Great British Bake Off: 'I'm just not that into cakes', says illustrator

Sketching famous cakes for a hit TV show might sound like a sweet gig.

But The Great British Bake Off illustrator Tom Hovey's love for his livelihood was a bit of a slow burner - he's not even that keen on cake.

Now on his 11th series, Tom has a team of four to help turn the bakers' creations into works of art on paper and plate.

Instead of mixing with celebrities in the tent, father-of-three Tom now works from his home in Newport, south Wales.

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And he sees his distaste for sweet treats as an advantage, given he's "staring at it for pretty much six months of every year".

Illustrator Tom Hovey has been working from home during the pandemic

"Although I am a massive foodie - I love cooking and eating most things - I'm just not that into cakes, desserts, pretty much anything you might see on Bake Off," he said.

In the pressure-cooker environment of the Channel 4 programme, not every bake turns out quite how the amateur bakers intended - and Tom's tasty-looking illustrations can sometimes look a lot better than the end result.

Luckily, Tom is allowed "an element of artistic licence" for any kitchen disasters.

"The aim is to create what the bakers intended, not what they actually did," he said.

Recipe for success

An 'element of artistic licence' is allowed, said Tom

It was a twist of fate that led Tom to a successful career in food illustration.

Moving to London with his girlfriend - now wife - as a freelancer led to work in the edit suite of a television production company. It was then that an unexpected opportunity arose to work on a new programme called The Great British Bake Off.

"They wanted a visual element for the show, so the viewers could conceptualise what was being created," said Tom.

"They asked me to sketch some ideas - representations as if the bakers had sketched in their kitchen notebooks. I started with simple black line and shading, then as the series continued, I added colour in the second year and kept refining."

The show's amateur bakers have made some unusual creations over the years

What started as a stop-gap eventually became a recipe for success.

"Food illustration wasn't something I was looking to do. As the series went on they kept on adding shows and Bake Off became more of my year," said Tom.

The show has gained some new presenters, including Matt Lucas who is enjoying his first season

"I was working on a show as an entry level person and doing a bit of illustrating. It was a cool job. It took a good few years for it to become popular - I didn't watch it for a few years."

"I sat back and realised I had created a style of my own that was recognisable. I decided to focus on food illustration, as I had become more interested in food culture by that point."

Although a keen home cook, Tom struggled when he tried his hand at baking for his family.

"I tried a bit of baking but didn't have the patience. I thought 'I can do that', bought a load of butter and flour and it took all day!" he said.

Unwelcome ingredient

He enjoys drawing them, but cakes aren't much of a treat for Tom

The latest series of Bake Off came with an unwelcome ingredient - Covid-19.

Like so many other families across the country, the pandemic meant Tom had to set up a makeshift office at home, surrounded by his young daughter and new-born twins.

But Tom, who has only visited the show's famous tent once over the years and doesn't mingle with the celebrity guests or presenters, isn't missing the limelight.

"I'm happy to work in production," he said.

Tom's illustrations sometimes look better than the actual bakes