Peter Sawkins: Bake Off superfan who became a champion
The student was inspired to start baking seriously aged 12 after watching the show.
Peter Sawkins has won the dual honour of becoming the first Great British Bake Off winner from Scotland as well as the youngest.
A self-confessed Bake Off superfan, the 20-year-old claims to have repeat watched all 10 previous series of the show.
Sawkins – dubbed the “baby-faced assassin” by host Noel Fielding – is a student in accounting and finance at Edinburgh University.
He grew up on his mother’s home cooking and was inspired to start baking seriously at the age of 12 after watching the show.
On the programme, Sawkins honoured his homeland in his cooking, using Scottish ingredients including berries, whisky, oats and honey.
He first applied to compete on Bake Off in 2018 and was finally selected for the 11th series, which was filmed in a “bubble” in Down Hall Hotel near Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire.
Early on, he delivered a series of polished bakes, was named star baker and earned himself the nickname “Perfect Peter”.
He lost momentum mid-series only to return in the semi-final and claim his second star baker week.
His success prompted judge Paul Hollywood to tell him: “Welcome back to the tent,” and offer a coveted Hollywood handshake.
Sawkins is a keen badminton player and is president of Edinburgh University Badminton Club.
This passion was reflected in his showstopper challenge during Japanese week, when he created a cartoon character-like cake called Dizzy The Shuttlecock.
His newfound fame has been reflected on social media – his Instagram account Peter Bakes has more than 102,000 followers.
Sawkins may now carve out a lucrative career as a cookbook writer and celebrity chef, but he has said his first priority is finishing his studies.
