The Great British Baking Show: Leyre Pedrazuela Shares How She Became a Global Pastry Chef
“I never felt like doing anything else, I just wanted to become into a professional pastry chef, and so I did.” Have you ever watched The Great British Baking Show? With a life-long passion for baking, today‘s woman dreamer, Leyre Pedrazuela, is a Spanish pastry chef with over 13 years of experience, and a former contestant on Bake-Off: The Professionals. Leyre shares her exciting journey as a contestant, her early memories in the kitchen, advice for beginner bakers, and her next big dream!
1) Tell us your story. You are a renowned pastry chef in the UK, currently the Head of pastry for Wonderland restaurants group. What inspired you to get into baking?
I have always loved baking and getting my hands into the kitchen, I haven’t got a memory of when it all started, it just did. I used to love baking or cooking at home with my mum when I was a kid. When it was the time to choose what to study, I never felt like doing anything else, I just wanted to become into a professional pastry chef, and so I did.
2) Do you remember the first dish you ever baked? How would you describe that feeling when you finish baking a pastry?
I couldn’t think on what was the first dish I ever baked. I used to make cakes at home with my mum for breakfast. I used to have a kids magazine at the age of 3, and I remember I loved to make these recipes with my mum… I was so little, but these are my first memories into the kitchen. The Busy Bear, that was the name of the magazine. I think I still have some of these recipes hidden at home!
3) You were a finalist in The Great British Bake off: The Professionals. What was that experience like? What were some exciting moments you had on the show? What did you learn about yourself as a baker /pastry chef?
This has been one of the toughest experiences I had ever had. I spend several months training and taking pastry courses to improve my skills. During the competition everything went very fast. I feel so happy for taking part on a challenge like this, and to come in second place was amazing.
It was a week when I had the flu, and I was so ill with a very high temperature. On the filming days, I wouldn’t talk to anyone to keep my energy. I would spend the little breaks between challenges and the judging breaks drinking hot teas and sleeping. Then I would just push myself to the limit to complete the challenge. It was so hard, I have never felt so ill and weak in my life, but we did it! We won the challenge that week! I was like dying, and everyone was so proud and amaze with me, even myself, I can not still believe I did it! I think I learned how strong we can be when we are focus, and we have something to fight for.
4) From the Bake-off, which pastry are you most proud of ?
I couldn’t choose, I’m really proud of most of the things I produced, I put so much love and passion and thought into it. If I have to choose only one, I would probably said the re-invented apple tart Tatin. It was a ring of puff pastry, filled with a salted caramel and mascarpone cream, then topped with a caramelized apple spiral and decorated with a green apple spherification, a calvados Chantilly quenelle and apple blossom flowers. it was delicious!
5) What is your top tip for every baker?
Every baker and pastry chef is different. Do not compare yourself with anyone else, find your own style, believe in yourself and don’t let anyone to tell you what you are capable or not to do.
If you follow your dreams, and you fight and work to gain a little achievement every day, you will see the result with the time. We all have started in the same position, knowing nothing, so we all have had to learnt before we made it right.
Little steps, every day is what will make you to be yourself and to grow your skills, it does not matter how long it takes, as long as you never stop trying.
6) As a platform for “women dreamers”, we love to ask, what is your next big dream?
I am constantly dreaming, I believe to be the best I can be every day and to become a renowned pastry chef is my dream. To be rewarded for all the hard work, time and passion I put in every day.
I don’t have a dream, but a goal. And every day I fight and get up to be closer to what I want to be and to achieve.
I am also writing my very first book. It is about quality patisserie recipes also adapted to gluten free and vegan versions, where I not only give away recipes but also explain every ingredient used in the pastry kitchen, how to convert a traditional recipe into a vegan or gluten free recipe and what is the difference between good quality and low quality ingredients, not only when we use them, but also how low quality ingredients affect in our health and why is so important to consume good quality and nutritious food.
I really would love it for it to be sold worldwide, and for it to be able to help many people, amateurs and professionals to understand patisserie in a different way and to value the artisanal work many talented pastry chefs do around the world.
Check out a gallery of Leyre’s amazing creations!
Thank You So Much Leyre for sharing your story with us! We are so excited to have you in our global women’s network!
Bio: Hello, I am Leyre Pedrazuela, a Spanish pastry chef with over 13 years of experience and a huge passion for natural and high end patisserie. Working with fresh, natural and sustainable local ingredients is one of my main priorities as I strongly believe in a more sustainable way of producing and consuming. I have a extensive knowledge on traditional and plant based patisserie. From Madrid to Barcelona and the UK I have always worked for luxury hotels, restaurants and pastry shops through my career and I have trained with some of the best Pastry Chefs in the world, which has enriched my knowledge about the food industry.The passion for my work brought me to compete in national and international pastry shows, like the Chocolatier of the year (Belgium) and the Great British Bake Off the Professionals in the UK. I am helping amateurs, professionals & business to keep growing and developing by showing efficient ways of working and transmitting all my knowledge for a better understanding of anything pastry & chocolate related.