Laura Foo

After narrowly missing out on being cast for the 2022 season of The Great Australian Bake Off, but encouraged to apply again for the next season, Foo spent the next year training in her kitchen.

“I basically came up with my own baking boot camp,” she says.

“I had lots of time on my hands, so I could try techniques and bakes that I’d never tried before.”

Foo's love for baking began in her childhood, influenced by her food-centric upbringing in Singapore.

Growing up, she was deeply inspired by the baking prowess of her maternal grandmother, who frequently made elaborate feasts.

“She would make hundreds and hundreds of biscuits and cakes for Lunar New Year to give out to family and friends,” she says.

It wasn’t long until Foo was baking cupcakes and brownies to share with her friends at school.

The Bake Off experience

In 2022, Foo reapplied to The Great Australian Bake Off, and this time she stepped into the Shed as a contestant. She describes it as a whirlwind experience.

“You go from being in your own kitchen, in a safe space… to having 12 cameras on you… there’s a lot going on,” she says.

“There’s 11 other bakers in the space at the same time, you’ve got to think about smiling and not looking panicked because you’re running out of time and your chocolate isn’t tempering properly.”

The hardest part, she says, was answering questions in the middle of baking.

“As it went on, it got a lot easier… you develop this relationship with the fabulous crew, and you feel really at home and at ease.”

Despite the intensity, she found comfort in the show’s supportive atmosphere.

“It has a reputation for being the nicest show in the industry. It feels as a competitor exactly as it looks, which is just lovely. It’s very, very supportive. I learned a lot from the judges and the other contestants, and just had a ball.”