Ads
Paul Hollywood is pretty good at setting records. In 2008, he created what was then Britain’s most expensive bread – a sourdough bread with almonds and Roquefort cheese which cost £15 at Harrods. The Great British Bake Offwith which it has become synonymous, became the most-watched show in BBC Two’s history, with 9.1 million viewers for the season four finale.
In 2016, the series finale on the BBC, Patisserie provided nine of the 10 most-watched programs of the year, peaking at 16 million viewers. And since moving to Channel 4, it has garnered the channel’s biggest audience for a TV series since 1985.
Some might say that with his icy blue eyes and quick jokes, he almost single-handedly made pastry cool.
“Don’t look at me,” the 56-year-old laughs as we chat on Zoom – he’s wearing sunglasses, sitting outside at his Kent home. ” It was Patisserie who made baking cool, not me. Although once I was giving a talk at an elementary school and I arrived in my Aston Martin. During question time, a young man raised his hand and said he wanted to be a baker because he wanted to drive a car like mine. It was great. I think it’s amazing that so much of the younger generation these days chooses to bake brownies over play video games. Anything is better than being on social media.
Prior to Patisserie, Hollywood had worked as a baker in hotels and resorts around the world, with a splash of television appearances – had he any idea what a commotion the show would cause? “It was honestly a huge surprise,” he admits.
“Before, I mainly worked in hotels like The Dorchester in London or Cliveden House Hotel in Berkshire, and it was great. When TV came along I thought it would be the icing on the cake, but it turned out to be cake in its own right. I guess it worked so well because it’s such a break from other reality shows. It’s very healthy and British, and baking appeals to all ages, from 5 to 95.
Soft inside
The biggest Patisserie has become, the more the nation has begun to regard Hollywood as the Simon Cowell of the baking world – a tough, no-nonsense judge who will scoff at any soggy bottom that comes his way.
However, he comes across as much more sensitive in real life – not to mention the dozens of stories from contestants, who said the Wirrall-born judge is a big softie when the cameras are off. Is the tough guy persona an act?
“I like to give it directly to candidates,” he explains. “They’re on the show to be judged, and that’s what I’m doing. But when all is said and done, it doesn’t matter if your cake wasn’t good that day. It happens, it’s not the end of the world; it’s a cake.
Something else Patisserie brought Hollywood was fame – not always the good kind. His face was plastered on the tabloids in the 2010s after his nearly 20-year marriage broke down when he had an affair with a co-judge on The American Baking Contest, then began dating 23-year-old British bartender Summer Monteys-Fullam. It’s something that, according to the baker, had a “major” effect on him.
“I had to learn to deal with the intrusion into my personal life,” he says. “The paparazzi take it too far, and I try to deal with all this personal stuff while it’s in the public eye. It’s incredibly difficult when everyone thinks they know it all.
“It’s hard for me because I want to get angry, I want to say something, but I can’t, so I shut up. I understand that’s part of the territory, but that’s the downside of having a career in television. I’m more of a hermit now; I go out less and if I do, it’s somewhere I know and can keep my head down.
old hand
Hollywood may be less Simon Cowell and more Dermot O’Leary – a sensitive soul who prefers peace and quiet. In fact, many people might be surprised to find that he once dreamed of being a sculptor after training at the Wallasey School of Art. It is a hobby that he keeps to this day.
“There’s a lot of art in my family,” says Hollywood, whose mother, Gill, was a graphic designer, while her father was a baker. “When I was shooting Patisserie during confinement we were all stuck in a hotel together, so to pass the Christmas time [Fielding] and I made little sugar creations. I would like to get back to sculpting. I am very tactile.
Despite his artistic talents and fondness for motorcycles (“There’s nothing like the freedom of being on the road,” he smiles), it’s baking that remains Hollywood’s first love.
“I’ve loved it since I was a kid and started making gingerbread cookies with my mum. I still get that nostalgia that comes back to me when I smell them now.
He has come a long way since then. Not only has he now starred in his own cooking series, Paul Hollywood City Bake et Paul Hollywood eats Japan, he also published seven cookbooks, many of which were bestsellers. His last, Bake, brings together her best recipes for cakes, cookies, breads, pizzas, donuts, pastries and pies.
“I really like to play around and update old recipes,” he says. “I love how the classics have changed thanks to the evolution of our palates and the ingredients available in supermarkets. That’s where I’m happiest: in my kitchen, creating new recipes or perfecting old ones – although I don’t mind the occasional birthday cake for friends. If they ask nicely.
BAKE by Paul Hollywood, published by Bloomsbury, is now available (£26 RRP, hardcover)
Ads
–
