We catch up with The Great South African Bake Off winner, Dot Dicks to celebrate her happy news and find out more about the exciting final!
Dot Dicks, 55, was part of the final three bakers on The Great South African Bake Off, blowing viewers and judges away with her tasty canapés, sweet koeksisters and spectacular wedding cake. Now, she’s back home and planning a traditional family Christmas.
The reality of being announced the winner is still sinking in. Watching the final on TV, and hearing the judges’ comments, brought back all my initial feelings of excitement and anxiety. When I started on the show I was simply hoping not to go out in the first episode, so it’s beyond my wildest imagination to be the winner.
For the final, we knew about the Signature and Showstopper bakes, but the koeksisters were a complete surprise. They’re more challenging than they appear, and I was so relieved when mine turned out well. It was very intimidating going up against Michaela for the Asian-inspired savoury canapés – she was in her element. Before the show, I decided to try and keep calm, and just enjoy my last few hours on Bake Off – fortunately, that was a winning attitude. The final was an unusual mix of pressures, because we obviously all wanted to win, but there was no threat of being voted out, so that made it less frightening. I actually had so much fun!
I still chat to all the other bakers; we have a WhatsApp group for the 12 of us and we keep up to date with how everyone is doing. We’ve stayed very good friends, and I’m even going to teach Andrew to make fondant. We’re planning a group get-together soon, and I can’t wait to catch up with everybody again.
I’ve always loved making traditional Christmas cakes, so I’m going to start next week, and hopefully get enough out for all my friends and family. I’ve recently learnt to make mince pies, so those will also be part of our festive spread. I’m so looking forward to relaxing and spending the holidays with my family.
