Meet the contestants of this year’s Great British Bake Off

One of them is a student from North Yorkshire!!

3 years ago

It’s that time of year again when we experience intense levels of happiness and pure euphoric joy as we’re provided with weeks and weeks of sweet-toothed entertainment – aka, The Great British Bake Off 2021 .

Next week we’ll be watching twelve new bakers ice soggy cakes and cry over broken buttery, biscuit bases. But before we dive into the depths of Paul Hollywood’s astonishing blue eyes, who are the people who are going to be providing us with this quality entertainment? Well, they’ve finally been announced, so let’s see who is taking part in The Great British Bake Off 2021:

Freya

19-year-old Freya is this year’s youngest baker in the tent, she’s also a uni student living in North Yorkshire with her parents. She’s been dreaming of entering Bake Off since the first series and she says she even remembers watching it aged nine! When she’s not working hard for her psychology degree, she’s caring for her horse, Winnie.

Imagine seeing Freya on a night out, knowing she’d have been in the same tent as Paul Hollywood!! I’d simply die there and then.

Chigs

This sweet man is called Chigs, he’s a 50-year-old sales manager from Leicestershire. He started baking back in last year’s lockdown like the rest of us, only we all gave up when our banana breads kept coming out the oven severely undercooked. Anyway, Chigs has said he’s managed to teach himself how to bake complex cakes and make detailed art with chocolate by using online tutorials.

Chigs says he absolutely loves a challenge and has no fear of being thrown into the deep end which makes total sense considering he loves skydiving and bouldering. So I doubt even the cold glare of Paul Hollywood’s piercing blue eyes and strong handshake would throw him off.

Amanda

56-year-old Amanda was born and raised in London with Greek-Cypriot heritage. She studied graphic design at college and then worked in advertising before moving to the Metropolitan Police to train as a detective.

When she’s not baking she enjoys spending her day outdoors swimming in the cold!

George

George grew up in a close-knit Green-Cypriot family where food was always a big part of family life. He’s now married to his childhood sweetheart and has a house full of animals, including a dancing Japanese Spitz (a rogue dog breed) called Eli.

He likes baking treats that have a vintage vibe – shabby-chic, if you will. He’s got a keen eye for detail and thinks of himself as a perfectionist but when he’s not in the kitchen he’s normally found in the garden looking after his multiple pets.

Cyrstelle

You’re not wrong for thinking Cyrstelle looks like an absolute hun because that’s exactly what she is. She’s 26-years-old and brings her heritage into her baking, she was born in northwest London to Kenyan-born, Portuguese-Goan parents. She’s the youngest of three daughters and says she always helped her mum with preparing family meals – she called herself the chief-taster.

When she’s not in the kitchen she’s in the office working as a client relationship manager living in London. She also says she’s a keen singer and kept busy over lockdown with her online choir – hopefully she can serenade her way into the final.

Jairzeno

He began baking in 2014 after he got fed up of tasting good looking treats which had no flavour. So after taking matters into his own hands, Jairzeno is obsessed with combining fun flavours, his favourite is guava and chocolate.

51-year-old Jairzeno was born in Trinidad and Tobago. He moved to London 15 years ago where he works as a head of finance and enjoys running marathons.

Giuseppe

Originally from Italy, Giuseppe now lives in Bristol with his wife and their three young sons. He says his love of baking comes from his dad who was a professional chef. I’m not crying, you are.

Apparently he loves using Italian flavours in his bakes. He’s also an engineer which helps him bring precision to the kitchen.

Jürgen

Jürgen’s eyebrows aren’t the only impressive thing about him, he is actually a trombonist as well. Not only that but he’s also pretty decent at baking. He moved from the Black Forest in Germany to the UK in 2003 and now lives with his wife and son in Sussex. He’s allegedly well-known for his Jewish challah bread, and for the celebration cakes that he loves to bake for his friends and family.

Lizzie

Not only is she the physical embodiment of good vibes and what I’d imagine sunshine to look like if it was a person but she’s also obsessed with true crime dramas on telly.

28-year-old Lizzie lives with her partner and their dog, Prudence, in an annex in her parents garden. She says her frantic and messy look on the outside isn’t who is she on the inside, she’s apparently really calm and collected – two things that are definitely needed in the Bake Off tent!!

Tom

Tom rediscovered his schoolboy passion for baking four years ago after making his dad a sticky pudding cake. He now bakes several times a week but when he’s not baking he’s running, acting, singing or working for his family software company – sounds like a Hinge dating profile if you ask me!

Some of his favourite things to bake are pies, quiches and bread but if that’s not hardcore enough then you should know his mum calls him the “midnight baker” because she’d often wake up to a sweet treat (and a pile of washing up!!) – classic Tom.

Maggie

This year’s oldest baker, Maggie is a 70-year-old retired nurse and midwife. She says she absolutely loves baking, which comes as no surprise since she’s going onto Bake Off. When she’s not baking, she’s spending time with her great nieces and nephews, or can be found in a kayak, canoe or sail boat.

Rochica

She’s a 27-ear-old junior HR business partner from Birmingham, she takes inspiration from her Jamaican family when she’s baking. She says she’s proud when her nan and aunties tell her she’s baked something which reminds them of the treats they grew up with. She’s been a dancer since the age of two and began baking when she was left unable to dance due to an injury. Luckily she’s applied for The Great British Bake Off 2021 and not Strictly Come Dancing!!