W H AT ’ S O N T H E M E N U ?
D AV I D AT H E R T O N
Yorkshire’s Great British Bake Off champ David Atherton has had a hectic year, winning the country’s much-loved, primetime baking show, experiencing life in lockdown and launching My First Cook Book: Bake, Make and Learn to Cook. Find out more about his love of the countryside, curries and cakey caterpillars.
Growing up in picturesque Ruswarp, just outside Whitby, I loved how rural it was, living the outdoor life and growing food. For a family of seven we had a very small house, but with a massive garden, an apple orchard and vegetables. It’s a very beautiful part of the world and we’d walk a lot and spend time at the beach. My mum used to take us foraging when we were kids and at the time it was fun but I didn’t realise how useful it actually was, picking tonnes of bilberries and blackberries off the moors. We had a big chest freezer so we could use the fruits all year round and make crumbles. I live in London now but love coming back to visit, leaving the city and just feeling like you’re at one with the countryside again. Driving across the North York Moors I feel like I’m properly away and that I get a proper break from my London life. There’s nothing like walking on the beach with your family and smelling the sea. Being part of and winning GBBO in 2019 was amazing. It’s very different to a lot of TV shows and probably why it’s loved so much. It’s so friendly. When you go on TV people may be
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worried about how they come across. I never felt like that because the Bake Off puts people in a good light. It’s still A TV show that they’re producing and editing but you feel like it’s a real genuine thing. I also loved the fact that you’re not in a TV studio, you really are in a tent in the grounds of the most beautiful house. So when there’s a lot of waiting around, which there is in TV, you’re in spectacular surroundings. BUT overall, for me I just love baking and being in a kitchen. It’s not a hard task or a stressful task, it’s just something I love doing. You don’t really see the judges very often, but I was surprised that Sandy and Noel were in the tent the whole time, giving hugs, even when the cameras weren’t running. Winning the GBBO changed my life quite profoundly I guess. The obvious is that you get recognised in the street. I quite enjoyed my anonymity before because I’m not someone who likes to get dressed properly in the morning and it can be very embarrassing sometimes. But the opportunities are just great. It’s not just a show that everyone watches, it’s a show that everyone loves. I’ve had
the opportunity to write a book, I’ve got two more book deals and I write for The Guardian. So it’s a really good springboard I guess. All the bakers have stayed great friends and keep in touch too. Lockdown meant spending more time at home but for all the negative things during the last few months, I’ve been trying to look at the positives. Sleeping more, reading books, cooking and baking. I’m just obsessed with food so I’ve been doing a lot of things from scratch again and also my partner has so I’m not allowed anywhere near my sourdough starter and I love sourdough! I’ve been pickling and fermenting instead. I’m quite a crafty person and my partner and I made a quilt together. It’s been very busy since Bake Off, so it’s actually been quite nice to be forced to spend some time relaxing. I split my time between baking and working as a health adviser for Voluntary Service Overseas on classic health programmes like mass vaccination programmes in African countries, plus malaria and maternal health, which I still do three days a week. Based in the HQ in London
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