John Whaite
John Whaite | |
---|---|
Born | 1988 (age 35–36) Chorley, Lancashire, England |
Nationality | British |
Education | University of Manchester |
Occupation(s) | Chef, author, baker, television personality |
Years active | 2012–present |
Television | The Great British Bake Off Lorraine Chopping Block |
Partner | Paul Atkins[1] |
Website | johnwhaite |
John Whaite is an English baker who won the third series of The Great British Bake Off in 2012. He works as a chef, television presenter, and author. He was a presenter and judge on the ITV daytime cookery competition show Chopping Block.
Early life
John Whaite was born in Chorley and grew up on a farm in Wrightington.[2] He has two sisters, Jane and Victoria.[3] He became interested in baking when he was five after his parents divorced.[citation needed] He won a place at Oxford to read modern and medieval languages, but switched to study Law at the University of Manchester so as to be nearer to home.[4] He gained a first-class degree after sitting his law exams while filming Bake Off, and worked briefly as a banker in the Royal Bank of Scotland's asset finance department.[5][6] He rejected a career in law or banking after winning the series, and opted to take classes at Le Cordon Bleu to pursue a career in cookery.[6] However, in 2018 he decided to refocus on law.[7]
Career
Television
In 2012, at the age of 23, Whaite took part in the third series of The Great British Bake Off on BBC Two. After making it through to the final, he won the show with his Italian sausage and roasted vegetable pithivier, fondant fancies and heaven and hell chiffon cake. Despite winning the show, he only won 'Star Baker' once in the series.
Whaite appears as a resident chef on ITV's Lorraine programme, hosted by Lorraine Kelly.[8][9] He has also appeared on This Morning, What's Cooking?, The Alan Titchmarsh Show and Sunday Brunch as a guest chef.[10]
In April 2016, Whaite began co-presenting Chopping Block, ITV's new daytime cookery competitive show with Rosemary Shrager where four couples compete in a series of daily challenges to win a prize.[11] A second series began airing in March 2017.
Cookery
After appearing on Bake Off, Whaite studied a diploma in Patisserie at Le Cordon Bleu, London.[6]
In 2015, John Whaite's Kitchen Cookery School opened in Lancashire.[12]
Writing
Whaite has released four cookery books. His first book, John Whaite Bakes was released on 25 April 2013,[13] and the second, John Whaite Bakes at Home was released on 27 March 2014.[14] The third book, Perfect Plates in 5 Ingredients, was published in April 2016.[15] He wrote a column on food for The Daily Telegraph.[16][17] The fourth book, Comfort: Food to soothe the soul, was published in October 2017.[18][19]
Personal life
Whaite lives with his partner Paul Atkins, a graphic designer, in Lancashire.[20][21] He announced their engagement on 21 July 2017.[22]
Publications
- John Whaite Bakes (released 25 April 2013)
- John Whaite Bakes at Home (released 25 March 2014)
- Perfect Plates in 5 Ingredients (released 21 April 2016)
- Comfort: Food to soothe the soul (released 5 October 2017)
References
- ^ "John Whaite". RUCO.
- ^ Dianne Bourne (1 October 2014). "Great British Bake Off winner John Whaite tips Luis Troyano as 'dark horse' of competition". Manchester Evening News.
- ^ "John Whaite". Sainsbury. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
- ^ Roger Borrell (16 April 2013). "Wigan's fabulous baking boy – Great British Bake Off winner John Whaite". Lancashire Life. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
- ^ Copping, Jasper (5 March 2014). "Great British Bake Off winners buck reality TV trend". The Daily Telegraph.
- ^ a b c "On the rise: Manchester law student John Whaite wins The Great British Bake Off". Manchester Evening News. 17 October 2012.
- ^ "Former Great British Bake Off winner John Whaite returning to law "to devote myself to something utterly important". iNews. 22 July 2018.
- ^ Helena Kealey (5 August 2014). "Bake Off: the winners reveal their secrets". The Daily Telegraph.
- ^ "John Whaite". ITV.
- ^ Laura Mitchell (8 November 2013). "Great British Bake Off's John Whaite: Mary and Paul's support means so much to me". Daily Express.
- ^ "Chopping Block". 24 March 2016.
- ^ Sophie McCoid-SOU (25 February 2015). "Great British Bake Off winner opens West Lancashire cookery school". Southport Visiter.
- ^ Sophia Moir (26 April 2013). "John Whaite: How baking helps me battle depression – EXCLUSIVE". Yahoo Lifestyle.
- ^ Josh Willacy (27 March 2014). "The winner bakes it all: Great British Bake Off ace John Whaite reveals guilty secrets and making mum jealous". Mancunian Matters.
- ^ John Whaite (27 April 2016). "Take just five ingredients... John Whaite shares his favourite easy recipes". The Daily Telegraph.
- ^ "John Whaite". The Daily Telegraph.
- ^ "John Whaite". The Daily Telegraph.
- ^ "The 20 best cookbooks to buy this autumn". The Daily Telegraph. 15 September 2017.
- ^ John, Whaite (3 February 2018). "Food to soothe the soul from John Whaite's 'Comfort' cookbook". The Independent.
- ^ Parker, Olivia (17 September 2014). "John Whaite: 'It's nice to be emotionally detached from Bake Off'".
- ^ "John Whaite and Boyfriend: Attitude's 'Love & Marriage' Cover". Attitude. 24 March 2014.
- ^ Semple, Ross (21 July 2017). "'Bake Off' winner John Whaite announces engagement to long-term boyfriend". Attitude.