The Great British Bake Off – Meet The Contestants

With The Great British Bake Off just around the corner, we are all getting out the mixers, putting on the oven gloves and turning up the heat in preparation for the 1st episode next Wednesday.

More than 13 million viewers tuned in to watch the final last year and it topped any other reality programme, the popularity for this show is incredible and is growing year on here. Back in 2010 the first series pulled in 2 million views with has grown by around 50% year on year. The expectation for this year’s series is high and we are all sitting on the edge of our seats to see what treats it will bring us.

Here at MyAppliances we cannot wait to see what skills and flavours this year’s contestant’s will bring to their cooking stations, so here is a sneak peak into the contestants and what they have to offer us…

Alvin

Alvin is a 35 year old nurse who lives in Berkshire and is originally from the Philippines. He loves to make bread and cakes and you can find him doing this up to 4 times a week! We think Alvin is going to bring some great experience to the competition.

 

Dorret

Dorret lives in Preston and is orginally from the West Indies. She works as an accountant but dreams of going to a cordon bleu school in Paris. Will we be seeing some West Indies influences in her baking?

 

Flora

Flora is 19 and is the youngest contestant this year. She works as an assistant at a contemporary arts school and loves cooking for her family in her spare time. What delights will Flora bring to the tent?

 

Ian

Working as a travel photographer and the Dalai Lama’s personal photographer when he is in the UK, Ian has seen some brilliant sites! Now a househusband, will we see influences from his travels in his baking?

 

Marie

Marie’s daughter entered her this year because she knew the skills her mother has in the kitchen! Marie is 66 and specialises in elaborate decorations after she was inspired by french patisseries in her 30’s. We cannot wait to see what show stopping pieces Marie will bring to the table!

 

Mat

37 year old Mat is a firefighter and says that his great ambition is to own a dishwasher! Mat prefers to make sweet bakes over savoury so I wonder what sort of cakes we will be seeing him bring to his cooking station?

 

Nadiya

Nadiya is originally from Luton born into a Bangladeshi family but now lives in Leeds with her husband and 3 children. This baker was inspired by a teacher at school to develop her skills so now she impresses her family with fantastic treats!

 

Paul

49 year old Paul has the high-powered job of a prison governor in Wales so it may come as a surprise to know that he loves to learn intricate skills like sugar work. We cannot wait to see what delicate touches Paul will bring to the competition!

 

Sandy

Sandy is a welfare officer and lives near Bradford. In her spare time, Sandy volunteers at a school running a cookery club teaching children from deprived backgrounds how to bake on a budget. She loves to bake for her friends and family to show she cares. We can’t wait to see what home goodness Sandy brings!

 

Stu

Stu is 35 and is a professional musician who has recently toured the world with his band as a lead singer. He loves to test different combinations especially middle eastern spices, so I wonder what flavours Stu will incorporate into the challenges this year?

 

Tamal

Tamal is a trainee anaesthetist at a hospital in Manchester whose older sister told him to bake. He was so proud to be asked to bake his friends wedding cake and since then he has done the same for various friends and family’s weddings.

 

Ugne

Ugne is orginally from Lithuania but now lives in Essex. She works as a PA & administrator but is also a bodybuilder! Ugne loves to bake breads, pies and pastries on a daily basis and is ambitious with her decorations. We can’t wait to see what style she brings to the table.

 

So who do you think is going to be one to watch this year? Stay tuned for our updates through this year’s series! Get Baking!