What Great British Bake Off Winner Sophie Faldo Is Up To Now
Sophie Faldo, Season 8 winner of "The Great British Bake Off," is a woman of many talents. When she won the competition show in October 2017 with her entremet cake, she was surprised, though the same could not be said for viewers, as judge Prue Leith accidentally announced the winner ahead of the finale's airing.
Faldo was an Army officer before joining "Bake Off," and her participation in the service, she claims, will always be a significant aspect of her life. "I left the regular army in 2012 and I've been a reservist ever since then," she told HuffPost after her win. "So everyone's saying I'm going back and I'm like, 'Well I'm not going back, I never left it.'" She went on to tell The Sun, "I know it sounds really mad but actually I don't like not going on tour." After becoming an Army reservist, Faldo held down gigs as a personal fitness trainer and even considered becoming a professional stuntwoman.
After her win, Faldo spoke about wanting to work in the culinary industry while simultaneously pursuing her stuntwoman goals. "I never ever dreamed I would get to the final, let alone winning, so I am not sure where I will go from here," Faldo explained to The Sun. "It would be wonderful to write a patisserie book, but let's see what comes my way. I would like to try traveling the world for inspiration for starters."
After her win, Faldo moved on to luxury cakes
After her astonishing win on "The Great British Bake Off," Faldo hoped to author a cookbook but seemed to abandon the project when a contract with her management firm didn't pan out. Afterward, in 2018, Faldo became an ambassador for Combat Stress, a non-profit that offers mental health support to veterans with PTSD.
Faldo opined in 2019 that she didn't benefit as greatly from her stint on "Bake Off" as she might have hoped. Faldo told This Is Money, "I did not prepare myself to win. I was a little bit slow to think about how I could make the most of all the attention." Still, the baker managed to make it work. She was a part of a few baking projects and even launched her own initiative called Sophie Faldo Couture Cakes following her success on "Bake Off." Per the website Bridebook, Faldo's company focuses on making luxury, bespoke cakes for memorable occasions such as weddings. That said, the company's Instagram account hasn't been updated since February 2022.
Faldo is returning to T.V. for a Christmas-themed Bake Off
Faldo has kept a relatively low profile since her "Bake Off" win, telling Netflix that it isn't easy living life "under the watchful and often judgmental eye of the world's media." Consequently, she's sought out a life that, in her own words, feels a bit more "normal." In addition to her baking, Faldo says, "I also have a 'normal' job now too." Moving forward, she plans to focus on teaching and staying out of the limelight. This doesn't mean, though, that she's moved on from her award-winning baking. In fact, she's returning to her culinary roots in an exciting way.
Faldo is heading back to the "Bake Off" tent for "A Very Christmas Bake Off" on December 24 with fellow alumni from the show. In her Instagram post about the reunion, Faldo wrote, "Really looking forward to seeing how it turned out. It was definitely [a lot] more chilled and fun this time round. Thanks for having me back." It's safe to say that "Bake Off" fans are likely happy to have her back, as well.