10 Interesting Facts About The Great British Bake Off
We here at Heart Britain recently featured 10 Great British Bake Off facts – and because they proved so popular, we thought we’d offer 10 more – which we think are even better. You be the judge.
1. The Idea Behind Bake Off
image via www.theguardian.com
The Great British Bake Off was born when Anna Beattie, the show’s creator, believed village fete baking competitions would suit TV. It looks like she was right!
2. Marvellous Mary Berry
image via www.mirror.co.uk
Mel and Sue were initially approached to present the show together. A genius move! If it weren’t for the fantastic duo, we may never have had Mary Berry – as it was the hosts’ idea for producers to ask Maz Bez to join the show as a judge.
3. Bakers’ Background
image via www.standard.co.uk
All amateur bakers that appear on the show cannot have any professional catering qualifications within the last five years – or they wouldn’t be very amateur, would they? They also must never have worked as a chef or received an income from commercial baking in a professional environment. Bakers must also fill out a 7 page application, answering questions about their successes, failures and mishaps in the kitchen. All bakers are also interviewed by a psychologist who will determine whether the bakers could handle the pressure of the Bake Off kitchen.
4. Filming of Bake Off
image via bowlzeee.blogspot.com
Filming one day of The Great British Bake Off can take up to a whopping 16 hours, and they only ever film on weekends so bakers can continue with their careers during the week. The BBC TV programme is filmed over a 10 week period and is only aired once filming is over and the winner has been chosen.
5. The Great British Bake Off Contestants
image via www.telegraph.co.uk
All contestants from The Great British Bake Off are taken out to dinner by the producers on their first day. During the Bake Off process, many of the contestants grow close to one another, as they will often go for dinner and drinks together once a day of filming is over.
6. The Great British Bake Off Ingredients
image via www.coventrytelegraph.net
All Bake Off bakers are required to bring their own ingredients to create their unique bakes. The ingredients will only be provided for the contestants once they have reached the final stage of the show.
The producers don’t leave contestants high and dry, though. They are often onset during filming to offer recipe advice or to provide struggling bakers with important ingredients. In fact, a runner is even positioned at a local supermarket every morning in case a contestant realises overnight that they’ve forgotten an ingredient.
Typically, the bakers will use between 12 to 20 ingredients per bake. However, 2013 winner, Francis Quinn set a record when she used an incredible 124 ingredients in her final Showstopper, a Midsummer Night’s Dream wedding cake.
7. Oven Secrets
image via www.hellomagazine.com
You didn’t think the camera crew knew exactly when bakers were placing something in the oven, did you? Well, they don’t. A contestant must call the camera crew over whenever they’re about to place a bake in the oven so it can be filmed.
8. The Technical Challenge
image via blogs.independent.co.uk
It may be up to Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood to set The Technical Challenge on The Great British Bake Off, but it’s down to a food researcher to ensure the challenge is achievable for the contestants.
9. The Great British Bake Off Leftovers
image via www.radiotimes.com
All those bakes don’t go to waste once filming is over, as the cast and crew are allowed to tuck into the tasty – or not-so-tasty treats. Anything they don’t eat is put into baskets so the cast can take them back to their hotel.
10. Bake Off Contestants and Hosts
image via www.telegraph.co.uk
Mary and Paul like to have a professional relationship with the contestants, and will not socialise with them outside of filming. Mel and Sue, however, will get to know the contestants, with Sue even stating that she keeps in touch with them via email once the programme has finished.
