Kumari Shreya
Over the years, there have been several talented bakers who have been able to shine largely thanks to ‘The Great British Baking Show,’ AKA ‘The Great British Bake Off.’ The British series is known for giving amateur bakers a chance to shine bright across the world. Consider Manon Lagrève, who became highly popular thanks to her appearance in the show’s ninth installment. Her association with the franchise actually extends to her participation in ‘The Great British Baking Show: Holidays’ season 6 (the 2022 ‘The Great New Year Bake Off’). Indeed, it’s the recent release of the latter that has her supporters asking about the recent updates in her life.
Manon Lagrève’s The Great British Baking Show Journey
First appearing in series 9 of ‘The Great British Baking Show,’ Manon Lagrève started off strong by becoming the Star Baker in her very first week. The challenges for the week were biscuit-themed and allowed the baker to truly showcase her skills as a baker. For the Signature Challenge, she made Hazelnut Cornish Shortbread, which was followed by her bagging third place in the Technical Challenge. She finished the week off with a Matcha and White Chocolate Ganache Biscuit to create a Japanese selfie, which impressed the judges very much.
Manon continued her impressive baking in the upcoming weeks by doing much justice to dishes like bread and cakes, among other things. It did seem like she might be at risk of elimination in week 6 when the judges found her work with pastries to be slightly underwhelming. However, this was not the end of her on-screen journey. Indeed, she made it as far as the quarter-finals of the season alongside four other bakers.
In the quarter-finals, the theme for the week was Danish baked goods. In the signature challenge, Manon made two cheese and fruit-flavored Smørrebrød (Danish open-faced sandwich). Her performance during the Technical Challenge landed her in the fourth position, which was followed by her creation of a showstopper Kagekone. Unfortunately, this was not the week for Manon as she was unable to make it to the semi-finals, having to instead bid farewell to the show’s iconic tent.
During the sixth season of The Great British Baking Show: Holidays,’ Manon makes a welcome appearance in the New Year-themed episode alongside three other bakers from the show’s previous seasons. Starting off with a delightfully savory Salmon Roulade Wellington, the baker moved on to bag the first position in the Technical Challenge. Her chocolaty Bûche Entremet for the Showstopper Challenge certainly impressed the judges, as evident by their delight in announcing her as the winner of the episode.
Manon Lagrève is Happily Married
Originally from Louvigné-du-Désert, France, Manon Lagrève now lives in London, England, and seems to be enjoying her rise within the culinary industry. In fact, in December 2018, she left behind her job as the Salesforce Consultant/Project Manager for Bluewolf to start expanding her brand as a culinary artist. Since January 2019, she has been a full-time food content creator. The venture has certainly been successful, given her Instagram fan following of over 532K followers.
Similarly, Manon is followed by around 360K people on TikTok, though the subscriber count of her YouTube channel (Manon’s Little Kitchen) is comparatively less at just shy of 4K. However, content creation is not the only area in which Manon is utilizing her skills. Since May 2021, she has been the proud Co-Founder of Manon and Rose, a fashion brand that takes pride in responsible sourcing. Additionally, she decided to make her recipes more public through a cookbook called ‘Et Voila!: A Simple French Baking Love Story,’ which was released on April 27, 2023.
As for her personal life, Manon is happily married to Luke Bennett, whom the baker calls her “British Prince Charming.” The couple tied the knot on June 25, 2022, and have been enjoying the familial bliss. They have a daughter named Fleur, who turned two in June 2023. The family of three is actually all set to welcome a new member amidst them. Manon recently shared the news of her pregnancy and how the new baby will be born in Spring of 2024. While she and her husband do know the sex of the child, they have decided not to reveal it to anyone, including their family members, in order to keep the excitement alive.
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