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Bake Off: The Professionals judge Benoit Blin: "The real hook is when something breaks or collapses"
Bake Off: The Professionals judge Benoit Blin tells Radio Times that he takes guilty pleasure in contestants' elaborate creations crumbling on the show
Channel 4, FT
- Toby Earle
Published: Monday, 27 July 2026 at 5:00 pm
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This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.
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What’s the view from your sofa?
The TV, my little wood burner, which I couldn’t live without in the winter, and Gordon, our stubborn French bulldog. That’s as in Flash, not Ramsay. I wanted the dog to be called Flash, but my kids said absolutely not.
Who controls the remote in your household?
When I’m by myself, I’m happy to say I’m in charge. If I’m not, I unfortunately tend to lose control, especially to my daughter.
What have you enjoyed watching on TV recently?
My wife and I have been watching Rivals. I wasn’t into the show to begin with – I thought it was weird with a lot of sex, and the story didn’t seem to go anywhere. By the end of the first series, I’d connected to the characters, and we’ve started watching series two. I’ve also been rewatching the first series of Avatar: the Last Airbender. I like science-fiction fantasy action.
Bake Off: the Professionals just finished its 11th series. Why is it so successful?
You don’t find the team dynamic in many shows, as candidates are usually on their own. On this one, you’re only as good as your teammate. There’s also a guilty-pleasure element; everybody loves the idea of a beautiful creation, but the real hook is when something breaks or collapses. Nobody wants that to happen – it devastates fellow judge Cherish Finden and myself – but the reality is that it makes good TV.
Benoit Blin with fellow judge Cherish Finden on Bake Off: The Professionals.
How hard do you find placing personal taste preferences to one side when judging a dish with a flavour you don’t like?
Matcha is one of those flavours, but luckily Cherish loves matcha. I’ve learnt that taste evolves and is rarely set in stone. I work harder on tastes I don’t like so I don’t find myself asking, "Am I not enjoying this because it has a flavour I don’t like, or am I not enjoying this because it’s not good?"
You’re the chef pâtissier at Raymond Blanc’s restaurant and hotel, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons. How did he persuade you to move to the UK and work with him?
Raymond called me a couple of weeks before my wedding and said, "How do you fancy coming to the UK?" It took me over four months to make my decision. What persuaded me, genuinely, was the man. Raymond had so many projects in mind for Le Manoir and every single one became reality, so I backed the right horse. I trusted Raymond’s word and we’ve always had a perfect relationship.
Where do you find inspiration when designing new desserts?
The older I become, the more I like a simple approach to flavour rather than confused flavours. If I have a strawberry dessert, I want them to be the star of the show. I want to feel, taste and bite into strawberries. Anything else in the dessert, like a sponge or a spice, is there to complement, not overshadow. Simplify. Be sleek and elegant.
Are there any pastry or baking trends we should ditch?
At one stage people were making a croissant in the shape of a cube. How do you eat a cube? The worst one was somebody squashing a beautifully made croissant between two trays and baking it until it’s completely flat. They’re those stupid things where they’re trying to find the next viral pastry.
Were there any TV chefs who inspired you when you were growing up?
I saw an interview with a chef in his hotel when I was very little, and he was making fish in a pastry crust. That moment was one of the reasons I became a chef. When I was eight, my teacher asked us to write an essay about the job we wanted when we grew up. I wrote my essay about that memory and I was given the highest mark I’ve ever had. And she was a very tough teacher!
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Authors
Toby Earle
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