PE teacher Candice Brown has proved that she can prove. She rose to great heights with a rose-covered cake. She peaked with her peacock. And now she has won the seventh series of The Great British Bake Off.
The theme of the final was a Royal Bake Off, with the three remaining contestants challenged to produce baked goods fit for the Queen. Appearing alongside Candice were aerospace engineer Andrew Smyth and Jane Beedle, a garden designer.
While most PE teachers might wear whites, Candice whisked them, delivering a meringue-based signature challenge. And, proving that everything is easy in contrast with teaching PE to 14 year olds, she remained unfazed by fiendishly complex technical and showstopper challenges.
Presenter Mary Berry said about the win: “Well deserved for her determination and passion, she really has excelled. For her wonderful flavours, and everything always looked gorgeous’.
Fellow judge Paul Hollywood added: ‘The standard was exceptionally high. Candice is very much all or nothing. When you look back on some of her bakes they have been beautiful. When she nails it, she is one of the best.’
Candice herself said: “When they said my name that means more to me than anyone will ever realise. I have low self belief, even though my friends and family constantly build my confidence up.
“So it was a big moment in my life, probably the biggest so far. I felt that everything happens for a reason, and I did it, and that makes me smile so much. In fact, I can’t stop smiling.”
Ms Brown’s teacher training may have also been good preparation for the adolescent-style bullying she faced on Twitter during the series. Attacked for her tendency to pout on screen, she did not crumble under pressure. Instead, her responses were cookie-cutter sharp:
Candice is one of four contestants who worked in education to make it onto the show this year. Val Stones, a retired primary head, exited the tent in the fifth week, after winning hearts with her declaration that she “baked with love”. RE teacher Tom Gilliford was the first of this year’s bakers to earn the coveted Paul Hollywood handshake. But he received a battering in batter week, leaving in week seven.
Meanwhile, Benjamina Ebuehi, a teaching assistant, made it through to the quarter finals, where she failed to amaze the judges with her iced box hedges.
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