Michael Georgiou has become the latest casualty of The Great British Bake Off and has admitted he was “upset” to leave during bread week, as he prefers making bread to cakes.
The 20-year-old politics and economics student, who was this year’s youngest contestant in the Bake Off tent, failed to prove himself across the three tricky challenges, despite using alcohol to try to woo the judges.
Following his departure, he said his worst moment on the programme was bread week, which came as a surprise to him.
He said: “I usually like making bread and I prefer that over cakes. It’s my passion and that is why I was more upset at leaving in bread week than any other week.
“I have kind of got over it now, and I have since started getting into artisan breads and have been doing a lot of that since the show. I really enjoy it.”
Michael also said he has a heightened desire to go into baking after graduating.
He said: “I am in my final year now and on leaving I want to go into the baking industry, although I would like to link it to writing, as I did journalism in my first year.”
The third episode saw the 10 remaining bakers asked by judges Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry to complete the signature bake, with each of them having to create chocolate bread in the space of two-and-a-half hours.
Michael struggled slightly with his creation – a chilli chocolate and chia seed loaf – which was described by Hollywood as a “pig’s ear”.
Upon tasting, Mary was taken aback by the overuse of chilli, while Paul agreed the heat was “far too much”, and that it was “slightly underbaked”.
The technical challenge flummoxed all of the contestants, as Paul requested they make 12 dampfnudel – a German steamed bread that has never before featured on the series.
Michael was not alone in struggling to create the unusual bread dish and two accompanying sauces, but he came seventh overall.
The final task of the day was for the bakers to create their all-important showstopper, which was a savoury plaited centrepiece.
Michael cracked on with a family inspired recipe based on his Cypriot heritage, complete with the flavours of olives, coriander and sun-dried tomato.
He also opted to give the judges a shot of strong Cypriot liquor Zivania, but the alcoholic addition failed to impress the judges and Paul spluttered after trying it.
Mary criticised his bake for being “not properly plaited”, and remarked on the lack of glazing and definition.
Paul added that the classic flavours were “diluted” due to the mixture of flours used.
Tom Gilliford was awarded star baker for his ingenious creations, including a chocolate orange and chilli swirl bread and a unique showstopper comprised of a bread serpent and hammer of Thor.
Paul commented that “the star baker on bread week has always gone on to the final”, giving 26-year-old Tom high hopes of success on the show.
The Great British Bake Off returns on Wednesday at 8pm on BBC One. Michael will join Jo Brand on The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice on Friday 9 September at 9.30pm on BBC Two.
