In just a few days’ time, The Great British Baking Show on Netflix will crown its latest winner. Will it be Dutch-born designer Christiaan de Vries, who has been consistently creative all season and is enjoying a late season surge? Can Italian-Welsh nurse Georgie Grasso finally overcome her nerves and own her outrageous talent in the tent? Or will Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith continue to be dazzled by the tent’s most precocious baker in years, Dylan Bachelet?
Ever since he impressed the King of Bread, Paul Hollywood, with gochujang-infused buns all the way back in Week 3, Dylan has been essentially anointed The Great British Baking Show‘s version of a “Chosen One.” Most of the bakers have admitted they believe he’s the one to beat, with Illiyin going so far as to opine that she shouldn’t even help him as he’s the enemy. Paul Hollywood has complained that he’s tired of giving the 20-year-old “Hollywood Handshakes” and the official Bake Off social media accounts wasted no time heralding Dylan as one of the few vaunted bakers to have a “perfect week.” Even as Gill Howard left the tent this week, she told Dylan he was not only a “star,” but that this was his “calling.”
Indeed, it definitely feels like The Great British Baking Show is setting up Dylan for an obvious, easy win in next week’s finale. Paul and Prue seem utterly besotted with his bakes, to a point where I almost have begun calling foul on their preferential treatment. In “Patisserie Week,” alone, Paul broke protocol by not only giving Dylan his honest thoughts about his Signature mid-bake, but also insisted that Dylan veer away from the rules of the challenge to present versions of his croissants without filling. You know, just to see what’s going on with his lamination. Later, Paul and Prue were so taken with Dylan’s orange and avocado-themed entremets, they straight up overlooked the fact that he had been missing one!
Now, look, I love Dylan. He’s charming and amusing and obviously an innovative baker. All the way back in Week 3, I wrote about how he seems destined for culinary superstardom. However, I also hate a boring Great British Baking Show finale. I like to imagine that there’s some chance that the favorite to win might not win. It just keeps the show exciting and it keeps the show feeling fair. Which is why as much as I’m expecting Dylan to win next week, I am rooting for Christiaan and Georgie to bring the heat in the tent.
In fact, there’s a tiny part of me that wonders if The Great British Baking Show is setting viewers up for an eventual upset. Last season, it seemed that Paul and Prue’s favorite baker, Tasha Stone, was being set up for an eventual win. And yet, she was eliminated in the Semi-Finals! After Tasha, it seemed that Josh Smalley was the obvious frontrunner, but he lost, too! Could the producers being laying on the Dylan buzz extra thick to trick us into assuming he can’t lose?
I also have to admit that Dylan is not the baker with the most immediate momentum. Christian de Vries’s Star Baker honor came at the perfect time to propel him to an eventual victory. He’s been consistent all season and excels when it comes to Showstoppers. Likewise, Georgie Grasso is a bit of a dark horse, but with two Star Bakers under her belt and a recent confidence boost, she could also pull it off.
Ultimately, even if Dylan doesn’t win The Great British Baking Show, he still feels like this 2024 season’s big winner. If nothing else, he now has the confidence — and the connections — to pursue his dream of becoming a chef. What’s far more likely, however, is that he will forever be considered this season of The Great British Baking Show‘s breakout star. He’ll be set up for a lucrative future presenting on British TV, authoring cookbooks, and sharing his food philosophy with the masses.
The Great British Baking Show‘s finale might not be streaming on Netflix until Friday, November 29, but I think we can all agree with Gill’s assessment: Dylan Bachelet is a star.
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