With roots dating back more than 50 years, Neighbor to Neighbor began as a way for locals to help improve the lives of area residents by providing those under financial constraints with donated clothing, household items, living essentials and food. The organization gives more than 300,000 meals to 640-plus families annually. To support these efforts, NTN hosts an annual luncheon featuring celebrities in the culinary world. This year, fans of The Great British Bake Off have something to celebrate. Jasmine Mitchell and Tom Arden, winner and runner-up of Season 16, will be the keynote speakers on Thursday, April 16, at Greenwich Country Club. We sat down with the charming duo to learn how their experiences on the show changed their lives.
Did you ever imagine being on television or on a journey like this?
Jasmine: No. When I think about the last year, I’m baffled again and again. Although watching it back, it’s a lot less weird than I’d expected. It’s almost like I’d been on holiday with friends and someone had taken a nice video of us and we were watching it back. It just felt really natural.
Tom: That’s exactly what it’s like.
Jasmine: It just happens to be rather good quality without any shaky footage.
Tom: Back to the being-on-TV question. Yes, actually. When I was young, it was my deepest dream to be on Walking with Dinosaurs. I used to burn out the VHS tapes from watching and re-watching so many times. But did I ever imagine being on TV for baking? Absolutely not.
What was the process of applying to be on the show?
Jasmine: I applied on a whim, and I found myself more and more surprised. I kept thinking, I don’t know how this is happening. The process was way longer than I had anticipated. There were so many different stages, and then after a few weeks of interviewing, I finally got the call.
Tom: Like Jasmine, I also applied on a whim with the deadline one day away. I was supposed to move to New York for a job that had just fallen through and was wondering what I’d do for the next year. The process is a lot longer than you’d think, and it involves a lot of practice baking, which was good practice for the show.
Tell me about how baking in your childhoods sparked your love of working in the kitchen.
Tom: Growing up, I thought my Danish granny was iconic in so many ways. She was so effortlessly cool. I was drawn to anything that I felt could make me like her, it was an honor being able to learn about baking from her. I come from a very foodie family; my mum started a restaurant in her twenties and hired my dad as her general manager. They received a Michelin star back in the ’80s, when that was not a common accreditation in London. I was just always surrounded by food, whether it was my granny or mum making scones and cupcakes or my dad cooking in the kitchen.
Jasmine: Similarly to Tom, I grew up in a family spending a lot of time gathering around meals, and so many of my memories involve people coming to the table together. There were times that we’d have planned dinner for five to ten people, and then a couple of hours before, the number would double. Nothing was ever predictable, and I remember cooking with my mum and aunts and just adapting our recipes to quickly fit bigger numbers.
I remember being in the Scottish Highlands with my great aunts and granny and baking 12 to 15 loaves of bread with my cousins and all kneading dough together.
Tom, what did securing a position as a finalist on the show mean to you?
Tom: I had no expectation of ever making it past the first week or two, let alone to the final. I felt like Jasmine and I were two of the most inexperienced bakers there. We both have a deep familial love of food, and while cooking was very innate to both of us, baking itself was not. Baking everything from scratch reignited a passion that I’d
lost. This experience left me a more confident and creative person.
Jasmine, What did it feel like to be named the U.K.’s “Best Amateur Baker”?
Jasmine: I really thought Tom was going to win in the final, so it was a huge surprise, and it took a while for it to sink in. I don’t think it really hit me until November, when the show aired, because prior to that it had all been a secret. This experience gave me so much confidence with being creative about food. My aim, like Tom’s, was just to make it to Week Two, anything more didn’t really feel possible. It’s still surreal.
Was the show fun or stressful—or both?
Tom: It was both the most magical and the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It was magical in that when you watch the show, everything is just so quintessential England. There were loads of super lovely people involved just enjoying each other’s company and having a laugh. The parts that other people didn’t get to see were the sound men, runners and camera crew. Everyone was just so nice, and it created a real family atmosphere.
At first, I thought that the final product was the reward. But as time went on, I realized that the act of being there and filming was like a musician performing and realized that it was that part that was the real reward.
The stress comes into play when you’re at home practicing a recipe, and your meringue structure is failing. You assume that everyone else’s practice is going perfectly, and that can create hard moments that nobody ever sees.
Were you camera shy?
Jasmine: I was really nervous the first week and couldn’t sleep at all the night before [the first day]. Getting to know the judges and presenters and everyone involved in the show made it easier, and it started to feel more like I was with friends and less like I was performing for an audience, and I was able to completely relax into it. It was still stressful but much less nerve-wracking after that.
Tell me a little about baking with the cameras and how that’s different from baking in your own kitchen.
Tom: It always felt like the tent created a magical environment for something to happen that just wouldn’t ever happen outside the tent. I don’t know how to explain it. Ingredients just behaved differently in there. And walking into the tent, I’d always feel a little nervous, but as soon as they said “Go,” all the nerves seemed to disappear, and all I could see and focus on was the task at hand. I’d be concentrating so much with no time to spare, and there was something almost calming about that.
Jasmine: It’s like the definition of a flow state.
Tom: Yes, exactly. It’s moving without thinking. Sometimes, I didn’t even read the recipes and would end up baking things for too long. In the final, I forgot to set a timer … multiple times! I recently made my brother’s wedding cake, and it was very similar to something I had made during the final competition. What took me four-and-a-half hours to bake in the final took me three days off camera. It was absolutely mad. The lack of distractions in the tent made all the difference, and if you plan well, you win well.
Did baking with the other contestants create an environment of camaraderie?
Tom: It was almost like being back at uni with your best mates in many ways. We’d all come together to have dinner on Friday night at the hotel and laugh. The camaraderie was off the charts, and the viewers definitely got to feel that this year.
What are your favorite ingredients or combinations
of ingredients?
Jasmine: I love pistachio, I think it’s a great flavor. I love using classical tastes like chocolate and nuts, anything natural. Combining spices and chocolate or nuts and fruit always works well. I also always try to stick to seasonal produce, because it tastes so much better. The seasons are so great for providing a framework to work with. I love working with a blank canvas and looking in a fridge or cabinet and thinking, “What can we make?”
From reading about your journey, it sounds like keeping a passion hidden for so long must have been very difficult. How has it felt to finally step into your authentic self?
Tom: After leaving my business, I think that a lot of what I pursued was because I felt like I had something to prove and that I was supposed to become a certain way. One of the unintended consequences of Bake Off was that I took a hobby that I had felt for so long was “uncool” and was suddenly screaming to the whole world that I loved it. The experience freed me up to be more sure of myself and not think I needed to layer anything on top of it. Now that I’m becoming more comfortable just being myself. I’ve unlocked so many new possible opportunities.
Learning that you have alopecia, I’d like to hear more about what inspired your decision to appear on television without a wig. Was it challenging?
Jasmine: I never even considered wearing a wig on the show. But until about three years ago, I wore a wig whenever I was out, since I started losing my hair at 11. Four or five years ago, if you’d have told me I’d be going around with no wig, I’d never have imagined that, let alone being on national television with no hair. I think Bake Off has helped move me along on my journey of learning what beauty really is, and it’s amazing.
I’ve been so amazed by people’s reactions to me. I know that having no hair is just part of me and that it doesn’t define me, but being able to show that on TV and having so many people encourage me has allowed me to become even more at ease with myself.
The reactions I’ve gotten have highlighted that beauty isn’t necessarily fitting in and looking like everyone else. It’s just authentically being yourself, and this is the start of me being able to help other people to realize this.
As you prepare to deliver the keynote speech at the NTN luncheon, what thoughts come to mind about this opportunity?
Tom: Food has always been both a source of joy and a safe space to retreat to in my life. The team at NTN work tirelessly to create that same opportunity for so many people who may not otherwise have it. To be able to use this platform to support their work
is an absolute privilege.
Jasmine: I have always loved how food can bring people together. The amazing work that Neighbor to Neighbor does is a powerful reminder of the incredible community that can be built when people come together and generously give their time, energy and love. It is an absolute joy and honor to have the opportunity to support NTN’s work.
For tickets to the Neighbor to Neighbor luncheon, visit ntngreenwich.org.