It’s endearing and slightly baffling to see Bachelet, who was only 20 years-old at the time of filming, reflect so casually on his success. The soft-spoken chef was initially on track to study engineering and worked as a retail assistant in his hometown of Buckinghamshire prior to the show, during which he earned a top-three finalist position, a record-tying three Hollywood handshakes, as well as the internet’s unwavering adoration in the form of Pixar character and Tumblr fan art comparisons. Bachelet’s style on the program only further cemented his place in the hearts of the season’s nearly 10 million viewers, and included velvet turtlenecks, jaunty caps, tie-dye tees, and a Palestine-shaped earring, to name just a few of his greatest hits.
These days, Paul Hollywood’s aptly crowned flavor king appears more focused than ever on perfecting his craft in and beyond the kitchen. Eater interviewed Bachelet about his surprisingly low-frills approach to baking and post-Bake Off style, where he plans to find flavor inspiration next, and whether or not he will be baking something special this Valentine’s Day.
Eater: How has life been since The Great British Bake Off? I saw that you also signed with Milk Model Management.
Dylan Bachelet: Yeah, it’s been wicked. I also went into a job in a kitchen basically right as the episodes started streaming, so I’ve just been working all the time. So it’s been good, but it’s been busy.
Contestants are asked to bring their own ingredients on the show. What felt important for you to incorporate in your bakes?
At the beginning I really enjoyed trying to do interesting flavors — things I have been exposed to in my life — and, by the end, things changed and I really started to try combinations that may not have necessarily felt ‘natural.’ If I was making something around caramel, for example, I might think of nuts or some of those really roasty flavors. But then I would carry on thinking, and push myself, and by the second, third, fourth idea that popped into my head, I would commit to one.
What was one of your more daring flavor combinations?
The big one was the caramel mousse. I remember I wrote down those flavors — lemon, caramel, honey, ginger — thinking, like, Oh, this will be so cool. I also had more stuff in there. I was gonna throw turmeric in there. I put almonds in. The timeline was so tight for recipe development, but I think that was the best way to do it. I learned more that way.
On the show, you mention that travel is important to you as a baker. What places inspire you?
Everywhere. I only ever travel for food. Every single place I go to, I think, What’s the regional food? Being Asian, I also like traveling around Asia and being exposed to the sources of a lot of the amazing produce and things that I’m familiar with. The quality of fish in Japan is really good, for example. We get bluefin tuna in the UK, but in Japan it’s everywhere and just super savory, fatty, and good.
What places are you visiting next?
Latin America. I went to Japan more recently to visit family, but I really want to check out the food in Latin America.
You famously took home a Thermapen from the set. What else is essential for you in the kitchen?
DB: Yeah, I stopped using the skewer [to check my bakes] and started with Thermapens, and now I use it all the time. Otherwise, I don’t use much specialist equipment. I’m always using my good, standard knives. Simple things are important. But I don’t have crazy tools.
