By Mary Berry’s not the only Great British Bake Off baker who’s inspired the nation to dig out the oven gloves. The three bakers competing in the first all-male final of the competition appear to have nudged pastry-loving men around the country into the kitchen, according to research by Acriflex Skin Cooling Gel.
John, Brendan and James have proved men can make just as tasty (and attractive) cakes
The success of James, John and Brendan in this year’s immensely popular bakery series has not only been a boon to baking and elevated of Mary Berry to fashion icon, it’s also seen the rise of the male baker.
A third of men now consider themselves the ‘most domesticated’ in the kitchen, while 43 per cent reckon they have the main responsibility for family meals. It’s a trend that began more than a decade ago with Jamie Oliver and it’s clear that male role models have done wonder for encouraging men to try the culinary arts.
Men polled in the survey cited cupcakes as the biggest food trend (20 per cent ) followed by micro-baking (17 per cent), which is extra impressive, as we had to look that one up!
The chefs men like best are, with the exception of Nigella Lawson (who might be rather more popular for her presenting style than recipes), all men. Gordon Ramsey comes top, followed by Nigella, Jamie, The Hairy Bikers and High Fernley-Whittingstall.
But because they’re so inspired by TV chefs, the number of accidents men have in the kitchen is high, as they attempt to copy the impressive moves pull off by professionals. Flambéing, for example, has resulted in an injury in one in 10 of the men polled, and 18 per cent admitted they have burned or injured themselves trying out new cooking techniques copied from the TV.
GP Dr Sarah Brewer said: “Copycat cooking our favourite TV chefs’ recipes may look easy, but the inexperienced cook is often not aware of the pitfalls. If you do burn yourself you should seek to cool the affected area as quickly as possible by running it under cool water for about 10 minutes before applying a first aid treatment.”
