Our boy in the bake off
THE cakes and bakes served up on Channel Nine’s new series, The Great Australian Bake Off, have something of a Jewish flavour, with contestant Jonathan Gurfinkel proving a force to be reckoned with after the show’s second episode.
THE cakes and bakes served up on Channel Nine’s new series, The Great Australian Bake Off, have something of a Jewish flavour, with contestant Jonathan Gurfinkel proving a force to be reckoned with after the show’s second episode.
Gurfinkel, of Bentleigh East, Melbourne, works in IT by day, but has been passionate about baking since he was a child. “For me it’s the ability to create and make people happy,” the 35-year-old told The AJN.
The Great Australian Bake Off takes 10 of Australia’s best amateur bakers, and throws them into a series of challenges in which they are made to follow the most difficult of recipes – and create the most delectable of baked goods. Each week, one contestant is eliminated, while one is named “Star Baker”.
Gurfinkel scored the latter title on Tuesday night’s episode, impressing the judges – “queen of cakes” Kerry Vincent and acclaimed baker and author Dan Lepard – with his creations as part of pie week, including a chicken kiev pie.
With an eclectic mix of Polish, Russian, Ukrainian and Jewish heritage, Gurfinkel said he enjoyed having the opportunity to show multiculturalism through baking, more examples of which will be seen as the show progresses.
Gurfinkel describes himself as generally “quite a private person” and said being constantly in front of a camera was intense. “You’ve got producers and cameras on you 100 per cent of the time. And you’ve got the pressure of having to put your soul on the plate for a couple of judges who can be quite daunting,” he said.
But he enthused it was “an experience of a lifetime”, and looking back, he has no regrets. “For me it was more about competing against myself, not against others, and trying to see what I could deliver,” he noted. “It’s supposed to be a light-hearted show. It’s not cut-throat … We [the contestants] were actually there because we love baking.”
And while he can’t reveal much about the way the competition will play out, “the Jewish community I think will be quite proud of how I go”, he ventured.
Gurfinkel, who has a young son, hopes to one day open his own bakery. “I like the freedom of creativity, and IT doesn’t give you that as often as I would like.”
The Great Australian Bake Off airs at 8pm Tuesdays on Channel Nine.
PHOEBE ROTH
Jonathan Gurfinkel s been passionate about baking since he was a child.
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