbara is one of her most cherished memories. It led to a tender friendship with the star’s widower, Scott Mitchell.
“Scott has become one of my closest friends. He’s a gorgeous human. He really is. He’s an absolute angel. We’re both ambassadors for Alzheimer’s Research as I lost my granddad to Alzheimer’s,” Candice continues.
“We both attended an awards ceremony and Dame Barbara was there. She’s tiny and just as beautiful as you’d imagine she would be, and she had a real presence.
“I just said to her ‘Dame Barbara, it’s just an absolute honour to meet you. I’ve always adored you. I’m Candice,’ and she said, ‘I know who you are’.”
When Candice revealed her fellow Bake Off contestants used to call her Babs, Dame Barbara laughed: “But where are your bosoms?”
Candice continues: “I said, ‘I know. I’ve been asking myself the same thing for 25 years.’ Then she threw her head back and let out her famous cackle.
“After that I ran the London Marathon with Scott to help Alzheimer’s Research and I’ve been to different events with him, and he’s become a really good friend of mine.”
Like Dame Barbara, Candice has never taken herself too seriously and, despite the responsibilities of juggling running a business with a writing and media career, she refuses to dilute her natural joie de vivre.
“I am just one of these people, I will do everything to the best of my ability, but if I can do it laughing or messing around then I normally will. I love to make people laugh and I love to laugh myself.”
ALSO like Dame Barbara, Candice can’t resist an innuendo, as the Bake Off producers discovered. “I’m very, very proud of being a born and bred north Londoner,” says the Tottenham fan. “Any opportunity I got to make a naughty joke on the show, I took it. I have to admit that there were a few swear words in there when things were going wrong, and I think they had to ‘bleep’ me a few times.
“And I also changed a few swear words into other words that were slightly more broadcastable.”
Candice has been taking a break from her busy life to catch up with this year’s contestants, swapping WhatsApp messages with the class of 2016 and breathing a sigh of relief that she can just sit back and enjoy the show.
“When I watch it and that music starts playing, I know exactly how they’re feeling,” she says. “And I know that feeling of terror and fear and excitement and pure and utter joy that they will all be feeling.The Bake Off Family is a very, very exclusive one and a very lovely one, but it’s a fantastic family to be part of.”