Dr. Rahul Mandal is a part-time baker who was born in India. He is best known for being the charming and tenacious participant that won the renowned competition The Great British Bake Off in 2018. Mandal’s shyness and self-depreciation made him memorable and led to him garnering a significant and dedicated following.
When Mandal immigrated to England from India at the age of 23, it was to pursue a university scholarship that he had won. This is where his passion for baking began. In order to boost his confidence, he made the decision to apply for the show, and ended up winning it. Mandal returned to his day job as a nuclear research scientist at the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Department following his achievement on the programme. He wants to encourage as many kids as he can to pursue STEM jobs (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). He hosts discussions with young people in which he challenges them to think about their potential career paths.
Mandal recently made history by creating the first cake with 100 different ingredients. He also fashioned the cake to look like suitcases stacked on top of one another with a globe on top, weighing over an astonishing 50Kg and standing over three foot tall. Even more impressively, each ingredient came from a different country in the world. Mandal continues to be passionate about cooking by writing a monthly food column for The Times newspaper. In this column, he provides readers with detailed step-by-step instructions for a variety of homemade recipes, from baking cakes to sautéing curries.
