SU Scotland Volunteer Kevin Flynn shares about the journey to The Great British Bake Off and beyond.
I started baking when I was about 18, way before it was fashionable. I found some notebooks of my mum’s with recipes and just went from there. When I joined Harvest Church in Glasgow in 2009, it was a new church and baking quickly became an important aspect and one that I was immediately a part of.
I like to push myself. I’m a musician and a music teacher so the idea of practising something again and again to make it as perfect as possible seems natural to me. I also like to perform, so baking in general and then GBBO in particular were a way of sharing that sense
of creativity with others.
Because I’m used to performing as a musician, I had no nerves at all which definitely helped me on the show. I got through to week seven of the ten in the recent series that was screened in autumn 2022. While I’d been baking for years this was the first time I’d actually created new recipes, and I loved that business of bringing different textures and flavour combinations together.
My favourite creation was actually the one that saw me off the show. It was 'custard week.' We had to create a gateau using a set custard and mine involved panna cotta, honey, thyme and bay. Unfortunately it didn’t quite set properly and certainly didn’t look great—decorating is never my strong point! However, Pru Leith’s comment was, 'That custard will stay with me forever.' The texture and flavour combination had worked perfectly!
The show was the hardest thing I’ve ever done but such a lot of fun. I made great friends, and I am looking forward to exploring more baking creativity and possibly getting into food writing in the future. For me, baking is a way of showing love and esteem to others and is an important aspect of my faith, along with music and worship leading.
I was pleased to be able to talk about my faith as part of the show and had some lovely comments and feedback from Christians elsewhere in the world who appreciated my openness about my faith.
I’ve always enjoyed working with young people. I’m a music teacher and have been able to volunteer with SU Scotland in the school holidays. Pre-Covid I’d volunteered at a drama camp and then, after a break, had the opportunity to join a team at Scoughall.
Last summer, before GBBO, it was brilliant to spend time at Scoughall. I loved the location—the cabins are fabulous outdoor accommodation. The range of activities is such a lot of fun, and it’s wonderful to be connecting with both the team and an amazing group of young people. One of the young people and I went head-to-head in a blindfolded cake decorating competition, and guess what? The young person won! Told you I was no good at decorating!
In 2023 I’m looking forward to volunteering at Scoughall once again and, for the first time, at the Baking camp at Gowanbank in October… well it makes sense, doesn’t it?
Kevin Flynn
This article was taken from the March 2023 edition of @SU Magazine.
Editor: Hilary Phillips | cygnus-extra.co.uk
Design: Kimberly Wray | innovivid.co.uk
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