Bake Off: The Professionals: Where Can You Try The Contestants’ Pastries?
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2 days ago
Everything you need to know about this year's cohort
Bake Off fans: no need to wait until autumn to get your fix. The show’s offshoot, Bake Off: The Professionals, is back on our screens for its 10th edition, featuring a new batch of pastry chefs from some of the country’s top hotels, restaurants and catering companies. Read on to find out who this year’s teams are, and where you can try their pastries in London and beyond.
What Is Bake Off: The Professionals?
While the original Great British Bake Off sees amateur bakers competing against one another, Bake Off: The Professionals spotlights the pros. Across two heats, teams of two pastry chefs battle it out in a series of challenging patisserie tasks, with one pair crowned the ultimate winners.
Who Are The Judges?
French pastry chef Benoit Blin and Singaporean-born Cherish Finden are returning to judge this year’s series. Blin, who grew up in a small town in Normandy, earned his stripes as a sous chef at Hotel Ritz in Paris, training with some of France’s top chefs before joining Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in 1995. He has worked there ever since, leading a team of 15 pastry chefs in creating world-class Michelin-starred cuisine. Alongside this, Blin has judged Bake Off: The Professionals since the first series of the show launched in 2016.
Finden, meanwhile, honed her craft at top hotels in Singapore including Raffles and the Sheraton Tower, before landing the role of executive pastry chef at London’s The Langham Hotel in 2009. Recently, she did a stint at Pan Pacific London, developing the hotel’s pastry offering and opening a cafe called SHIOK!. On Bake Off: The Professionals, she’s known for her meticulous, ruthless judging style – but she ensures challenges are fair by trying them out herself beforehand.
Who Are The Contestants & Where Do They Work?
The Ned, London
When they’re not filming Bake Off, you’ll find Darian Schmidt and Yadira Jauffrineau baking at members club and restaurant The Ned, found round the corner from Bank in London. The pair bake an array of treats across The Ned’s venues, including mille feuilles at The Parlour, tiramisu at Cecconi’s and homemade mochi at Kaia.
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Crumbs and Doilies, London
Dane Pemberton and Sally Dells – who have been friends for over a decade – are from Crumbs and Doilies, a Soho bakery best known for its picture-perfect vintage cakes – from multi-tiered cookie dough creations to a Taylor Swift-themed bake. But that’s not all: it also makes cookies (including a take on the Dubai chocolate) and brownies (the Biscoff Rocky Road has our vote).
The Pony, Chew Valley
The Pony is a reimagined country pub in Bristol’s Chew Valley, which has its own kitchen garden and cookery school. On this year’s Bake Off: The Professionals the restaurant is being represented by head pastry chef Harry Sanders, who joined The Pony in 2024, and head chef Jim Day, who previously worked at the Michelin-starred Casamia (now Casa).
Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill, London
Five-star hotel Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill is being represented by Saskia and Ashik, who bonded over a love for patisserie after both winning gold at the 2024 International Culinaire. You can try their pastry wizardry at the hotel’s restaurant, The Montagu Kitchen, which serves an Asian-inspired afternoon tea as well as desserts like baked vanilla cheesecake, chocolate and caramel delice, and mango and coconut tart.
Corinthia London
Another of the capital’s top hotels, Corinthia London is being represented on Bake Off: The Professionals by chefs Kristin and Kylie. Keen to give their creations a try? Enjoy the hotel’s famed afternoon tea, or treat yourself to an irresistible dessert at The Northall, one of the hotel’s restaurants, which serves the likes of upside down apricot tart, and strawberries and lemon verbena meringue.
Other competing teams include:
- Marriott International (hotel group) – Dushantha and Dominic
- Lexington (hospitality company) – Kitty and Yui
- Vacherin (catering company) – Erycsson and Jamie
- Capital City College (cooking school) – Westminster – Steve and Ian
- Ladurée (bakery) – Amira and Charlotte
- Hotel Café Royal – Aarran and Reece
- Amun & Abbie
When Does Bake Off: The Professionals Air?
The show began on 27 May at 8pm, with new episodes dropping each week on Channel 4.
