The Paul Hollywood effect

Award-winning baker, best-selling author and star of one of Britain’s most successful TV shows - The Great British Bake off - Paul Hollywood’s no-nonsense approach has made him an overnight celebrity and the go-to guy for all things baking. 

Despite working in television for 14 years, it wasn't until the Bake Off bug swept the nation that Hollywood became a household name. ‘As soon as the first episode went live it was like bang - I’m famous. Before I knew it random people on the street were bombarding me with questions about making cake.’

Hollywood, however, is not surprised by the British public’s obsession with baking. ‘The wonderful thing about baking is that anybody can do it. All you need is a bag of flour, a pot of baking powder, a bit of sugar and some butter - and you can make an entire cake. It really is as simple as that. And to me, that’s really magical.’

Son of a professional baker, Hollywood has been baking since the age of 6. He worked at his dad’s bakery after a very brief stint studying sculpture at college before moving onto prestigious hotels including the Dorchester and Claridge’s as head baker.

As a judge on The Great British Bake off, Hollywood shows no signs of slowing down. 

Now you can watch and learn the Hollywood touch with our new series Get Baking with Paul Hollywood. In each episode Paul shows novice bakers how to bake some of his favourite recipes, including chocolate Victoria sandwich cake and chocolate brioche doughnuts.