SCREAM OF THE CROP
THE Great British Bake Off 2019 continued with The Roaring Twenties, but Helena Garcia struggled to impress the judges this time around.
In a shock double elimination, Prue and Paul sent the Halloween-inspired baker packing - here's all you need to know.
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Who is The Great British Bake Off 2019 contestant Helena?
Helena, a 40-year-old online project manager, spent much of her childhood watching her Spanish grandmother cook and bake.
However, it was not until she moved to Las Vegas as part of an exchange scheme at school that she started baking.
Born in Ceuta, an independent Spanish city in north Africa, Helena was raised in Lanzarote and studied in mainland Spain.
Now, she lives in Leeds with her husband and baby daughter, after moving to the city while studying for her degree.
Helena enjoys using American flavours when baking, as well as traditional Spanish tastes.
Also, she loves to incorporate all things Halloween into her bakes.
Some of her horror themed creations can be found on her Instagram page here.
What has happened to Helena on Bake Off so far?
- Week One, Cakes - Helena impressed in the fruity Signature with her Halloween inspired bake. She placed in 12th place in the Technical Challenge before getting the innuendos underway with her fairy garden Showstopper.
- Week Two, Biscuits - She got to show off her creativity in Biscuit week after making "Wicked Witch Fingers" for her biscuit bars and a spider coming out of an egg for her sculpture.
- Week Three, Bread - She wisely used her years in America to inspire her Frosted cinnamon and pecan tear and share and got praised for her scoring skills too! And of course her Showstopper had a Halloween theme.
- Week Four, Dairy – Helena kept her Halloween theme going strong with a cute but intense almond and buttermilk Ghost Cake. Her creation led Prue to say, “For a mad woman, you’re doing well.” They were also fans of her coconut chocolate, parma violet and lemon sherbet mishti Showstopper, complete with handmade biscuit spoons.
- Week Five, The Roaring Twenties - Viewers were shocked as Helena got the boot during The Roaring Twenties week, despite winning the Technical task. The judges hadn't been wowed by her “soapy” Signature Bake and “dry” two-tiered Showstopper cake, although Prue did say it was a "pleasant" cake. Paul apologised to present Noel Fielding for "getting rid of his sister" after the pair bonded over their quirkiness.
What has Helena said about The Great British Bake Off 2019?
The mother-of-one decided to apply for The Great British Bake Off 2019 after winning a baking competition at work.
Yet when she learned she had been accepted she had a little bit of a meltdown and was not sure if she would be up to scratch.
“When I learned that I had got in I had a bit of a confidence crisis thinking, can I possibly be good enough?,” she explained.
She admires 2018 Bake Off contestant Kim-Joy because of her “particular style” and “niche look”.
After she was axed Helena said: "I'm actually OK about it. I've had an amazing time. Also I've learnt that I can take criticism, I can have a laugh with it and just, like, take the positives out of everything, which is, like, hopefully something I will carry on doing."
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When is The Great British Bake Off next on?
The Great British Bake Off is back on Tuesday (October 1).
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
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What is the Great British Bake Off prize?
With all the drama, sweat and tears that the dedicated bakers go through, you would expect they would be aiming for some grand cash prize, but the answer is no.
The winning prize is just flowers and a cake stand, at least that's what has happened so far.
Previous Bake Off contestant Martha Collison, who reached the quarter-finals in the 2014 series, confirmed to Barrelhouse: “Everyone is so surprised and thinks there must be some secret cash, but all we really get is a bunch of flowers and a cake stand.
“But then, you also kind of become a national treasure just by doing it because everyone in Britain loves the Bake Off so much.”