It's no shock that the contestants on the Great British Bake-Off work hard. We see them do exactly that on screen, but that hard work doesn't start when the cameras begin rolling. In fact, the application process itself is a whole other bake-off of sorts, according to franchise alumni who spoke with INSIDER.
INSIDER spoke with season four's Ali Imdad, season seven's Rav Bansal, and season nine's Antony Amourdoux. The start of the application includes an online questionnaire that asks potential bakers about their experience in the kitchen. Imdad said those questions involve information about your bread baking ability, your signature bakes, and your baking weaknesses. Applicants also must submit photos of some of their bakes at this point.
Those who are chosen to move forward after the questionnaire will then have a phone interview where they'll be asked about their kitchen skills. The interview includes technical questions about the difference between things like sponge and Genoise sponge, meringues, and the temperatures certain items need to cook properly, Amourdoux told the outlet.
After being selected from the phone interview portion, potential contestants will be brought in to bake for the show's staff off camera. The baking portion includes both sweet and savory bakes. A food technician is there to judge them, Imdad explained, and from there, you move forward again to make complex items like breads and scones.
After you successfully complete the off-camera baking portion, you move on to the screen test which mimics the set-up of the show. Applicants are asked to bake something similar to the on-show technical challenges while being filmed and answering questions simultaneously. This part of the process essentially determines if contestants are camera-ready and if they'll be comfortable with the stress of the competition.
Once those requirements are met, about 30-to-40 finalists will move on to the final step—meeting with a psychologist—to see if they are fit for the show. The final step is when that applicant pool dwindles down to the typical 12-to-13 you actually see complete under the tent. Getting on the show is an accomplishment in itself, and actually taking home the title is proof that you're the best of the best, AKA Paul Hollywood-approved.
