My 2018: Briony Williams

Briony Williams charmed Channel 4 audiences on this year’s Great British Bake Off with her sweet nature, skilled baking and amiable authenticity.

Never guilty of taking herself too seriously, even when confronted with the ruthless criticisms of Paul Hollywood (see his comparison of her icing to incontinence pants), Briony rolled, kneaded and dusted her way to the semi-final.

As she reaches the end of what she describes as “an absolutely epic year”, Bristol’s resident Star Baker is already planning big things for 2019.

“This year has been a complete rollercoaster,” Briony told Bristol24/7 over the phone. “This time last year, I’d sent off my application for Bake Off and was baking like mad to try and build up my baking repertoire.”

Before Bake Off, Durham University graduate Briony was a full-time mum to her daughter Nora and keen home baker, creating beautiful cakes for friends and family.

According to her, life hasn’t changed too much since the show. “I get stopped a lot, by people asking for selfies or just wanting to say hi and well done. Part of what I love about Bristol is how proud everyone is.”

The sentiment is mutual, with Briony’s first week on Bake Off featuring her Clifton Suspension Bridge apple cider flavoured biscuit creation.

Briony’s Bristol Biscuit Selfie was her first showstopper of this year’s Great British Bake Off

Throughout the competition, Briony produced bakes highly praised by the judges, like her Mad Hatter venison pie, which earned her the coveted accolade of Star Baker in pastry week.

At the start of December she launched her own YouTube channel, Briony May Bakes, with many of her own cooking techniques having been learned by watching YouTube videos.

Her own videos are aiming to be fun baking tutorials for the novice and seasoned bakers, with the first video featuring Chelsie Bailey from the new Filthy XIII bar on Cheltenham Road.

“All of the decorating techniques, how to make the different kinds of pastry, that kind of thing, I learnt it all on YouTube.

“It feels quite nice to put something back out there, having used the platform for such a long time. A lot of people have been asking me about it on Instagram and Twitter, too.”

But YouTube can’t take all the credit. As a young child, Briony spent much of her time with her grandmother, learning how to make fairy cakes and apple pie.

“She was a home economics teacher, so she used to teach baking to quite disadvantaged young men, who were quite troubled, teaching them life skills. She’s pretty awesome.”

This love of baking is something Briony is now passing onto her daughter. Apparently, Nora has a particular penchant for rolling, “so biscuits are always a good one, or pizza”.

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One part of Bristol life Briony particularly loves is the vast array of places to eat out: “Oh gosh, there’s so many! Bristol’s so good for food!”

She watched all of the episodes of Bake Off this year with family and friends at her local pub, the Gloucester Old Spot on Kellaway Avenue. “It’s our favourite pub, they do great food in there, and it’s so family-friendly, it’s lovely.”

Some of her other recommendations include Bravas on Cotham Hill and Bakesmiths on Whiteladies Road, with Eat Your Greens on Wells Road being a recent new discovery. “That was so good! I had their breakfast, and it was just amazing, one of the best breakfasts I’ve had in a long time, so that’s definitely a new fave, for sure.”

Briony is currently working on recipes for Asda’s Living magazine, the first issue of which will be out in February. Next year will also see her hopefully continuing to grow her blossoming YouTube channel, with more content on its way.

“I’ll be carrying on baking, sharing my recipes with everyone, just keeping with it as long as it’s fun.”

Read more: My 2018: George Livesey