Life really is what you bake it. Amongst our knead for community spirit, as a nation we have really put the bake into ‘Great British Bake Off’.
At the start of lockdown we all donned our aprons and grabbed our rolling pins as it seemed the whole of the United Kingdom turned to baking. How else would we spend hours in lockdown than making numerous amounts of banana bread?
A couple of months into lockdown we picked up the recipe book again as we celebrated ‘VE Day’. With socially distanced street parties, complete with afternoon tea it was no wonder that scones and Victoria sponge were in the top 10 of most common bakes.
After baking became a box on the lockdown bingo sheet, KitchenAid found that a fifth of people questioned had baked for the first time during lockdown. They also found that our community spirit stretched further than clap for carers as 23% of these people delivered their bakes to neighbours.
Due to months in lockdown, many television shows were cancelled or adapted for social distancing such as The Apprentice or the new version of ‘I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here’ due to be filmed in Wales.
Although after a difficult couple of months, ‘The Great British Bake Off is back’! Channel 4 have pulled through and baked up a storm with Paul Hollywood, Prue Leith, Noel Fielding and new presenter Matt Lucas back in the tent. I wasn’t the only one excited for a brand new series of ‘Bake Off’ as the first episode received the highest ever viewing figures since the move from BBC to Channel 4.
7 million of us tuned in to see 12 new bakers make lifelike busts of their celebrity heroes. From David Bowie to Louis Thereoux the first episode did not disappoint.
Lockdown has been a difficult time for us all, so what’s more British than to be sat watching the ‘Bake Off’ with a cup of tea and a slice of cake. This year’s show seems to have a whole different atmosphere to previous years and after one too many banana breads, I’m sure we can all appreciate this year’s series. Or at least be thankful that we aren’t the ones making a bust of our celebrity hero out of cake.
Neve Gordon-Farleigh
Featured image courtesy of @Kari Shean via Unsplash. Photo licence found here. No changes were made to this image.