Hold onto your hats, we’ve got the amazing and talented Martha Collison, youngest ever competitor on The Great British Bakeoff (or, The Great British Baking Show in the US)! She’s the charming 17-year-old who stole our hearts on our favorite new cooking show, set in idyllic farm country in Britain. Martha shares about what it’s like to be a cooking competition contestant, how to keep things creative in the kitchen, and even her thoughts on Brexit. Plus we share our favorite cucumber recipes inspired by our overflowing garden, and a story of our latest flaming kitchen incident.
Authentic tzatziki | A Couple Cooks
Gurkensalat (German cucumber salad) | A Couple Cooks
Quick refrigerator dill pickles | A Couple Cooks
The Great British Baking Show: check it out on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and PBS
Martha Collison, Quarter-Finalist on the Great British Baking Show
Her new cookbook: Twist!
Anti-human trafficking efforts through culinary training:
- Martha worked with a baking program through Tearfund & Bramber Bakehouse
- A Couple Cooks worked with a culinary training program through Center for Global Impact
For an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the door closed. (Oops.)
And use the widget below to enter the giveaway!
17 Comments
Kristin
July 20, 2016 at 3:18 pmI’ve had many embarrassing moments, but no one spectacular event stands out…I’ve made bread without salt, burned myself and dropped a pizza onto the hot oven door, sliced off a lentil sized piece of finger while I was mincing ginger (and had to go to the ER when it wouldn’t stop bleeding, and tell them that no, I didn’t feel in danger in my own home, and yes, I had done it to myself…is this some obscure form of abuse that I am unaware of?). And it wasn’t a kitchen moment, but the time I left a raw roast in the back of the car overnight was kind of embarrassing.
Sonja
July 23, 2016 at 6:05 pmOh my, the finger slicing really got me, ugh! And a raw roast in the car overnight — I can only imagine how that smelled! Thanks for sharing these highlights, haha!
Alicia
July 21, 2016 at 3:11 pmIt’s hard to decide on a single embarrassing moment. The winner that comes to mind is the time I served a peaches and cream cake to my then boyfriend’s family. I had made it dozens of times, but this was the first time in my dorm oven. It was completely RAW in the middle. What made it worse was that everyone insisted on eating it anyway out of politeness while I sat on in horror.
Sonja
July 23, 2016 at 6:02 pmHaha, I love that everyone was so polite to eat your raw cake! Darn variability in ovens! (PS peaches and cream cake sounds tasty!)
Megan
July 21, 2016 at 4:04 pmI haven’t–knock on wood!–had any major embarrassing moments in the kitchen yet, but I have melted plenty of spoons, spatulas, and utensils leaving them on hot pots and pans!
Sonja
July 23, 2016 at 6:01 pmAbsolutely – us too!! Thanks for sharing :)
Melanie
July 21, 2016 at 8:07 pmI’m a novice in the kitchen so not too many stories, thankfully. My most embarrassing moment was when I thought wax paper could substitute as parchment paper. Thankfully mom came to the rescue before the cookies were ruined.
Sonja
July 23, 2016 at 6:01 pmThank goodness you were saved from disaster! I feel like the wax versus parchment paper must happen to many people — it seems like a natural substitute! Thanks for sharing :)
Kate
July 22, 2016 at 12:15 amI was super excited to make a stuffed manicotti recipe with sausage and leeks, but I had never used leeks before. I spent a long time on the food and invited some family to stay for dinner. But when I tasted it, I realized I had not cleaned the leeks well enough. Every bite had some crunchiness. yuck! I am still embarrassed, years later, that my guests ate it without complaining! I definitely learned my lesson to clean leeks thoroughly!
Sonja
July 23, 2016 at 5:59 pmUGHH!! This makes me remember we did something similar with spinach that we put in pasta once. It was SO disgusting — each bite was crunchy with sand/dirt! Makes me shiver just thinking about it. Absolutely makes you learn those lessons – couldn’t agree more!
Steph Peterson
July 22, 2016 at 9:56 amTwo happened yesterday… First off I love adding cinnamon to my yoghurt and fruit snack, and so I keep my cinnamon right next to my chili powder.. And yeah chili powder with yoghurt and cherries not a good combo…
And then right after making a homemade dressing, I accidentally tipped the whole container completely over leaving all of the contents all over my counter and kitchen.. Such a defeated feeling:(
Sonja
July 23, 2016 at 5:58 pmOh my goodness, chili powder in yogurt?! That’s pretty fantastic! And, we’ve done much of the same thing, tipping over something we’ve just made all over the floor. You are not alone!
Erica
July 23, 2016 at 10:33 pmNot my own embarrassing story but a funny one of Andrew – during our first year of medical school, he wanted to test out the grill at his place so he grilled…. a roast. He told me that it didn’t quite cook right… but he still ate it. Of course. I just reminded him of this and he texted me back just now saying, “Oh yeah. That was bad.” HAH!
Sonja
July 24, 2016 at 6:03 pmHaha, LOVE that! I can see how it might be confusing, though :) Hugs to you both!
Daniela
July 25, 2016 at 9:13 pmOne time I garnished gorgonzola with raw pancetta since I was unaware that you had to cook it. My husband took one bite and asked, “Is this raw?” he then goggled it and informed me that you did in fact have to cook pancetta. Since we could’t pick it all out since both my husband and I had already mixed it into the pasta, we had to microwave the pasta for a few minutes in the hopes that the pancetta would cook.
Daniela
July 25, 2016 at 9:15 pm(and by gorgonzola I mean gnocchi) ^
Laura F.
July 26, 2016 at 2:52 pmWhen I was in high school, my bestie Sarah and I decided to make a carrot cake from a box for her dad’s birthday. We did not read the instructions well and baked what was supposed to be a two layer cake in ONE pan! The cake ballooned and eventually crumbled over the sides. We called it crumb cake, ha! Her parents still think that is the funniest story!
Also, I’ve set walnuts on fire while under the broiler, so don’t feel so bad! I freaked out and used the fire extinguisher, haha!