John Whaite is an English baker who won the third series of The Great British Bake Off in 2012. He works as a chef, television presenter, and author. He's had a weekly cooking slot on Lorraine and he was a presenter and judge on the ITV daytime cookery competition show Chopping Block.
Early life
John Whaite was born in Chorley and grew up on a farm in Wrightington. He has two sisters, Jane and Victoria. He became interested in baking when he was five after his parents divorced. He won a place at Oxford to read modern and medieval languages, but switched to study Law at the University of Manchester so as to be nearer to home. He gained a first-class degree after sitting his law exams while filming Bake Off, and worked briefly as a banker in the Royal Bank of Scotland's asset finance department. He rejected a career in law or banking after winning the series, and opted to take classes at Le Cordon Bleu to pursue a career in cookery. However, in 2018 he decided to refocus on law.
Career
Television
In 2012, at the age of 23, Whaite took part in the third series of The Great British Bake Off on BBC Two. After making it through to the final, he won the show with his Italian sausage and roasted vegetable pithivier, fondant fancies and heaven and hellchiffon cake. Despite winning the show, he only won 'Star Baker' once in the series. Whaite appears as a resident chef on ITV's Lorraine programme, hosted by Lorraine Kelly. He has also appeared on This Morning, What's Cooking?, The Alan Titchmarsh Show and Sunday Brunch as a guest chef. In April 2016, Whaite began co-presenting Chopping Block, ITV's new daytime cookery competitive show with Rosemary Shrager where four couples compete in a series of daily challenges to win a prize. A second series began airing in March 2017.
Cookery
After appearing on Bake Off, Whaite studied a diploma in Patisserie at Le Cordon Bleu, London. In 2015, John Whaite's Kitchen Cookery School opened in Lancashire.
Writing
Whaite has released four cookery books. His first book, John Whaite Bakes was released on 25 April 2013, and the second, John Whaite Bakes at Home was released on 27 March 2014. The third book, Perfect Plates in 5 Ingredients, was published in April 2016. He wrote a column on food for The Daily Telegraph. The fourth book, Comfort: Food to soothe the soul, was published in October 2017.
Personal life
Whaite lives with his partner Paul Atkins, a graphic designer, in Lancashire. He announced their engagement on 21 July 2017.
