Kim-Joy


Kim-Joy Hewlett, known professionally as Kim-Joy, is a Belgian-British baker and cookbook author. She is a former psychological wellbeing practitioner and finalist in The Great British Bake Off . She is the author of the 2019 cookbook, Baking with Kim-Joy: Cute and creative bakes to make you smile.

Early life and education

Kim-Joy was born in Belgium. Her father is British. Her mother is Malaysian Chinese. When she was 5 years old, her family moved to London. She has two brothers, one older and one younger.
Kim-Joy did a GCSE in art and an A Level in textiles. Kim-Joy received an undergraduate degree in sociology from the University of Bristol. She received a master's degree in psychology from the Leeds Beckett University. Before working professionally as a baker, Kim-Joy had the career goal of becoming a clinical psychologist.

Career

Kim-Joy worked as a psychological wellbeing practitioner working with people with depression and anxiety. She was working towards a clinical psychology doctorate before competing on The Great British Bake Off.
Kim-Joy was a finalist in the 2018 series of The Great British Bake Off. During her time on the series, Kim-Joy was named star baker two times, once during Spice Week and once during Vegan Week. Kim-Joy said she only started baking in earnest about two years before the show.
In addition to writing a regular baking column called "Kim-Joy's baking recipes" for The Guardian, in 2019 Kim-Joy published a cookbook called Baking with Kim-Joy: Cute and creative bakes to make you smile.

Personal life

Kim-Joy lives in Leeds, England with her partner Nabil and their two cats.
Kim-Joy has been open about discussing her struggles with severe childhood social anxiety when she was a teenager that resulted in selective mutism. She has discussed the relationship between cooking and reducing anxiety.

Works and publications

Books

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