Who is David Atherton? Bake Off 2019 star and health adviser from London

THE Great British Bake Off's David Atherton may not have been awarded Star Baker yet, but he has had a Hollywood handshake.

The coveted shake came in Roaring Twenties week, and saw the Bake Off 2019 amateur heading into Dessert Week.

Who is The Great British Bake Off 2019 contestant David?

David Atherton was brought up in Yorkshire, where his mother, who was an avid baker, inspired him to take up baking.

The 36-year-old continued to explore his pastries making abilities when he travelled to Malawi, among other places, as part of his work as a health adviser.

In Malawi, he learned to build an oven out of an oil drum and invented a cake that could steam cook over a village fire.

David specialises in bread making and is not a fan of colourful icing but prefers robust flavours and good, solid bakes.

The baking enthusiast shows off his culinary skills on his Instagram page here.

What has happened to David on Bake Off so far?

• Week One, Cakes – David wowed the judges with his first Showstopper of the series – The Snakey Bakey Cake – with a beautifully green and pink, fork-tongued reptile. Paul said it was "charming", and they loved his egg with baby snakes in it. He redeemed himself after placing tenth in the Angel Cakes technical.
• Week Two, Biscuits – His "messy" Coco-Nutty chocolate bars were praised for the flavours, but it was his Wedding Spray sculpture that really had the judges gushing.
• Week Three, Bread – David's Showstopper African masks may have split but they still earned him praise for their look from Prue and Paul – and probably saved him from the Bake Off axe too – although he did come second in the technical making burger buns.
• Week Four, Dairy – David might not have been named Star Baker but he definitely ranked highly with the judges after dishing up a Poppy seed and Lemon cake with Limoncello glaze which Prue “loved”. He also did well in the lemon curd tart Technical and got heaps of praise for his “neat, precise and aromatic” mishti Showstopper.
• Week Five, The Roaring Twenties – It was a great week for David when he got a Paul Hollywood handshake for his Classic vanilla custard pie with flapper girl biscuit toppings, though he nearly ruined it all by coming last in the Technical challenge. However his lemony Showstopper cake saved him from the axe despite its grainy buttercream.
• Week Six, Dessert Week –  David started off with a Spice Meringue Surprise, which Prue said "looked like a painting". Unfortunately she then said it "didn't taste as good as it looked". His Delightful Bombe Showstopper was called "beautiful" and "delicious" but sharp with the jelly a "little bit rubbery"

What has David said about The Great British Bake Off 2019?

The keen baker is a long-time fan of the Channel 4 show and has watched it since its inauguration in 2010.

He admitted to questioning his ability to perform on the programme when he was accepted as a contestant.

David said: “When I got accepted it was such a mixture of emotions.  Then I thought, this is really crazy, am I good enough, will I have enough time to practice?”

The avid traveller went on to joke that the contestants on the show are treated like “royalty walking into the tent”.

When is The Great British Bake Off next on?

The Great British Bake Off is back on Tuesday (October 8).

You can catch the action on Channel 4 at 8pm.

Bake Off is expected to run for 10 consecutive weeks and the final is likely to be in November 2019.

Source: Read Full Article