A 20-year-old retail assistant from Buckinghamshire will fight to be crowned the UK’s Best Amateur Baker in the new series of The Great British Bake Off next week.
Dylan Bachelet, who lives in Bucks but has family roots in India and Japan, will join Prue Leith, Paul Hollywood and a raft of other rising star hopefuls in the famous Bake Off next on Tuesday, September 24, for the 15th series of the popular and quintessentially British TV show.
According to a bio provided by Channel 4, the 20-year-old, who currently works in retail, has a deep “curiosity for culture”, spurred by recent gap year travels in Southeast Asia, and is also an “avid skateboarder”, with a quirky fascination for ‘90s PCs and vintage cars.
His artistic mum has reportedly been an inspiration throughout his life and her Japanese painting could well make an appearance on a cake design or two in this year’s Bake-Off tent.
Another hint at what to expect from Dylan in this year’s series comes from his self-avowed love of “experimenting with sweetness and spice” in his creations – with a presentation style “influenced by beautiful Japanese bakes and the work of French patisserie chefs on social media”.
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And expectations are high for the new series, with celebrity chef and Bake-Off stalwart Paul Hollywood telling reporters earlier this week that the bakers entering this year’s tent are truly the cream of the crop.
“The bakers are more polished, and they have more finesse to their work this year. They came out the box being very good,” the 58-year-old said.
“When they come into the tent, they are almost the finished article… The standard was exceptional.”
Alongside all the classic challenges the contestants face in the tent, this year’s series will have some new additions, including an autumn week and a 1970s week.
Hollywood said the autumn week is to “celebrate the harvest (with) veg used in the showstoppers (and) a veg cake”.
Meanwhile, 1970s week, Leith’s favourite, will involve the bakers dressing up in 1970s clothes – with the swirly decorations associated with the decade also making their way onto a few of the bakes.
Alison Hammond, who presents the show alongside Noel Fielding, said she thinks its enduring popularity is due to the joy it brings to its audience, like clockwork each autumn.
“It’s one of those shows that is happy TV – it transcends the whole family and brings families together, young and old.
“It’s just a beautiful show.”
The Great British Bake Off will return to Channel 4 on Tuesday, September 24 at 8pm.
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