The final of The Great British Bake Off 2018 was always going to be incredibly tense - as Kim-Joy put it last week, it had to have been "one of the most evenly-balanced finals ever," considering that all three of the bakers had won two Star Bakers each.
But, of course, there could only be one winner - and after one of the most TENSE finals in Bake Off history (we're STILL baffled by how Rahul's storage glass shattered), a winner was finally chosen by Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.
As was pretty obvious from the very first episode, Rahul Mandal took home the crown (AKA cake stand), impressing the judges and pulling it out of the bag at the last minute with his amazing landscape dessert.
Although Ruby Bhogal and Kim-Joy's desserts were incredible, it was Rahul's that had the edge. Plus there's the fact that he had to start from scratch after one of his mason jars shattered from the heat into his bake, but fortunately Paul and Prue allowed him an extra 15 minutes to finish.
However - before the final challenge came the last ever technical challenge for the three of them. Past final technicals have seen the bakers asked to create ginger biscuits and a Victoria sandwich cake... But there was NOTHING like that in last night's episode (30th Oct).
Swipe through to see the Great British Bake Off 2018 contestants... How many can you remember?
RADIO Great British Bake Off 2018 line up slider with cover pic
1 of 13Meet this year's GBBO contestants...
2 of 13Antony, 30
Antony describes himself as a 'Bollywood baker', and grew up in India which is where he learned to bake with his father - his baking inspiration. He's unafraid to try out new things and bakes 'unconventionally'. Antony once tasted 50 choux buns on a trip to Paris!
3 of 13Briony, 33
Briony is a self-taught baker from Bristol who has been inspired by her Nan. She has used YouTube tutorials to learn specific techniques and has been seriously baking on 2013 - and describes herself as a 'whizz' with puff pastry.
4 of 13Dan, 36
Dan describes himself as a perfectionist, and considers the way a bake looks to be one of the most important elements of baking. He is a full-time father-of-two, which makes home-baking an intrinsic part of his life.
5 of 13Imelda, 33
Imelda is one of four from County Tyrone in Northern Ireland, learning to cook and bake from her mum. She spends a lot of her time baking soda breads and and biscuits for her father and son as well as cakes that she shares with her office.
6 of 13Jon, 47
Jon, from Wales, loves spending time with his wife and their four children, and bakes to relax after a day at work. He loves 'showy' bakes and researching for new ideas to achieve something unique.
7 of 13Karen, 60
Having lived in France for 15 years, Karen is a lover of baking and was inspired by the local patisserie - and is now a prolific maker of profiteroles, Religieuse buns, tartes au citron and even foot long eclairs.
8 of 13Kim-Joy, 27
As Kim-Joy's birthday is World Baking Day, she is convinced that it's a sign she was born to bake. She was born in Belgium to an English father and a Malaysian–Chinese mother, grew up in London and studied in Bristol and Leeds before settling there with her partner. Kim-Joy's mixed-heritage background is a great source of inspiration for her baking, and her passion is bread.
9 of 13Luke, 30
Luke has been baking since the tender age of 10, and is inspired by his travels through Europe and North America. His minimalistic and clutter-free attitude has a great bearing on his baking, and he prefers to create masterpieces that are clean and precise.
10 of 13Manon, 26
Frenchwoman Manon learned to bake with her mum and grandmother, who always made everything from scratch. Although she was brought up in a French household, Manon found her passion for baking whilst living in London, and takes baking inspiration from both places.
11 of 13Rahul, 30
Rahul grew up in Kolkata, moving to the UK at 23 for a university scholarship. As a research scientist, his instinct is to approach baking with a meticulous eye and is fascinated by the science of baking.
12 of 13Ruby, 29
Ruby says her love of baking came from being the 'mother' of the group once she went to university. She grew up in an Indian family with three siblings, and describes her baking style as 'relaxed and boozy'.
13 of 13Terry, 56
Terry used to work as a prosthetic technician, and owns a microbrewery and allotment. These all have a bearing on his baking, and his craftmanship is a testament to his background. His family taught him everything he knows about baking, with his dad teaching him to make bread and pastry from the age of just 10.
Rahul, Ruby and Kim-Joy were told to pick up their mystery boxes, leave behind their ovens and workbenches and step outside the tent where they were faced with three smoke pits and asked to make pitta bread.
Viewers of the show were MIGHTY perturbed by the challenge, which saw each baker scrape by and create some pitta breads - but it seemed very far away from what they were hoping to see, and many took to Twitter to express their disappointment.
Series three winner John Waite wrote, 'Britain’s best home baker? HOME BAKER Gizza min love while I stoke up my outdoor fire hole...' prompting series one winner Edd Kimber to reply, 'Thank You!! Gets a bit silly with all these challenges. I mean, a biscuit chandelier.' [sic]
Another viewer wrote, 'Pitta bread in a bake off final. Next year, toasted ham sandwich with plastic cheese!' as another added, 'Is this Bake Off or Bear Grylls? Pitta Bread outside? What's next, water biscuits?' and another wrote, 'How in the heck is making pitta bread on a fire BAKE off final? Paul has lost his mind.'
But most people were in agreement that Rahul was a most deserving winner, taking to Twitter to share their joy over his humility and the precious moment that he called his mum to tell her the happy news.
Congrats Rahul!
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