If you've been hooked to your TV screens watching Great British Bake Off just like us, then we BET you're as obsessed with Yan as we are. She's sassy, she's funny and by god, she can bake. And obvs, heat have found out everything there is to know about the legend that is Yan. Read on to get ALL the deets...
What's GBBO's Yan's real name?
Cheun-Yan Tsou, but everyone just knows her as Yan. Simple.
How old is Yan?
She's 46 years old.
Where did Yan grow up?
Yan was born in Hong Kong and moved to the UK when she was two, with her parents and brother Ken. She also has another brother Yee, and sister Ying.
Where does Yan live?
She lives in North London with her wife, Marian and cat Kacey (aww).
Does Yan have Twitter?
Yep! @Yannybakes
Does Yan have Instagram?
Yeah, you guessed it - @yannybakes again!
What is Yan's job?
Growing up, Yan trained as a Biomedical Scientist and now she works for The Francis Crick Institute as a Laboratory Research Scientist. She's also worked as a molecular biologist for the NHS. Basically, SHE'S A GENIUS.
Why did Yan start baking?
Yan said "I taught myself. I took up baking about ten years ago when I was working shifts for the National Blood Service and was watching a lot of day time television between shifts. Mostly cooking shows, but in particular baking shows and thought - I could do that. The first thing I baked was a tray of triple chocolate brownies. I overbaked them and they were really dry, but I still saved it from the bin by mixing them with ice-cream. I hate waste." Efficient. WE LIKE THAT.
Why did Yan apply to be on GBBO?
Well, obviously, she loves baking (and is good at it, too). Interstingly, Yan mentioned: "I'd always said I would apply for series eight - and only eight. If I hadn’t got in, no matter how close I’d gotten in audition, I wouldn’t have tried again.
"8 is a lucky number in Chinese culture because it sounds like the Chinese word for luck. Incidentally the number four is considered to be unlucky because the Chinese word for four sounds like the word ‘death’." Well, it's a good thing she got accepted into season 8 then, isn't it.
What are Yan's favourite things to bake?
"I bake a minimum of two sourdough loaves per week. It’s made with my sourdough starter called ‘muvver.’ This loaf itself looks simple, but everyone that tastes it wants to know where they can buy it. FYI it’s not for sale. If I like you, I will make it for you."
The sass is real. Yan you're our spirit animal.
"My sweet signature is a brownie I call ‘Sluts and nuts’ the child friendly name for it is ‘the nutty crownie’ and is a cookie dough based triple chocolate brownie with added oreos, peanut butter lumps and chocolate chunks." Somebody give this woman a medal?
What did Yan think it was like meeting the other contestants?
"Daunting. But once we got chatting about baking, it totally broke the ice. World leaders should take note. Nothing bonds people like a chat about food, cake in particular. If the world leaders all went to summits with a cake they had made and chatted about them over a cup of tea, the world would be a safer, more stable place to live in."
We've taken note, Yan. BRB OFF TO BUY SOME CAKE.
How did she feel when she first walked into the tent?
"Nervous, anxious, daunting. I felt like I didn’t belong there, like I was a massive fraud - I had flashbacks of the process it took to get there - application form, all the auditions and interviews - and I still couldn’t believe that had been enough to get me to the tent. All I had done was baked a loaf of bread, chatted about it and boom, here I was. It was all very surreal."
Which Judge does she want want to impress the most?
"Not a word of a lie, I just wanted to make sure neither of the judges spat anything out in disgust. So glad that didn’t happen!" Lolllll.
Does Yan prefer sweet or savoury?
"To bake, I would say sweet, because I bake for my friends and family for the love of it and they tend to want sweet bakes. A usual greeting of friends is not, “hi, how are you?” it’s “did you bring me brownies?”
"I tend not to eat my own sweet bakes - I have to be in the mood for them and if I do, it’s usually something old school like a Victoria sandwich, so simple. To eat, I prefer my savoury, my favourite savoury bakes are usually bread based - pretzel sausage rolls, frying pan pizza, chicken curry naan calzone. Aaaannd just like that I’m hungry again."
A gal after our own heart. YAN WE'RE ROOTING FOR YOU.
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