Andrew M. Smyth

Smyth told Radio Times he has been a fan of the show since the first series.[6] He competed in Series 7, which started on BBC One in August 2016.[7] Smyth was described by The Tab as being one of The Great British Bake Off "heavyweights".[8] His father described his organisational skills as an asset for his baking.[9] In the eighth week of the competition, Smyth constructed a set of pies shaped like mechanical cog-wheels, based on those designed by Leonardo da Vinci.[1] During his time on the show he was featured in several newspapers, and interviewed by the Geekly Chronicles.[10] Heidi Stephens wrote in The Guardian that Smyth should win the competition as he was a "baking assassin" who brought a "bonus ray of sunshine to the Bake Off tent".[11] Whilst the competition was won by Candice Brown, he appeared in the highlights video.[12] One year after he appeared on the show he toured the UK to meet the other competitors one-year on.[13]

Since The Great British Bake Off, Smyth has become a broadcaster and social media chef. He has been involved in several online campaigns, with the British Council, Warner Bros. and Institution of Engineering and Technology. He shocked audience members of the Lorraine show in 2016 when he nearly chopped his fingers off.[14] He discussed flexible working and combining creativity with engineering at the Royal Society.[15] He baked a rotating jet engine cake with gingerbread blades for Prince William when he visited Rolls-Royce in November 2016.[16][17][18] He discussed engineering and baking with the Institution of Engineering and Technology, and interviewed Ozak Esu, the winner of the Young Woman Engineer of the Year 2017.[19][20][21] He was a headlining act at the 2017 Maker Faire.[17] He worked with YouTuber Nikki Lilly to create a "cake for space".

Smyth created a series of recipes and videos for Warner Bros. to celebrate the launch of the Fantastic Beasts film series, included a strudel and baked nifflers.[22][23] In 2017 Smyth became an ambassador for the Northern Ireland Pork and Bacon Forum.[2][24] He delivered a TED talk at the University of Cambridge in 2017.[25] Smyth has created a series of videos with the British Council that explore the connection between engineering and baking.[26][27] The series explored caramel, concrete and meringues.[26][27] In 2019 Smyth made a rainbow prism cake and accompanying video for LGBT STEM Day, an annual worldwide celebration of LGBTQ+ scientists and engineers.[28]