Born and raised in the Indian city of Jabalpur, Chetna Makan, pictured, is being touted as the next winner of the Great British Bake Off. She has emerged as the new favourite to win the show owing to her use of Asian flavours in British favourites.
Chetna was named last week’s star baker because of her use of Indian flavours. Winning this would make her the first non-British contestant to take the crown.
Around 8.3 million watched as the six remaining competitors tacked a range of European recipes, including German gugelhupf cakes, Swedish prinsesstårta and Hungarian dobos tarts.
But Ms. Makan’s Indian flavours stole the show, making her a new favourite with the audience and a surprise competitor for this year’s Bake Off crown. “I have tried to use my mum’s Indian influence with British baking and that is exactly what I have tried to do on the show”, she says.
Miss Makan moved from India to Broadstairs, Kent, in 2003 with her husband and their two children.
During the initial episodes of the series, she impressed the judges with a cardamom, pistachio and coffee Swiss Roll. Chetna often incorporates mango into her pies and icings.
The 'soft spoken' and 'innovative' contestant, who runs a weekly curry club near her home, says, “Baking helped me embrace British culture because baking is a big part of British food”.
The 35-year-old has given fusion-cooking her own take and has been dubbed the ‘flavour queen’ by judge Paul Hollywood.
