There have been tears and tiers, broken hearts and shattered sugar work, collapsed cakes and deflated hopes. With the Final of Bake Off: The Professionals upon us, we’re looking back on the past nine weeks to see what we’ve learned from the judges, hosts and professional pastry chefs that have rolled, cooked and crafted their way through the competition so far.
1. A delicate touch isn’t always necessary for achieving finesse. We’ve watched the chefs violently whack chocolate moulds against marble countertops, squeeze roulades like toothpaste tubes, and torch delicate chocolate work like it’s done them a serious wrong.
2. If a picture speaks a thousand words, Benoit’s facial expressions bellow a million.
3. Sugar-coating feedback is a concept Cherish isn’t familiar with.
4. Eating on-camera is tricky business.
5. There is nothing more stressful than watching two hopeful chefs transfer their painstakingly-crafted, towering Showpiece from one table to another. Also, gravity is a cruel mistress.
6. Liam is every bit as entertaining as a TV host as he is a baker.
7. Tom Allen’s puns are like egg whites in a wet bowl… unbeatable.
8. The Bake Off squirrel appears to have been promoted to Professional Bake Off Squirrel since the last series, making a surprise cameo appearance not once, but twice in this series.
9. Professional chefs swear. A lot.
10. If you thought there was only one type of freezer, one type of meringue and one type of sponge, you’re sorely mistaken. Professional pâtisserie demands at least seven types of everything.
11. Above all, the recipe for a great pastry chef includes swathes of skill, unwavering dedication, oodles of talent and a generous dash of creative flair.
If you think you’ve got what it takes to take on Cherish and Benoit in next year’s series of Bake Off: The Professionals, roll on over to www.applyforbotp.co.uk and put your best pud forward.