Fans of TV's Great British Bake Off have been snapping up tickets to see baking star Paul Hollywood when he comes Devon next month with his new show.
He played to more than 30,000 fans across the country with the tour Get Your Bake On earlier this year and now he's coming to the Princess Theatre, Torquay, with his latest offering for a night of baking, comedy and fun on November 12.
"The last tour was really enjoyable and it all went to plan," he said. "I have a great crew and the gang are fantastic it's like a well-oiled machine now.
"I think, obviously with the new tour and recipes, we'll be bedding them in for the first few shows – but I'll be cooking on gas from then.
"I was amazed at how much fun and how knowledgeable our audiences were on my first tour. I had such a great time that we decided to do it all again. I can't wait to meet people in places we didn't manage to get to last time around."
He is especially looking forward to playing in his home town of Liverpool.
"I am excited about performing in Liverpool as it's my home town… anywhere in the North West will feel close to home," he said.
"On my last tour the closest I got to home was Manchester and that was just great going back there, but Liverpool will be even closer and I'm looking forward to a lot of my friends coming to that show.
"I'm also really looking forward to going to Ireland for the first time with the tour, it will be interesting to see if the Irish audience differ from the UK ones."
So successful was his last show that he has decided to keep the format the same – just changing the recipes.
"This one will be a bit festive as it will be so close to Christmas," he said. "And as with the last tour we'll be bringing four people at random up from the audience, I'll set them a challenge and one of them will go home with a bag full of goodies.
"This was my favourite part of the show last time as people would come up on stage shaking like leaves and it was hilarious! But the show will also be very interactive, there will also be a roving microphone so people can fire questions at me at any time and the general idea is for everyone to have a good laugh."
Audience members will get a real insight into Paul's life and the career that has seen him become a household name.
From the story of how his father persuaded him to ditch his path as a trained sculptor and join the family baking business; tales of his time as head baker at some of the world's most exclusive hotels, which led to him becoming one of the country's finest artisan bakers.
"I think it was inevitable that I'd end up baking, although I didn't want to. My dad offered me a fortune to get my hair cut and join the industry so I did," he joked.
"I enjoyed it and was good at it and that's the key.
"I still sculpt, but now it's with pastry and sugar paste now really, I'm just using a different medium."
Before becoming a TV personality, he perfected his baking talents and became head baker at some of the most exclusive hotels, including Cliveden, the Chester Grosvenor, and the Dorchester, gaining a reputation as an innovator as well as a superb artisan bakers.
"I miss the camaraderie in the kitchen because that was a such a special time and I enjoyed the challenge of producing good quality stuff every day for people who wanted to be looked after," said Paul.
Nowadays he's on our screens as a judge on top TV cooking show The Great British Bake Off, attracting millions of viewers each week.
He's the first to admit the popularity of the show surprised him at first.
"We had an idea it was doing well as midway through filming we were getting notes back from the editor saying they were enjoying it," he said.
"It's a good clue if the editors are enjoying it, you are on to something. We certainly didn't think it would go as big as it has though."
This series, the show hit the headlines after contestant Diana took Iain's Baked Alaska out of the freezer for a short time.
He was later eliminated from the show after chucking the dessert in the bin and bringing before bringing over the gooey mess to the judges.
Paul strongly defended Diana and said Ian being thrown off the competition was not her fault – and she did not sabotage his chance on the show.
"Of course, she didn't," he said. "Iain didn't blame Diana at all for it and I did see Diana apologise to Iain."
The baker is still thoroughly enjoying his time on the show with Mary Berry and presenters Sue and Mel.
"The gang are brilliant on the series and we tend to keep the same crew every year, so it's like a big family and we all get on well," he said.
"Mel and Sue are fantastic I love them both. Mary is great, she's just like she is on telly. She's really cool and a good laugh for someone who is nearly 80."
He's also pleased to see former contestant on the GBBO, Glenn Cosby, from Exeter, doing so well.
Glenn has now given up his job as a head of sixth form at Teignmouth Community School to pursue a career in baking.
"He's a good lad and is a great talent," said Paul.
To coincide with his latest tour, Paul has a new book out called Paul Hollywood's British Bakes which includes recipes for regional favourites such as Cornish pasties and Bakewell tarts.
"I just went with recipes I liked and allocated them to regions," said Paul.
"It will include all levels of baking, so you can bake with no real knowledge or can go in with some and be given inspiration. I'm going to pick some generic ones from the book to do on the tour as well."
The busy star also has many other projects on the go, some he could talk about, others he remained tight-lipped about.
"I'm working on a Celebrity Bake Off which is coming out in January and there is a Christmas Bake Off with Mary and I on December 22," he said.
With Christmas just around the corner Paul will be demoing a couple of festive recipes on the tour.
"I will be doing Christmas pudding as its one of my favourites – I love Christmas pudding with custard," he said.
"And my big advice is to make it early as it does keep and then steam it just before Christmas, but if you are going to put sixpence pieces in it wrap it in silicon and not tin foil like my Nan used to do – when you bit into it you really knew you'd hit it!"
For tickets to see Paul on his British Baking Live Tour go to www.paulhollywood.com
Paul Hollywood's British Baking is published by Bloomsbury, £25.
![Paul Hollywood talks of kitchen camaraderie ahead of new Devon tour date]( "Paul Hollywood talks of kitchen camaraderie ahead of new Devon tour date")
