‘The Great British Baking Show’: Don’t Worry, All the Leftover Food Gets Eaten

Contestants make incredible creations on 'The Great British Baking Show' but what happens to all the leftover food? Bakers get to eat the food they've made after which the crew gets a chance at a taste test.

by Mandi Kerr

Published on April 30, 2020

3 min read

Watch any episode of The Great British Baking Show and it won’t be long before mouths water and stomachs rumble. It’s hard and nearly impossible not to watch the baking competition series without salivating. The contestants never cease to amaze us with their talents and without fail, we envy the judges for being able to taste every single bake.

They only take small portions of each creation leaving lots of biscuits, cake, or bread behind. So, what happens to the food after it’s been judged in the tent and star baker is awarded? It doesn’t go to waste, it gets eaten. Ahead, find out what exactly happens to leftover food on The Great British Baking Show. Warning: Fans of the show will want to apply to work on the crew ASAP.

In 2010, the program premiered on BBC as The Great British Bake Off in the U.K. and quickly became a hit with viewers for its upbeat and positive take on a cooking competition. Known for serving up comfort food, the show has become wildly popular since its debut. Even the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have baked with former host, Mary Berry, on a holiday baking special. After the program picked up speed, it made its way across the pond where it got renamed The Great British Baking Show. Today, Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith serve as judges while the show continues to air on a new home in the U.K., Channel 4.

‘The crew eats it’, former contestant says of leftover food

After Paul and Prue have each tasted a bite of every dish, the bakers head back to their stations with plenty of leftovers. While they may take a small bite of their own handiwork there are still dozens of cookies or an entire cake still needing to be eaten. That’s where the crew on The Great British Baking Show comes in. According to a former contestant on the series, Kim-Joy, once the judging process is over, people who work on the show get to try the bakes.

According to the Kitchn, during a guest spot on Channel 4’s Big Fat Quiz of the Year, Kim-Joy opened up about what happens to leftover food on The Great British Baking Show. Don’t worry, it doesn’t go in the trash like Iain’s baked Alaska.

“The crew eats it. They’d know the best ones so they descend on them,” Kim-Joy told Jimmy Carr, the show’s host.

Noel Fielding, who co-hosts The Great British Baking Show, also made a guest appearance on the program. He shared that Prue sometimes takes leftovers home to feed her pigs if the crew hasn’t eaten them all.

“Prue occasionally, if there are any cakes left over, takes them home for her pigs,” he said.

Talk about well-fed pets!

Contestants get a ‘baker’s basket’ with their lunch

Faenia Moore, Chief Home Economist on The Great British Baking Show, opened up about what happens behind the scenes of the program during an interview with BBC Good Food. She talked about leftovers saying, “It all gets eaten, but in a controlled way.”

A contestant on 'The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition 2019' decorates a cake — ‘The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition 2019’ | Mark Bourdillon/ABC via Getty Images

Moore added that all of the food doesn’t immediately go to the crew to be eaten. Rather, some of it goes to the bakers.

“It’s important for the bakers to eat what they’ve slaved over, so after each challenge I make up a ‘baker’s basket’ to go to their lunchroom,” she said before adding, “Then any leftovers go to the crew lunch. Everyone gets quite excited so you have to say: ‘Step back, we need to do this in an orderly fashion.’”

Until we can land ourselves a spot on the show’s crew, we’ll keep watching episodes The Great British Baking Show.