A BAKE off finalist is bringing his kitchen skills back to where his learning began to inspire the next generation of pastry chefs.
Former Darlington College student and successful chef Martyn Edmonds is now sharing his extensive experience of cuisine with budding chefs back in his old stomping ground.
Last year, Martyn was a finalist on the popular TV programme Bake Off: the Professionals with fellow chef Jenny Dickin-Prince.
Since leaving Darlington College he has worked all over the world including London and Japan, where he was commissioned to bake thousands of scones for an annual Japanese food festival.
To reach the finals of Bake Off Martyn beat off 3,500 pairs of chefs and had to pass four separate interviews, including having to complete a mystery task. Five weeks later he was informed of his success and then had six months to prepare for the rigors of a TV show while still working as a pastry chef in York.
“It’s a really great achievement to even get on the show,” he said. “Then the process begins. Jenny and I had a two hour video call with the producers every week. If our ideas were too close to other competitors then we were asked to tweak them.
“Then the mystery challenge saw us working with ingredients we had never used before, such as fish gelatine. There are so many people behind the cameras in the kitchen. It’s so hot, about 50 degrees, and we were trying to work with chocolate which was nerve-racking. Then the presenters might fluff a line and we have to shoot it again. But it was a fantastic experience and they have asked us to go on again in the future.”
Martyn urged students to make the most of any openings that might present themselves.
“All these opportunities have been fantastic and have made me the chef I am and none of it would have happened without me coming to Darlington College to learn my skills,” he said.
“So I am coming back in to teach one day a week as a way of giving something back for the education they gave to me which has allowed me to achieve what I have achieved.”
Martyn, 40, of Darlington, is currently working on a pastry recipe book which will be simple for readers to follow in order to achieve restaurant results.
“I’m in the process of writing it now and I mention my old tutor Donna Joyce without whom I wouldn’t be where I am,” he said.
For more information on opportunities at Darlington College visit www.darlington.ac.uk.
