The Great British Bake Off 16: The First Baker Leaves The Tent

The nation’s most famous tent was pitched in the grounds of Welford Park once again. Presenters Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond came to lead the latest batch of 12 bakers through thirty brand new challenges set by Judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith, in ten episodes.

In Tuesday’s night’s episode of The Great British Bake Off on Channel 4, Nataliia was named Star Baker and sadly Hassan was the first baker to leave the 16th series.

In Week 1 it was Cake week and the 12 bakers had their first opportunity to impress the judges Paul and Prue to battle it out for Star Baker. 

In the first signature of the series, the bakers were challenged to produce a perfect Swiss Roll but not just any old Swiss Roll, it must have an inlay design. Next, under the fabled gingham cloth were the ingredients for the first technical - Fondant Fancies…the only issue was,  the bakers had to figure out the flavours and recipe themselves! Finally, it was time to buckle up with a landscape cake showstopper.

At the end of the first episode Noel announced that Nataliia was Star Baker and Alison had the difficult job of telling Hassan that he would be leaving the tent, 

Hassan said:  ‘I think I am a bit upset, but I did expect it though.   Everyone is such a phenomenal baker, they are all such lovely people.   And even though it’s been a shortlived experience I have enjoyed it.   Hopefully I can reflect on somethings and then maybe get back to baking when I get a chance.’

Hassan talks here about his experience after leaving the tent:

*Overall, what was your best and worst moment in the Tent?

My best moment was when I got told where I was going to be baking for episode one, walking up to my bench and seeing all my ingredients and my recipe there, and just being excited thinking “finally getting ready to do some baking!”

My worst was after I made my Swiss Roll, it didn’t come out as planned, but the worst thing was that it affected my baking after that.

*Favourite challenge overall and why.

The technical challenge for making the fondant fancies. I enjoy the idea of the technical challenge, where you’re testing your own abilities against a challenge that you go into blind. For this technical, we had no recipe but also it was made trickier with the added fake ingredients which added another layer of difficulty to the challenge, which I enjoyed.

*Worst challenge and why?

My worst challenge was my Swiss Roll, honestly for my first ever bake in the tent to come out looking like that was appalling to say the least for all the practice and work put into it. On the positive side, it tasted better than it looked, I guess?

*Can you describe how you felt when the presenter announced that you would be leaving how did your fellow Bakers cheer you up.

Genuinely gutted, I had a strong inkling I was out after the judging for my Showstopper, so when I heard my name, I thought “Damn, I guess that’s it for me then”. I remember Prue coming up to give us a big hug first, then turning left and having a huge queue of people lined up to give us a hug which was quite funny (since I was sat towards the end) hugging Toby last as he was the only one sat to my right (if I’m remembering it correctly?), but the support from all of them felt reassuring to me and helped cheer me up a lot.

Overall, the meal after with the other bakers, the chats in the green room and all the little moments from my time being there in and outside the tent with the bakers really made me feel better.

*Funniest moment in the tent throughout your time there?

I can’t remember one specific moment, but I had loads of laughs and jokes with all the bakers, presenters, judges and the crew

*What do you love most about all your fellow bakers

I feel as a group they’re a really fun bunch, supportive, knowledgeable and easy to chat to and get along with. I’d love to meet, catch up and hang out with a lot of them

*Did anything from the tent happen to slip into your travel bag when you were leaving (no judging)

I was tempted to take this huge 60 cm ruler that I borrowed for use in my Showstopper challenge but my morals didn’t allow me to, so I didn’t steal anything unfortunately.

*What will you take away from your experience on Bake Off and do you feel that you have learned new skills?

I guess the biggest take away is that I actually got onto the show. For me I’m usually always interested in how things work, so being part of Bake Off gave me a big understanding and insight into TV work, how things all work and the effort that goes into developing a TV show like this with all the secrecy/background work involved. 

I feel my skills in recipe development, flavour combos/ideas and creating bakes that fit a specific brief have drastically improved since being on bake off. There’s a lot of ideas I don’t think I would have ever done, unless I was on Bake Off and asked to create these bakes.

*Would you encourage other home bakers to apply for the next series?

I would say to yes, have a crack at the application and give it a shot! Bake Off is such a uniquely amazing opportunity.   I’d say you really need to think if this is what you want and how you’d react and cope in proper tough situations you’re not used to experiencing.

Overall, it is extremely challenging and can have a lot of ups and downs, but it’s a great way to push yourself out of your comfort zone, meet some amazing talented individuals and be part of a very unique opportunity!

*What’s next for you in the baking world?

I’m not too sure, I think there’s still ideas, flavours and bakes that I want to make and will still do as a fun hobby when I get time. But in the terms of my goals in the overall baking world, I don’t have any plans and I’m happy to just go with the flow.

An Extra Slice

Hassan will join Jo Brand and Tom Allen on The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice on 

Friday 5 September on Channel 4 at 8.00 pm. 

BIOGRAPHY

Hassan

30

South Yorkshire

Analytical Research & Development Scientist

Chemistry graduate Hassan lives with his mum in South Yorkshire. He works in the pharmaceutical industry, testing new drugs in their development stages. As a scientist, Hassan takes an analytical approach to baking, researching processes thoroughly before getting started on a new recipe. He is always looking to learn about new flavours and gaining new skills. With a love for sweet treats inspired by his Pakistani heritage, he’s especially fond of praline and nut-based flavours that echo traditional Asian sweets. Outside the lab and kitchen, he’s a dedicated gamer, gym-goer, and meets regularly for a quiz with his mates. 

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