As we enter the semi-finals, we\u2019re left with J\u00fcrgen<\/a>, Giuseppe<\/a>, Crystelle<\/a> and Chigs<\/a>, who are all pretty strong contenders. But if any of the Great British Bake Off 2021 contestants<\/a> deserves to take home the glass cake stand, it\u2019s got to be Chigs \u2013 for a number of reasons.<\/p>\n New to the baking world, Chigs only discovered his passion one year ago during the lockdown period in 2020. Through the help of online videos and tutorials, the sales manager from Leicestershire managed to teach himself how to create complex bakes and intricate chocolate work, which he\u2019s continued to show off and impress the judges with on the Channel 4 culinary show.<\/p>\n Given that Chigs only started baking last year, this means he has the least baking experience in comparison to Crystelle\u2019s three years, J\u00fcrgen\u2019s 15 + years, with the IT professional learning how to bake after he moved to the UK in 2003 and couldn\u2019t find his German faves, and Giuseppe\u2019s 40+ years, as he was inspired from a young age by his Italian Chef father.<\/p>\n Despite having the least experience, this definitely hasn\u2019t shown, with Chigs bagging the Star Baker<\/a> title twice on the series \u2013 first in Week Four for his black forest gateau, which even Prue loved despite not normally being a fan, and again in Week Eight during the show\u2019s Free From Week, where he impressed with his gluten-free red velvet cake, and received one of the biggest compliments from Prue, as she declared: \u201cThe cake was faultless.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s no denying Giuseppe and J\u00fcrgen are exceptional bakers, with both winning Star Baker multiple times. So far, J\u00fcrgen has the highest total of accolades at three Star Baker titles. Crystelle is also a Star Baker recipient and completely won the judges over with her curry terrine pie during Pastry Week, which was inspired by her grandmother.<\/p>\n But for me, Chigs represents everything Bake Off is about. It\u2019s about home bakers, contestants embarking on journeys and the unexpected, which sometimes sees the underdog rise up the ranks and win the title. Take 2019 winner Dave Atherton for instance. He didn\u2019t win Star Baker once on the 10th series, but swooped the winning title for his peachy picnic basket made of cakes and enriched bread.<\/p>\n One of Atherton\u2019s main advantages in the tent was his ability to remain calm and composed during the heated competition \u2013 a trait Chigs has also shown, often appearing in the background as he gets on with his bakes.<\/p>\n Throughout most of the series, Chigs has maintained a happy medium, while frontrunners J\u00fcrgen and Giuseppe have been going neck and neck for Star Baker.<\/p>\n Evidently, they know what they\u2019re doing in the kitchen. You only have to think back to Week One where Giuseppe could be seen measuring his mini rolls with a ruler so they were exactly 8cm \u2013 very satisfying, I will admit, but is this more the work of a professional than a Bake Off star?<\/p> While I certainly wouldn\u2019t be turning down any of their bakes, it could be argued that J\u00fcrgen and Giuseppe are almost too good for Bake Off.<\/p>\n It\u2019s become predictable that they\u2019ll do well in the Signature, not come last in the Technical and ace the Showstopper, keeping their spot in the competition. All of which shows that they\u2019re great bakers, but doesn\u2019t show progression and removes those fun and exciting moments we all tune in to Bake Off for. As overused as the innuendo may be, we do need to see some soggy bottoms \u2013 it\u2019s arguably tradition.<\/p>\n Chigs on the other hand has shown growth and improvement on Bake Off. Don\u2019t get me wrong, he\u2019s a very good baker, hence why he\u2019s still in the competition, but he started out on the series at an intermediate level, producing steady bakes. And then in Week Four, we saw where his expertise lied, as he won his first Star Baker title.<\/p>\n He dropped back down in Week Five, but not too much to put him at risk of going home, showing that he does have the skills, and last week, he rose to the top again and received a Hollywood Handshake in the process.<\/p>\n Having learnt how to bake at the age of 40 during the pandemic, Chigs\u2019 win will show viewers that anything is possible, and you can learn a new skill at any age.<\/p>\n All that\u2019s left really is for him to sail through to the finals and bag the glass cake stand!<\/p>\n Great British Bake Off is on Channel 4 on Tuesdays at 8pm. \u00a0Looking for something else to watch? Check out our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0or visit our hub for more\u00a0Entertainment<\/a>\u00a0news.<\/strong><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n By Grace Henry Published: Tuesday, 16 November 2021 at 12:00 am With just one week to the Great British Bake Off 2021 final, we can\u2019t help wondering who will be crowned this year\u2019s Ultimate Star Baker. As we enter the semi-finals, we\u2019re left with J\u00fcrgen, Giuseppe, Crystelle and Chigs, who are all pretty strong contenders. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":7232,"template":"","categories":[5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/11\/why-chigs-is-our-bake-off-2021-winner.jpg",620,413,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/11\/why-chigs-is-our-bake-off-2021-winner-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/11\/why-chigs-is-our-bake-off-2021-winner-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/11\/why-chigs-is-our-bake-off-2021-winner.jpg",620,413,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/11\/why-chigs-is-our-bake-off-2021-winner.jpg",620,413,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/11\/why-chigs-is-our-bake-off-2021-winner.jpg",620,413,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/11\/why-chigs-is-our-bake-off-2021-winner.jpg",620,413,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Grace Henry Published: Tuesday, 16 November 2021 at 12:00 am With just one week to the Great British Bake Off 2021 final, we can\u2019t help wondering who will be crowned this year\u2019s Ultimate Star Baker. As we enter the semi-finals, we\u2019re left with J\u00fcrgen, Giuseppe, Crystelle and Chigs, who are all pretty strong contenders.…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/7231"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\""Bake\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/09\/Bake-Off-2021-line-up-e96d252.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"Bake-Off-2021-line-up\"\\"\/")
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