Photo:Mark Bourdillon/Netflix
Mark Bourdillon/Netflix
Warning: This article contains spoilers.
The 2023Great British Baking Showhas crowned a new champion!
On Friday, theNetflix-distributed series dropped the season finale and namedthe winner— 28-year-old Matty Edgell.
The home baker has a sweet story behind how he landed a spot in the tent: his fiancée, Lara — who tasked him with making their wedding cake — signed him up for the show.
“Without you I wouldn’t have been able to do any of it (literally, Lara, I now thank you for applying for me 😂) ❤️,” he wrote onInstagramfollowing his win.
“He would never have applied for himself,” Lara said in the finale episode. “It’s just not in his nature. He’s not braggy. I wanted him to be a part of something like this to show to him how amazing he is. Because doesn’t matter how much I tell him, he doesn’t believe me.”
Lara detailed how Edgell goes to school, participates in extracurriculars and then bakes “until we go to bed.”
In the closing credits of the finale, Edgell confirmed that they got engaged after eight years together and are planning a wedding for June 2024. The officialBake OffTwitter accountalso congratulated them with a photo from their engagement shoot.
JudgesPrue LeithandPaul Hollywoodwere confident in Edgell’s baking chops throughout the season. Known for his calm attitude and careful skill, he was definitely the underdog out of the finalists — Josh Smalley and Dan Hunter were frontrunners as each episode aired.
The three competitors put up a fight in the last episode. In the signature challenge, the contestants were tasked with making decorative éclairs. Edgell’s Black Forest and banoffee éclairs were not spot-on to the judges, who said the pastries were missing some flavor.
The three were challenged with baking lardy cake slices during the technical round, a classic British baked good that has been around for hundreds of years. “For perfection, you’re going to need patience,” Hollywood vaguely advises.
The second round proved difficult for Edgell, who said he did not know what the dessert was. He got third place for this round, behind Hunter in second and Smalley in first.
The judges couldn’t get enough bites of Edgell’s cake, complimenting the “perfect” flavors and textures of the cakes and saying that the only issue with it was a leaning tier.
Netflix / Love Productions 2023 - Photographer Mark Bourdillon
While they didn’t win, Hunter and Smalley were supportive of Edgell.
“So chuffed for Matty,” said Smalley. “When it always comes to the cakes, he has been fantastic. He’s such a worth winner and a lovely chap as well.”
Hunter said he had “a feeling Matty was gonna win. He’s done it on the day it counted and I am honestly so happy for him. What a kid, I absolutely love him.”
“I’ve never met a more cheerful, smiling uncomplaining and willing baker,” Leith said of Edgell. “He just was having a good time, learning as much as he could, taking on board everything either of us said.”
“He’s just got better and better and better,” Hollywood added. “That chocolate cake was one of the best chocolate cakes I’ve had for a long, long time.”
Edgell was left speechless after being announced as the winner. “I dunno what to say,” he began. “People said, ‘You should go onBake Off,’ and I thought it was a throwaway comment. Never really listened to it.”
“I never thought I’d be on this. Let alone win it,” he continued, gesturing to his trophy and laughing. “Where am I going to put this?”
Edgell also reflected on his experience in the tent in a celebratory Instagram post.
“What an experience and what a journey @britishbakeoff ! This is something that has taught me as much about myself as it has about baking,” he wrote. “I can’t thank the bakers, the crew and everyone involved in the process enough for making it so special. The friendships I’ve formed and the memories I’ve made throughout this have been amazing.”
Matty Edgell says his fiancée Lara encouraged him to compete.Rebecca Clark Photography
Rebecca Clark Photography
He then thanked his friends, family and fiancée for their support.
“Thank you so much to all of my family for every bit of support and encouragement. Lara, I can’t imagine I was fun to live with at times and I am so grateful for the sacrifices you made for me throughout this! I don’t think I made dinner for 10 weeks 😂,” he said. “You had to live the Bake Off journey with me but never got to do the fun part. Through the highs and lows of my journey, you picked me up countless times, supported me and gave me the confidence I needed each week.”
The 2023 season and previous seasons of The Great British Baking Show are now streaming on Netflix.
source: people.com
