Yahoo News Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith calls for healthier recipes
The Great British Bake Off is world-famous for its weekly bonanza of sugary treats, with amateur cooks vying to outdo each other with creations such as bubble gum eclairs and fizzy pop cheesecakes.
A more austere era may be approaching, however, with the show’s new judge, Prue Leith, calling for contestants to use less sugar in their culinary creations.
The cookery writer and restaurateur said the British diet is flawed by too much fat and sugar, and singled out cakes as particularly unhealthy.
I would love to see healthy recipes, of course I would
Prue Leith
She told the Sunday Times: “I would love to see healthy recipes, of course I would.”
Cakes made with an abundance of sugar, eggs and butter should be eaten only as an occasional treat, she said.
Previous attempts at healthier baking have not been well rewarded in previous series, however.
Nadiya Hussain, the 2015 winner who will present a rival BBC show this year, advised contestants against sugar-free and fat-free baking, saying it amounted to “flavour-free”.
Ugne Bubnaityte, another contestant two years ago, said her attempts at healthy baking had not been met with approval by judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood.
She said the exception had been her Lithuanian curd cookies, which had utilised low-fat cottage cheese and “tiny” amounts of sugar, according to the the Sunday Times.
Leith began filming the new Bake Off series for Channel 4 this weekend alongside Hollywood, following the announcement last September the show would defect from the BBC.
The South African-born presenter is one of a group of high-profile figures in the food world calling on Theresa May to reverse her pledge to scrap free school meals for younger primary school pupils and replace them with free breakfasts.
The former government food advisor said the policy may trigger the return of lunch boxes packed with chocolate bars and fizzy drinks.
"Only 1% of lunch boxes meet nutritional standards,” she said.
"They [parents] can't resist putting a chocolate bar in there and then it is not a treat, it is an everyday event."
She said learning to cook was the best defence against unhealthy heating and argued that fostering a love of vegetables would encourage people to eat less fat and sugary food.
