‘The Great British Baking Show’s Freya Cox is the First Vegan Baker to Throw Down

I love all the new bakers we’ve met in The Great British Baking Show Season 9 on Netflix. I adore Jürgen, who has the lovely German energy of Werner Herzog (if he ever deigned to bake). I am rooting for Giuseppe, who has big daddy energy. And I want to be besties with Crystelle and Lizzie and George and Chigs and…well I love them all! However The Great British Baking Show baker who might be exciting me the most so far is 19-year-old Freya Cox. Freya isn’t just this season’s “precocious English rose”; she’s the very first vegan baker to ever be on The Great British Baking Show! That’s super exciting as it shows how much veganism has permeated culture and how badly bakers need to realize that decorations and flavor combos aren’t the only place to be creative.

According to her intro package in The Great British Baking Show, Freya first became vegan 18 months ago. That means she avoids all animal products in her diet, including meat, eggs, and dairy. A quick glance through her Instagram shows that she’s also a model, a student, and an avid horsewoman. (The last point has caused a kerfluffle as some people think it’s unethical to ride horses if you are vegan. I personally do not know enough about horses because I am an American poor, so I cannot comment.) Freya’s commitment to veganism means that she has to put in extra effort whipping aquafaba, or the liquid that comes in cans of chickpeas, in lieu of eggs. It’s even something that Prue Leith is impressed by.

Even if Freya is determined to make all her bakes vegan, that doesn’t mean she’s allowed to bend the rules of the Technical challenge to fit her values. Because every baker gets the same ingredients and same scant instructions, letting Freya veganise her bake here would undermine the whole point of the Technical challenge. Which is putting all of the bakers in the same boat and comparing them blindly on skills. Freya has already apologized to her vegan followers on Instagram about this (even if it’s something that was clearly out of her hands and on the shoulders of the show’s producers!). She’s also promised to veganise each one independently.

Veganism isn’t a new trend nor is it a sign of pretension. It’s a real lifestyle choice and an increasingly urgent one. Plant-based diets are better for overall health and for the environment. By proudly committing to her vegan lifestyle on Bake Off, Freya is showing millions of people that going vegan is easier than they maybe thought! It’s great!

On a personal note, I’ve come to find my favorite new chefs are either vegan or proponents of plant-based diets. Am I brave enough to make the leap myself? Alas, I love cheese too much. But the thing I appreciate about vegan recipes — besides how good they are — is how creative they are. Because vegan chefs have to omit yummy ingredients like eggs, cheese, butter, and traditional meats, they often use ingredients that go undervalued. I’m talking spices, nuts, plant-based proteins, and sauces. These are all skills that non-vegan cooks can use to amp up their own cooking. So seeing Freya calmly manage all the same challenges as her fellow bakers without the use of dairy is not surprising. But it is inspiring.

It’s too early to know how well Freya will do this season. Will she get flustered by Biscuit Week or find herself soaring to the finale? But her inclusion as a vegan cook is a huge deal for The Great British Baking Show franchise. After all, it wasn’t so long ago that a Vegan Week put a group of talented bakers through their paces. Freya is showing that with a little creativity, it’s not so hard. And creativity is what The Great British Baking Show should be all about.

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source: nypost.com