Interview with Ravneet Gill

This is your sixth series judging Junior Bake Off. What keeps you coming back?

I feel like it’s this weird summer camp reunion that happens every year, and I love that. I get to spend the whole summer with Harry and Liam. And honestly, I find the kids so inspiring. I learn a lot from them, I think they’re very funny.

What can we expect from this series?

The kids were really good. I think people will be blown away by their technique, and all of the different creations they came up with. I felt like it was a bit of a different series this year, because the kids were a little bit older, they were really competitive in a good way, and they had lots of stuff that I think we hadn’t seen before. Usually, everyone’s benches are full of sweets, and this year the kids went very natural. They didn’t use loads of food colouring and sweets. It’s a real change. And the standard is really high this year.

What were your favourite challenges?

I loved loads of them this year. A lot of the technicals were very funny. We had these really good lamingtons, that were sheep, which I really liked. The challenges were fun, the showstoppers were incredible. We had some of the best cakes in the showstopper this year. Cake day and biscuit day for both sets of bakers were really strong.

Cake week featured a mascot showstopper challenge – tell us about that.

They all brought in a mascot, which they then had to make out of cake. Some of them had cuddly toys, and someone had a drum as a mascot. 

Hang on – isn’t that just because a drum looks just like a cake?

Well, that’s a very good technique! They all did exceptionally well this year. We get a lot of gingerbread, and we get a lot of the same sort of bakes every year, but actually, this year they were all very different.

Did you have a favourite cuddly toy when you were young?

Yeah, I had a Peter Rabbit. He was my favourite.

Has he lasted the test of time. Do you still have him?

I have no idea where he is, but I’m pushing my son very much in the Peter Rabbit direction. 

There’s a challenge where the bakers have to decorate a cookie illustrating where they think they’ll be in 20 years’ time. Where do you see yourself in 20 years?

Twenty years from now? Probably retired.

Surely not!

In a dream situation. I’m not going to be like Prue Leith, working until I’m 80. I’ll be sitting down somewhere, relaxing. 

In another episode, they had to create cakes illustrating their worst nightmares. What would you have put?

Some of them did spiders, and spiders are my worst nightmare. So we were very much aligned on that. 

They also have to create their role models in bread. Who would you immortalise in dough?

Role models? I think mine would be Paul Hollywood. It would be easy to make him into a bread role.

Were there any challenges the bakers particularly struggled with?

Yeah. Technical challenges really threw them off. We found that with some of the most confident ones, it would really fluctuate, depending on what the technical was, and quite a few of them had bad days, and would then bring it back in the showstopper, which made it really hard for us.

Any unusual flavour combinations, or new fashionable ingredients?

We had pandan, which was really good. Really delicious. And we had quite a lot of new stuff, that maybe the kids had seen on YouTube. Lots of really impressive technique. 

Do the bakers ever come up with bakes that you want to try making yourself?

Yeah, absolutely. We had such a wide range of flavours. One of the kids made a pandan chiffon cake, and honestly, I’ve thought about it every day since. Both Liam and I stopped and said “Oh my God.” And we took another slice for ourselves to have afterwards. 

What was the final like? 

It was joyous, because they were all friends, and they all really got on. And they were all cheering each other on. So we felt like whoever won, it would be extremely welcomed. But there was one person who really excelled in the final. 

That must be quite nice for you, not having to really agonise over the decision.

Definitely. It was quite clear who was the winner on the day. 

What moments made you laugh this year?

I spend so much of the time in fits of laughter, it’s ridiculous. Harry makes us laugh constantly.

The bakers do tend to drop an awful lot of their stuff on the floor. How do you feel about the three-second rule?

We’ve totally moved beyond the three second rule. It’s up to about five minutes. We’ve even seen some of them wash their bakes in the sink. 

The show is all about kindness. Do you feel that message is more important than ever, in our fractured, noisy world?

Yeah. It’s very wholesome. You’ve got to surround yourself with positive energy and really lovely things, and know that there are microcosms of happiness and joy. It’s stressful out there, and Junior Bake Off for a lot of people is an escape, watching it is really escapist TV. 

Is it tricky to strike a balance between being kind to the children but also honest about any mistakes? Do you vary your approach, depending on the personality of the child?

I think Liam and I always try to be as fair as possible. It’s good that we have the technical, which we judge blind, and then the showstopper. It does set a good tone for us to be really honest about things. We all talk a lot outside of the tent, before we go in, and in the breaks, so we know the kids quite well. And they know that we’re not telling them anything for any reason other than to encourage them and help them to become better bakers. 

Do you and Liam ever disagree?

Yeah, he always wants everything to have more caramel, more peanut butter, to dial everything up. Whereas I quite want things to be a bit more mellow and balanced. But we always sort it out and come up with the right decision.

How would you have done on Junior Bake Off as a kid? 

I think that I would have failed miserably. I’d have gone out in episode one.

No, that can’t be true!

Honestly. I always say how surprised I am by how good they are. I’d have crumbled under the pressure. I wouldn’t have been able to keep up. It’s not easy in that tent!

Your husband Mattie is a chef. Between the two of you, do you eat like royalty at home, or occasionally boil up a packet of noodles?

In our home, we have no time to cook anymore, because we have our own restaurant. But at the restaurant, we eat like royalty. We eat the best meat, the best fish, the best veg. I feel very spoiled by that. 

You have your own restaurant now?

Yes, it’s called Gina, in Chingford. It’s very much a neighbourhood, family-run restaurant. We focus on lovely, seasonal produce from suppliers that we know – really amazing farmers, wonderful fishermen, and really great vegetable growers – and we just cook what’s best in season. 

Presumably you’re on the pastry side?

Yeah. We do all of the bread in house, all of the puff pastry, all of the pies. And, of course, we do all of the desserts.

What’s the dynamic like working with Mattie?

[Laughs] It’s testing. We’ve worked together for years, but now it’s our own restaurant, it’s a whole other story!

What’s your son Donnie’s relationship with food like?

He’s a big eater, actually. He even loves olives, which we find hilarious. He had his first grouse this weekend.

His first grouse? How old is he?

He’s not even two. We were sat at the counter at Bocca di Lupo in Soho, and even the head chef turned around and said “Is your son eating grouse?” He loved it!

Did he come on to set? How were the bakers with him?

He came in three or four times. The bakers absolutely loved him. They were always so sweet with him. And then, when I brought him to the final, some of the parents of the kids from the year before saw him, and that was really nice.

What’s it like working with Liam and Harry?

It’s the best. Actually, last year Liam and I were so busy we didn’t get to see each other for the whole year, so being reunited was just like a massive catch-up. 

You said last year you and Liam might go to one of Harry’s karaoke nights. Have you done that yet?

We have! And Liam wouldn’t do karaoke, so I did it for us.

What did you do?

I did a rap. Which I think was unexpected. And the year before, we went to see Harry in stand up, so we’ll try and do something again this year. 

You’re a big campaigner for healthy work environments. Was that because of bad experiences?

Yes, and not really knowing early on in my career what constitutes a good workplace versus a bad one, and just the difference it makes to your day, working somewhere that treats you nicely. It’s massive.

Do you think the environment has changed in professional kitchens?

Yes, it’s changed drastically. Places that are not that great are few and far between now. There’s a lot more respect, the hours are a lot different, the expectations are very different, the people are very different. In owning a restaurant kitchen ourselves now, we’ve welcomed so many amazing people through the door, so we’ve just had nothing but nice and kind people.

What’s the work environment on Junior Bake Off like?

It’s really funny and very silly. Which is a really fun environment to be part of.

You’ve talked about going on restaurant crawls with your friends, going to several different restaurants in one night. How do you find the room for it?

I know! Liam finds this very funny about me, but I have a massive appetite. So the day just revolves around lunch. What we’re going to have for lunch – I always plan the lunches for the group. And then I plan the dinners as well. So I research the area where we can go. We always try somewhere new. 

Are you one of those people who, as soon as you put down your fork from lunch, you start planning dinner?

Yeah. Even when I wake up in the morning, I’m thinking about what I’m going to have for dinner. 

What’s your favourite thing to bake just now?

At the moment, I’m loving making apple turnovers. I don’t know why, but I can’t stop making them. 

What new trends do you foresee in the baking world in the coming year?

I think there’ll be more of a return to home baking. Traditional baking. A lot of the trendy stuff seems to be dying down. And people are going back to basics.

And what does the year have in store for you?

I think just focussing on my restaurant, really. Working to improve and get better and do lots of fun stuff there.