Mary Berry: Not so many people were baking before Bake Off

The streets will be strangely quiet this week as the world’s most popular bakery show returns. Almost the entire nation, it seems, will be staying in, consuming the sixth series of what is perhaps BBC1’s most unlikely ever hit show, The Great British Bake Off.

The idea of 12 amateurs baking Chelsea buns, carrot cakes and apple crumbles in a tent in the middle of the English countryside might not immediately seem like box-office gold. Added to this,  judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood make gentle suggestions and the hosts 

Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins assail them with all manner of innuendo about soggy bottoms and spotted dicks. But, against all odds, the combination of very pleasant people and very pleasant food has proved irresistible.

An eye-watering 12.3 million tuned in to watch Nancy Birtwhistle bake her way to glory in last year’s final – more than watched BBC1’s coverage of the World Cup Final a few weeks earlier.

The saga of “Baked Alaska Gate”, when contestant Iain Watters binned his dessert out of sheer frustration that it had melted became front-page news and once more emphasised the show’s astounding reach. No doubt this year’s contest will turn out to be equally popular.  

Twelve new bakers will be kneading the dough and folding in the flour this week as they take part in the sixth series of the multi-award-winning Bake Off.

Mary and Paul have set up 30 new challenges to put the diligent dozen to the test. These will range from Victorian classics to chocolate sculptures and seriously high-end patisserie.

In this week’s first episode, it is Cake Week. The bakers’ opening challenge is to create the perfect Madeira cake. Which of the dozen will attempt to wow the judges by reconfiguring this classic and who will remain orthodox and attempt to bake the textbook Madeira cake?

After that, the bakers will be confronted by their first technical challenge – Mary’s frosted walnut cake, a pre-war standard that is as archetypally British as drizzle on a summer’s day. It’s a demanding bake, which involves buttercream sandwiched by light sponge and decorated with sweet meringue. 

On the second day, the bakers have to blow the judges away with their first show-stopper, a Black Forest gateau. This rich melange of chocolate, cherries and cream is something of a 1970s throwback. Will the bakers try to reinvent it?

Judges Paul and Mary say the quality of the competitors this year is higher than ever. “They’re going way beyond previous years,” asserts Mary, who looks decades younger than her 80 years of age.

“They’re really pushing the boat out and are much more adventurous this time. They’ve watched Bake Off in the past and know they have to stretch themselves. The standard this year is amazing!”

Mary has a theory about why the bakers have gone to another level this time. “I’ve noticed that this year many of the bakers have sought advice from their families. When they produce their signature bakes, they say, ‘My children liked this one’. If they’ve made something the family likes, then they have more confidence in presenting it to us.”

The bakers have also been more assiduous about reading the recipes this time. Mary carries on that, “I’ve always said, ‘Read the recipe two or three times and visualise what you’ll finish with.’ 

“Originally the bakers didn’t do that. But now they’ve learnt to visualise. They may not have made or tasted the bake before, so if they read the recipe properly, it’s worth its weight in gold.” 

So just why has the show been such a resounding success? Master baker Paul, 49, suggests that 

Bake Off works so well because it has universal appeal. “It’s a programme all the generations can watch together. When it comes on, the whole family can sit down and relax together,” he says.

Bake Off certainly possesses a lovable, safe, old-fashioned sense of innocence that chimes across the generations.

 “A five year old can watch it with his grandmother,” Mary affirms. “Everyone can find something in it that they like. With many other programmes, you think you shouldn’t be watching because you never know what people will say. Bake Off is also a show that makes people laugh. It’s a very happy occasion!” 

Mary, who surely enjoys the status of one of the nation’s favourite grannies, goes on to stress that Bake Off strikes a real chord with youngsters. “One of the rewarding things about making this show is that Paul and I go to book signings where there are nearly always little people,” she says.  

“They come up to us with boxes they have designed themselves and inside will be a cupcake they have baked. They want us to taste what they’ve made.”

People undoubtedly react very positively to the show. “Wherever you go, you get a response from people,” laughs Paul. Mary receives an equally favourable reaction. “People always say to me, ‘Have you brought any cake?’”

Another reason why millions of viewers devour Bake Off every week is that they love the judges’ obvious passion. Paul underlines just how much he adores his work. “Baking was my hobby before the show, and it’ll be my hobby afterwards. I’d work in baking whether I was in the Bake Off tent or not. It’s my career, and it’s an essential part of what I do.”

After five series, the show has already created an impressive legacy. “Before Bake Off, not so many people were baking,” Mary observes. “Now many more people are making lemon drizzle cakes, and bread making has really taken off. That’s all because of Bake Off. 

“Also, the intake to baking schools has increased by 17 per cent since the show started. Before, people would say, ‘You don’t want to go into baking’. But now, thanks to Bake Off, it’s become very acceptable, and parents are proud that their children are going into baking.”

The show has a huge effect on its contestants. Paul comments that being on Bake Off, “will change your life. The winners have gone on to open cookery and bakery schools. 

“I love to see people’s reaction to the bakers. I did a live tour last year. In Grimsby, I took Nancy on stage with me. She was very nervous beforehand, but she got a great response.”

Audiences are also drawn to Bake Off as it eschews the casual cruelty that is the hallmark of some other TV talent shows. The judges on Bake Off don’t sneer, they celebrate.

“We try to help the bakers. We don’t want to catch them out. Our aim is to get them to enjoy it. Encouraging them makes people at home want to bake.”

There’s also the matter of Mary’s influential fashion sense that has viewers hooked.

“Whatever Mary wears will sell out immediately. She could come out wearing a paper bag and it would still sell out!” says Paul.

THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF, WEDNESDAY, 8PM, BBC1