The Great British Bake Off has a new winner!
SPOILER ALERT! After ten weeks of Great British Bake Off competition, the coveted cake plate has been given to a new winner.
Sandro Farmhouse (30), Syabira Yusoff (32), and Abdul Rehman Sharif (29) were the last bakers standing heading into this week’s finals. There was some criticism after the elimination of early frontrunner Janusz last week. But, there’s no doubt that the finalists were worthy of their spots.
Five of the nine Star Baker titles awarded throughout the competition went to the finalists. Syabira won a whopping three of those, with Abdul and Sandro each winning one. Abdul was the most recent Star Baker, giving him an edge going into the finals.
When the clock started ticking in the tent this week, all three bakers struggled to get their bearings. The pressure of the Technical was obvious as the trio was tasked with baking a summer pudding bomb sans instructions. Paul and Prue were less than impressed with any of the results, and awarded first place in the challenge to the best of the bad bakes.
The last chance for the bakers to impress Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith came with the Showstopper challenge. The bakers had to create a “lavish edible sculpture based on the theme of ‘our beautiful planet.'”
The judges found some elements to praise in the bakes, there was also plenty of criticism. They used terms such as “burnt,” “messy” and “a failure” to describe the bakes.
It is usually obvious at this stage of the competition who will be named Britain’s best baker. This finale was such a struggle for the bakers that it was a toss up until a winner was announced.
Paul credited the bakers’ struggles to the pressure of having an audience, unlike previous weeks.
“They [bakers] are all in with shout of winning. But they start spotting their friends in the corner and the tension really rises,” Paul said.
Ultimately….SYABIRA was crowned the winner of The Great British Bake Off (Great British Baking Show for American viewers)!
Viewers in the U.S. can tune into Netflix on Friday to see the finale. CONGRATULATIONS, SYABIRA!