This Is How To Nail GBBO, According To Past Winner David Atherton

When it comes to winning, there are countless systems out there. There are whole websites, like Lottery Expert, that provide you with supposed mathematical formulas to help you win the lottery. You could also learn how to count cards in blackjack if you ache to fulfill your dream of being thrown out of a casino. Then again, you could always learn how to win at a cooking competition show. Strange though it may sound, there are people who have come up with schemes to do just that.

Anne Burnell burst onto the celebrity cooking scene back in 2005 when she appeared on "Iron Chef America." More recently, she's explained exactly how to beat Bobby Flay, for anyone seeking to top the host of the aptly titled "Beat Bobby Flay." For those who want to win "Chopped," Thought Catalog published a list of suggestions from an amateur, which might work if you get the judges drunk enough beforehand. Of course, that is about as good as the advice for winning "Chopped" on this Reddit thread.

For more professional input, there's a Forbes piece on how to win "Iron Chef America." One of the nuggets of advice offered there is to "stay calm." Odd, since normally panic is the path to victory. However, for those who prefer to bask in the warm glow of a baker's oven, Crystelle Pereira explains how to nail "The Great British Bake Off." Her advice is good, but "GBBO" champ David Atherton thinks he can do better.

David Atherton didn't rest on his laurels after his 2019 victory in "GBBO." Shondaland says he wrote up a cookbook called "Good to Eat" that forwards his aim of using natural foods that are also delicious. The book is geared toward pescatarian eaters, who are people who stick to vegetarian diets, except for the inclusion of fish and other seafood, so says WebMD.

Atherton has also tried to instill good eating habits in kids with his children's book "Bake, Make, and Learn to Cook," which provides simpler recipes for those who are either very young, or simply want a cheerful, simple introduction to the baking world. It is this same back-to-basics approach that David says is the path to winning "The Great British Baking Show."

"Bake what you love to eat," says Atherton about competing on the show (via The Independent). "Start off simple so you get some early successes and learn about ingredients. Once you understand ingredients you can learn to substitute or create your own recipes." For those who are seeking a deeper look at baking than just a soundbite, the "GBBO" winner swears by Dan Lepard's "Short & Sweet: The Best of Home Baking," which Atherton calls his "baking bible." Armed with only that wisdom, you're well on your way to being a star baker.