We Can Thank Paul Hollywood's Dad For Inspiring His Baking Career

People can't live on bread alone, but it sure helped Paul Hollywood make a heck of a living. Half a decade before the world knew him as a "Great British Bake Off" judge, his 2005 book, "100 Great Breads," sold like gangbusters and propelled him to greater prominence as an expert on the topic. In 2008, Hollywood famously baked Britain's priciest loaf. Made with sourdough, Roquefort, and almonds, it cost £15 at the time (that amounts to roughly £24 — about $30 — in today's money). Even his first solo TV series was called "Bread." This food looms so large in his career that you might wonder why we aren't telling you to go thank a fresh loaf instead of his father. You see, that's the thing: Making bread with his dad, who worked as a baker, was how it all began.

Writing for The Telegraph, Hollywood recalled a fateful Saturday afternoon when he was just 8 years old. He saw his father, John, with dough balls rising by a fire. Engulfed by curiosity, young Paul started asking questions. He and John ended up baking and breaking bread together.

"I still say it was the best bread I've ever eaten," Paul wrote. "If there was a starting point for me, that was it." Of course, the story doesn't end there. He would later work for his father, learning the tricks of the baking trade.

Growing up, Paul Hollywood got a front-row seat to the baking business after his father launched the Bread Winner bakery chain. He watched his dad work and sometimes assisted in making the goods. That doesn't mean Hollywood dreamed of a future filled with flour and yeast, though.

By the time he was 16, his heart belonged to art. Hollywood wanted a career as a sculptor and trained for it like his mother had. However, as he later told NPR, he eventually needed money and received an offer from his father: "I had long hair at the time, I remember, I was about 18, and he said, 'I'll give you 500 pounds — which was quite a lot of money in the '80s — if you got your hair cut to join the family business.' And that's exactly what I did."

Being the boss' kid didn't make things easy. The other bakers didn't trust him. During an appearance on "The Jonathan Ross Show," he said his dad rarely gave out praise and was harder on him than other workers. That may explain why Hollywood's handshakes of approval are so hard to earn on "The Great British Bake Off." He told Ross of his father's toughness, "I suppose that's probably why I am as I am in the tent because I want [GBBO contestants] to do better." So, while Hollywood's handshakes have produced some great moments on the show, perhaps the person who deserves one most is his dad.