There was a disastrous anti-gravity cake in week one, but then a decent biscuit showstopper in week two. Then, suddenly, in week four, Chigs Parmar, the most inexperienced contestant on The Great British Bake Off, secured the accolade of star baker for his black forest gateau. Now, the contestant seen a few weeks ago as one of the most unlikely to win the show is in the final.
“I ain’t got a clue what I’m doing here, how has that happened? I’m so shocked, I don’t know what to say,” said Chigs after he found out he had made it through to the final last week. “I’m now kacking it.”
Chigs’s story has particular resonance for the thousands of Britons who took up baking when lockdown hit in 2020 and the shelves were stripped bare of flour. The 40-year-old only began baking last year, starting, like many others, with a sourdough loaf. “He’s obviously doing incredibly well to go from zero to the point he’s at now, where it will probably change his life,” said Rob Percy, who runs Cake Origin in Leicester with his wife, Tracey. Like many others in the Midlands city, he is rallying for Chigs ahead of Tuesday’s final.
Aside from sharing the same home town, he has a couple of extra reasons to root for Chigs. He used to work at the same company as the Bake Off star (although they never met) and Percy himself took up baking during lockdown. “His story really resonates with me because I was never a baker, although I was involved with the business. It was only really in the initial lockdown of last year that I was able to practise my skills as well, and it’s benefited him in the same way,” he said.
Alongside his baking, sales manager Chigs lives an active lifestyle and enjoys bouldering, skydiving and trekking – he visits the rock-climbing gym Social Climbing in Leicester several times a week.
“He’s a pretty good climber actually,” said Joseph Helmore, manager at the centre. “All the staff know who he is, he’s really good at talking to folk, and people recognise him a lot now, which is nice.”
He said staff and customers were hoping he might bring some of his bakes into the centre soon so they can taste for themselves what the judges have been raving about. Chigs came in for a spot of climbing just a few days earlier, Helmore said, and is apparently “really happy with everything that’s happened and all his results”.
“He’s come from not expecting to have his talents, to this, which I think is quite impressive and probably quite an inspiration for many people,” he said. “I hope he’s helped a lot of people to look at things a bit differently, show that you can just pick up something and run with it.”
For many people in Leicester, it’s the fact that Chigs started baking so recently – his Instagram username is “the late bloomer” – that is most impressive. “I think it would be nice for Chigs to win to show that anybody can start baking and get into it,” said Liberty Vinci, a 21-year-old English literature student at De Montfort university. “He’s lovely, and he’s grown a lot more than the other two. He was hit-and-miss, and then he’s come through as a dark horse.”
“And he’s always smiling,” said her friend, Luke Bunn, 20.
“He comes across like he’s quite surprised he’s managed to make it this far,” said Peter Wyeth, 50, out shopping with his partner, 48-year-old Mary Dye. “He’s been a bit of a wild card throughout and you wonder whether he’s going to be able to pull it off, and then he’s star baker.”
He also said it was nice to see someone take something positive out of a tough year, particularly as Leicester was hit hard with Covid, enduring England’s longest lockdown.
“It’s something everyone has been through so we can all relate, and it’s good for Leicester as well as we were in lockdown longer than everywhere else,” said Wyeth.
“It’s always nice to see somebody from your home town doing well,” added Dye.
They also liked the fact Chigs helped promote the area with his “Leicester pork pie” showstopper during pastry week, showcasing the area’s food heritage as the home of the classic British snack.
“It’s great to see somebody locally do so well and we’ve obviously got our fingers crossed for the final,” said Percy. “But regardless of what happens, it’s great to see somebody follow their dreams and show what you can achieve.”
The other contenders
Giuseppe Dell’Anno
The Italian engineer, who lives in Bristol with his wife and three young sons, has been strong throughout the competition and has been crowned star baker several times. Many of his bakes have been inspired by his Italian heritage, and his focaccia earned him the first Paul Hollywood handshake of the season.
He was often battling against Jürgen Krauss, the other most consistent baker this series, for star baker each week, with many labelling the competition a two-horse race. But after Jurgen was controversially chosen to leave in the semi-finals, the Italian has become the frontrunner.
The 45-year-old likes to use his engineering skills to create some impressive showstoppers – including a gravity-defying Jack-and-the-Beanstalk cake – so there is great anticipation to see what he will produce in the final.
Crystelle Pereira
Born in northwest London to Kenyan born, Portuguese-Goan parents, she is another baker who has excelled in the later weeks of the competition. She loves travelling, speaks an impressive four languages and has used her heritage and travels to bring a diverse range of flavours into the tent (many have noticed her penchant for using the Japanese seasoning miso).
She has always been a keen baker and was “chief taster” in her household when she was growing up, although only started baking seriously about three years ago.
Although she has had some shaky weeks, a strong show in the semi-final saw her land her second star baker, and her showstopper was described as “flawless” by the judges. “I went into this week with a lot of impostor syndrome,” she posted on Instagram, and said she was in “complete and utter shock” to make it to the final.