Loriea Campbell-Clarey thinks it was "fate" she was first to leave ‘The Great British Bake Off’.
The 27-year-old diagnostic radiographer was the first contestant evicted from the tent as the show returned on Tuesday (22.09.20), after she concocted some unusual flavours in her creations, including a chocolate chilli sponge for her final bake, complete with scotch bonnet chili powder.
But now, Loriea has admitted it was "bittersweet" that she was the first to leave, because she was able to make it to her grandmother’s funeral.
She said: "I was happy with what I baked and I wouldn’t have changed anything, everything happens for a reason.
"A bittersweet moment was that I wouldn’t have been able to go to my grandmother’s funeral if I had still been in the tent. So the timing was right that I left the tent when I did, as it meant I could be with my family and give a farewell to my grandmother.
"I was happy with what I baked and I wouldn’t have changed anything, everything happens for a reason."
Loriea is now back at work, but she continues to bake when she can and will watch the rest of the series after she bonded with her fellow contestants.
She said: "I will be watching the series each week, as long as work allows me, some of our shifts mean I can’t watch it live, but I will be watching it on record. The Bakers keep in touch with each other on WhatsApp and that’s great, and I know they will keep updating me, going forward."
Loriea is planning to continue learning new cooking skills and put them to use by teaching others.
She added: "Next for me in the baking world: I hope to continue to garner new skills in baking and perfect those that I already have. I would genuinely love to teach those in my community how to bake and how to effectively use baking as an outlet for bettering mental health. At this point the world is my oyster and it is really up to me to seize every opportunity that may arise from my time on the show."
This year’s ‘Bake Off’ series was filmed amid the coronavirus pandemic, meaning the contestants and the crew were forced to spend seven weeks in a bio-secure bubble.