One liners to snazzy shirts: All the reasons we will miss Rowan on Bake Off

Last Tuesday the 24th October was a very dark day in Uni of York history as one of our own, Rowan Claughton, was eliminated from The Great British Bake off in week five. The brilliant baker crumbled under the pressure in Pastry Week (Bake Off is famous for its puns so I had to, sorry).

Although we are gutted that he won’t be gracing our screens every week from now on, we are so proud of him getting this far and being the best York representative ever. These are all the reasons we will miss Rowan on the show and why Bake Off won’t be the same without him.

His last week on bake off

This week Rowan’s signature challenge went quite well as he couldn’t wait for Paul’s “beady eyes to look at these”, despite his debate with Alison Hammond to prick or not to prick the pastry. Although, the pies didn’t look very aesthetically pleasing, they provided the nation with a quote to live by “looks are one thing but it’s what inside that matters”.

His technical also went quite well with him coming forth despite the “dirtiest knock up I’ve ever seen” on his Dauphinoise Pithivier and him saying he had “seen neater poos to be honest with you”.

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However, his showstopper is where it went downhill. Despite his amazing tribute to the sitcom Absolutely Fabulous, his pies weren’t so fabulous and were called clumsy and compared to soup. Although, Rylan recently tweeted he deserved a handshake just for his taste in TV. Watching Rowan and Alison collectively crack the pie when trying to get it out of the tin was one of the saddest things I’ve witnessed this month, but I just hope that the trauma has bonded them for life.

Image via Channel 4

He brought cracking one-liners

Rowan has had some iconic moments in the tent. He had his dough accidentally stolen on Biscuit Week and dealt with it with as much decorum as Princess Diana. He has set a new fashion trend of colourful shirts that I will be adopting. Also, his famous quote “I’d rather be monstrous than mediocre” is truly iconic and should be engraved on the spring lane building immediately.

Image via Channel 4

He represented what it is to be a York student perfectly

He showed off our very own Morrell Library in week one and I just know that the librarians nearly fainted at the sight. Also hearing Rowan joke about how far into his overdraft he is with Alison Hammond was true student representation. His Yorkshire legacy lives on as I have adopted his famous phrase “chuffin’ heck” into my everyday life despite being the most southern person one could meet.

Image via Channel 4

Rowan said his experience was more than bakes and tents but about finding his confidence and making new friends how wholesome! Rowan has been an absolute ray of sunshine on our screens every week. With his Uni of York charisma and famous one-liners he was a firm fan favourite and will be sorely missed. We are so proud of you Rowan and honoured to have such a star baker in our midst. I’m now off to petition for a statue in his honour that Paul and Prue can cut the red ribbon for.

Featured images via @rowanclaughton and Channel 4.

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