John Whaite

Food technology classes at school were so dull. Even as a 14-year-old going through the ignorance of my black-nailed 'goth' phase, my interest in food was much deeper than those shop-bought pizza bases we were instructed to haul in and smother with tomato puree and ready-grated mozzarella.

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The refreshing tang of lemon cake makes such a change to the deep sweetness of many bakes.

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After 'Bake Off,' I got these book deals that were very much baking books. But the books I'm producing now like 'Perfect Plates in Five Ingredients' and 'Comfort,' they're really a truer representation of who I am as a food writer and a food industry professional.

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I can vividly remember the first time I ate a pasty. After a busy day shopping with my gran, she treated me to one. Wide-eyed and with a watering mouth, I chomped down into the crisp, buttery casing. It yielded to my eager bite; the pastry flaked and fluttered down my front.

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When we revel in hindsight, we have a tendency to embellish. We weave romantic and poetic fibres into the gaps in our memory.

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Baking is very meditative. It's precise - you have to weigh out the ingredients, follow it step by step and focus on everything, so it's just right. It also brings you out of your shell, because if you've made a batch of brownies, you share them and its really sociable like that.

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I am an avid lover of taking photographs of the night sky. Whenever I can, I get myself off to Canada or to Scotland and set up around the lake and spend a few hours in the middle of the night with a flask of coffee, a little glass of whiskey and some snacks.

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Quotes by John Whaite