Kate Garraway and Sarah Beeny are both well-respected broadcasters who have built successful careers in television.
However, when it comes to baking, they readily admit they are out of their depth.
As they step into the famous white tent for The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer, the challenge ahead is more daunting than any live TV broadcast.
No Baking Experience, No Problem?
For Sarah Beeny, 53, baking has never been her strong suit. “I’ve never really baked,” she admits with a laugh.
“I think I’m a bit too impatient.” While she is known for her expertise in property development and television presenting, the precise science of baking is unfamiliar territory.
Kate Garraway, 57, shares a similar sentiment. Despite her love for cooking, she acknowledges that baking is an entirely different skill. “I love cooking and always seem to know how to combine ingredients to make something delicious,” she explains. “But that’s different because you can taste it as you go. Baking is a different ball game entirely.”
The strict measurements, the exact timing, and the unpredictability of the results make baking feel more like a form of magic to Kate. “You take egg and flour and butter, which taste and look like one thing on their own, then put them together and they create something completely different. Baking is alchemy,” she says. “I don’t think I’ve come out proving myself a Merlin, but I’m hoping not to be the Wicked Witch of the West.”
A Star-Studded Line-Up for a Worthy Cause
Kate and Sarah are among the many famous faces stepping up to take part in The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer, a special edition of the beloved baking show aimed at raising funds for Cancer Research UK.
Joining them in the competition are comedians Adam Buxton, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Jamali Maddix, and Phil Wang, as well as model Ellie Goldstein, television veteran Gloria Hunniford, and actors Jim Howick, Tommy Tiernan, Meera Syal, Sophie Willan, and Maxine Peake. Presenters Roman Kemp and Amelia Dimoldenberg, podcasting couple Chris and Rosie Ramsey, singer Self Esteem, and property expert siblings Scarlette and Stuart Douglas are also set to enter the tent.
Guiding them through the chaos will be hosts Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding, whose lighthearted humor and encouragement will help the celebrity contestants navigate their way through three demanding rounds: the signature bake, the technical challenge, and the showstopper.
Paul Hollywood returns as a judge, and he will be joined by Caroline Waldegrave, a long-time friend and colleague of Prue Leith, who is standing in for the veteran judge. Given their limited experience, it remains to be seen whether Kate and Sarah will impress or leave the judges less than delighted with their creations.
A Love-Hate Relationship with Baking
Adding to the challenge is the fact that Sarah Beeny doesn’t even like cake. “I don’t actually like cake much,” she confesses. “Can I say that? They’re really low on my priority list. I guess you’re a pudding or a cheese person, and I’m a cheese person. Starter or pudding? Starter. Give me smoked salmon rather than dessert. That’s got bang for bucks!”
Kate, on the other hand, does enjoy sweet treats but is just as tempted by savory bakes. “You can’t go wrong with a Victoria sponge with a fresh cream middle,” she says. “But I also love savory bakes—sausage rolls and so on. It’s all delicious.”
Kitchen Disasters and Baking Blunders
While neither Kate nor Sarah is a baking pro, both have had their fair share of kitchen disasters. For Sarah, a particular cottage pie incident stands out. “I’ve had millions of disasters, loads! I once cooked a cottage pie and didn’t have enough space to keep it in the fridge. It went off and it smelled so bad I had to dig a hole in the garden to bury it.”
Kate’s most memorable kitchen mishap occurred during Christmas. “A few years back, I was cooking for my entire family for Christmas Day, and it was the first time I’d done Christmas lunch for the family,” she recalls. “I put the turkey in, and after a while, I thought, ‘I really can’t smell much.’”
To her horror, she discovered the oven had broken. “So, I had to go next door and beg the neighbors to use theirs, but of course, they had their turkey in the oven. So, it ended up being a Christmas lunch at supper time, and for lunch, we had cheese and biscuits. By the time we ate, they were hungry and slightly drunk, which arguably is the best state to be in if you are eating a meal I’ve cooked.”
Will They Rise to the Occasion?
With little to no baking experience, Kate Garraway and Sarah Beeny are in for a challenge on The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer. However, their willingness to step outside their comfort zones for a worthy cause makes them winners before they even enter the tent.
While they might not produce showstopping masterpieces, their participation is a testament to the spirit of the competition—raising money and awareness while having a good laugh along the way. Whether they bake a brilliant Battenberg or end up with a baking disaster, their journey in the tent is sure to be entertaining.
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