David Atherton (baker)

David Atherton (born 1983) is an English baker and health advisor. He won the tenth series of The Great British Bake Off in 2019.[1]

David Atherton
Born1982/1983 (age 36–37)
Whitby, England
Alma mater
Occupation
  • Baker
  • Health Advisor
TelevisionThe Great British Bake Off
Partner(s)Nikola Sariyski

Life and career

Atherton was born in Whitby, North Yorkshire and lived in the village of Ruswarp until he was 18. He came from a family with 5 children and his mum baked fresh bread and cakes every week.[2][3] He studied art and design before deciding on a career in healthcare and trained as a nurse.[4] He has a post-graduate degree in wilderness and expedition medicine, and works as a health adviser for Voluntary Service Overseas. Atherton followed in the footsteps of his mum who volunteered for VSO in Papua New Guinea in the 1970s.[5] Atherton has worked in various countries around the world, such as Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea and Nigeria, including a stint as a clinical instructor[5] in Malawi.[6][7]

Atherton took part in the tenth series of The Great British Bake Off, encouraged by friends in his pottery class.[8] Atherton was originally a reserve for the show, but was called up to replace another contestant just before filming started.[9] Atherton was described as calm and controlled throughout the whole series, and was known for his healthier bakes. He beat Steph Blackwell and Alice Fevronia to the title in the final, despite never having won a Star Baker in any of the previous episodes, being the first winner in the history of the show to do so.[10]

He is also the fourth winner of Bake Off to be male, after Edd Kimber from Series 1, John Whaite from Series 3 and Rahul Mandal from Series 9, making it the first time in the show's history to feature two consecutive male winners.

Writings and public career

Atherton started writing a cookery column for The Guardian in 2020 on food for fitness.[11] Atherton's first book My First Cookbook will be published by Walker books in August 2020 [12].

Personal Life

David lives in South London with his partner Nik Sariyski who is a visual merchandising manager at Nike.[13][7] His hobbies include cycling and ceramics, as well as food. He came out as gay when he was 29.[14]

While working as a health advisor in Malawi, he taught himself how to build an oven out of an oil drum and has invented a cake that could steam over a village fire.

gollark: Oh, that reminds me, umnikos. What is your favourite medium-weight noble gas?
gollark: Who's Simon?
gollark: You should buy the osmarksßsmartwatch in order to ~~give us your data and/or soul~~ track activity for records.
gollark: Technically, yes.
gollark: So you're top in OATS records.

References
  1. "From volunteer nurse to Great British Bake Off winner: David Atherton". Voluntary Service Overseas. 29 October 2019.
  2. "Mother's pride after Whitby's David Atherton wins the Great British Bake Off". www.yorkshirepost.co.uk.
  3. David Atherton [@nomadbakerdavid] (3 October 2019). "I requested Wikipedia to change mine and Amelia's hometown from London to our actual Northern hometowns. Amelias was changed but mine still says London. I'm from WHITBY Wikipedia!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. Martin, Laura (29 October 2019). "David Atherton: how the Bake Off 2019 contestant made it to the final, and what he does". iNews.
  5. "From volunteer nurse to Great British Bake Off winner: David Atherton". VSO. August 27, 2019.
  6. "David Atherton's 'life or death' experiences kept him calm on Bake Off". The Irish News. 29 October 2019.
  7. Lusher, Tim (6 November 2019). "Bake Off winner David Atherton: 'I enjoy the buns innuendos!'". The Guardian.
  8. Wehrstedt, Lisa (21 August 2019). "Who is David Atherton on the Great British Bake Off? Meet the GBBO 2019 contestant with survival skills". Radio Times.
  9. Yaqoob, Janine (November 16, 2019). "Bake Off champ David Atherton has 'fled two wars and had malaria nine times'". Mirror.
  10. Westbrook, Caroline (30 October 2019). "Who is Bake Off winner David's partner, how many times did he win Star Baker and why are people angry that he won?". Metro.
  11. "Fit food with David Atherton". The Guardian.
  12. "Walker signs GBBO winner's children's cookbook | The Bookseller". www.thebookseller.com.
  13. "Who is Bake Off winner David Atherton's partner Nik Sariyski?". The Washington Times. October 29, 2019.
  14. Emma Powys Maurice (6 December 2019). "Bake Off winner David Atherton opens up about decision to come out as gay at the age of 29". Pink News.
Awards
Preceded by
Rahul Mandal		 The Great British Bake Off winner
Series Ten (2019)		 Succeeded by
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