Delicious UK - (03)March 2020

deliciousmagazine.co.uk 15

people.

T

here’ssomeironyinthefact

thatDavidAthertongrewup

notwatchingtelevision,yet

wentontowinseason 10 of

oneoftheworld’smost

popularrealityTVprogrammes,

TheGreatBritishBakeOff. His

childhood,spentinruralYorkshire,

wassomewhatalternative.“Iwas

broughtupvegetarianandwehad

chickensandanorganicvegetable

plot,”recallssoft-spokenDavid.

“Iwasthekidwhowenttoschool

withnutsanddriedfigsinmy

lunchbox.”Hissavvymum,with

fivechildrentolookafter,gotthem

allintothekitchenatanearlyage.

“Shewouldmakefreshbreadforus

andwe’dplaywiththedough.”

Knitting,crochetingand

gardeningweretheorderoftheday.

“I’mveryintocrafts,”saysDavid.

“Ilovefood,butI alsodopottery,

quiltingandorigami.”Hefinds

practicalhobbieshavea unique

appeal.“WhenI’mquilting,it’sone

oftheraretimesI’llbesittingdown.

Forme,craftsandcookingare

meditativeandrelaxing.”

Oneofhisinspirationsis baker

andfoodwriterDanLepard,author

of TheHandmadeLoafandother

titles.“He’sverygoodatteaching

andhisrecipesalwayswork,”says

David.“Iactuallywrotehis

WikipediapagewhenI realised

hedidn’thaveone– I thought,

‘Thisis a travesty!’”

Davidworksasa healthadviser

forVoluntaryServicesOverseas

(VSO),theinternationalsustainable

developmentcharity,andhaslived

inseveralAfricancountries

teachinghealthprogrammes.“I’ve

hadlotsoftropicaldiseases,been

ina warzonetwiceandsometimes

it is quiteharsh,”Davidadmits,

althoughhestresseshowenriching

theprivilegeoflivingabroadcan

be.“Yougetsomuchmoreoutof

life.Whenyougosomewherenew,

evenhavingbreakfast is novel and

interesting.”

Hislongestplacementwas

twoyearsinMalawi.“Themost

amazing thing was learning about

theculture– andfoodis atthe

centreofsomanytraditions,”

saysDavid,whogottrulystuckin:

“Igrewjustabouteverything:all

kindsofvegetables,a wholefield

ofmaizeandsweetcorn.There’s

nobutterthere,soinsteadI used

avocados,asthey’rerichinfat,and

madesteamedcakes.Hereinthe

UKweseeavocadoassavoury,

forguacamole,butoutthereit’s

a sweetthing,soavocado cakes

seemed normal.”

ApplyingforBakeOffwasn’t

aneasydecision.“I’dbeenreading

theworkofUSacademicBrené

Brown,”hesays.Brown’score

beliefinthepositicepowerof

vulnerabilityanddiscomfortand

facingthefearoffailurestruck

a chord.“Irealisedthateverytime

peopletoldme,‘Youneedtoapply!’

I’dalwayssay,‘Oh,no,’”hereflects.

“IfI wasbeinghonest,it was

becauseI wastooscaredtobeon

TVandgiveovercontrol.I finally

thought,‘Comeon,David:it’sokay

if youmakea totalfoolofyourself.’”

It’sclearhemadetheright

decision,andhelovedgettingto

knowtheprogramme’sco-

presentersNoelFieldingandSandi

Toksvig.“Theywerea totaldelight.

I don’tthinkpeoplerealisehow

warmtheyare.Theyknewif you

weresomeonewhoneededa hugor

someonewhoneededa joke.And

Sandi gives such good hugs!”

Despitethecamaraderie,it was

hardwork,a marathonofworking,

practisingandfilming.“Byweek

10,I thoughtI mustlookrough,”

hechuckles.“WhenI watchedit

backI thought,‘Howhavethey

donethat?I don’tlookbadatall!’”

David’sBakeOffvictorywas

celebratedwitha well-earnedday

offathomewithhispartner,Nik.

ThissummerDavidwillpublish

MyFirstCookBook, a recipebook

forchildren,inspiredbyhispassion

forhealthandnutrition.It will

haveillustrationsinsteadof

photographs,whichhehopes

willengageparentsandkids rather

thanintimidatethem.

Withhisnewfoundplatform,

Davidis alsokeentofightfor

causesclosetohisheart,including

LGBTQ+charitiesandissuessuch

asthelimitationsonblood

donationforgaymen.“You’vegot

toputyourselfoutthereif you

believeinsomething,”hesays.

“Iknowsomepeopledon’tdare

makepoliticalstatements

becauseit mightaffecttheir

followers,butI don’tcare.

I’mgoingtobetruetomyself.”

MyFirstCookBook,illustratedby

RachelStubbs,willbepublished

by Walker Books in August 2020

WHAT’SYOUR...

PART YTRICK?

I canwalkonmyhands

forabout 100 metres.

ButI wouldn’tdoit at

a party,andnot if I’ve

hada drink!

DESERTISLAND

DISH?

Anything,aslong

asit’s 50 percent

marzipan.

FAVOURITEMUSIC

TOCOOKTO?

I listentoRadio4:

TheFoodProgramme,

InsideHealthand

Woman’sHour.

SURPRISINGFACT

ABOUTYOURSELF?

I can’ttellyou– I always

thinkofdirtyor

disgusting ones!

PORTRAIT: NIK SARIYSKI

“IT’S OK AY TO

MAKE A TOTAL

FOOLOF

YOURSELF”