GBBO champ Matty Edgell on life inside and outside the big white tent

What are your earliest food memories?
I have my nan to thank for my introduction to baking. She passed away when I was really young, but I heard loads of stories about how good she was. I think she made me fall in love with baking without even knowing it. When I was little one of the first things I made was a Milky Way cheesecake – it’s a standout memory. Melting chocolate bars isn’t exactly what you’d call baking, though!

What inspired you to enter The Great British Bake Off?
It was my then-girlfriend, now fiancée, Lara who convinced me to do Bake Off. Before my application went in, I was just making birthday cakes for family – I didn’t branch out any more than that. Gradually, I became more daring in styles and flavours. Through Bake Off I’ve learned to experiment and my horizons have broadened enormously.

We hear you were a ‘secret baker’ prior to Bake Off; what’s changed?
My friends didn’t know I baked before the show. But it was more of an accidental secret – it wasn’t something I was ashamed of. It just didn’t come up in conversation. I made a cake a few years ago for a party, and the penny-drop moment for me that I wasn’t too bad was when somebody asked where we had bought the cake from!

How did you prepare for the show?
There was a lot of trial and error in the development stage, the months prior to filming. I stuck to what I knew to some extent, because mistakes can be expensive to make, in terms of ingredients and time.

Were they any memorable moments that didn’t make it onto the screen?
In the tent, the weirdest part for me was from start to finish I knew exactly when things were going well and when they weren’t. But you’re never too sure what will get condensed down from a weekend into your snippet or how everyone else got on. In week four, Chocolate Week, I had to remake part of my showstopper. I can’t remember if that got shown or it got cut, but mostly, like everybody else, my major blunders were on the show. It makes good TV.

What does it feel like to be in the big white tent?
On Bake Off we were all outside our comfort zones and we were heavily dependent on each other. None of us had ever done anything like that in our lives. I hope it came over how well we got on with each other. One week, you were someone’s support mechanism; the next week the tables turned and they were yours. Through that sort of experience, you bond quickly.

If you had to reduce your baking kit to the bare essentials, what would make the list?
I have a KitchenAid and if it can go in there, it goes in there. And a rubber spatula is an absolute godsend.

How do you spend time when you’re not baking?
I’m quite sporty. I do a little bit of boxing, play football and go to the gym. I do like music – and now that I’m not under pressure, I like to have something on in the kitchen when I’m baking. When I was practising for the show, it was in silence. My taste is broad and I like quite a lot of music that my parents enjoy, so I just put it on shuffle and see what comes up!

What’s next for you?
I would describe all that happens after you win Bake Off as weird and surreal – but I’m really enjoying it. I’ve not set out a plan of what I want to do, but I’d definitely like to write a cookbook.

Follow Matty on Instagram – and browse more of our chats with food lovers, including fellow Bake Off winner John Whaite.

Catch up on all episodes of The Great British Bake Off on Channel 4.