Former maths teacher out to prove age is just a number
71-year-old Dennis Mews only started baking in retirement, but already he’s a medal-winning success. Now he stars in season five of The Great Australian Bake Off, ready to prove it’s never to late to try something new.
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As the oldest ever contestant on The Great Australian Bake Off, Dennis Mews is out to prove you can teach an old dog new tricks.
The 71-year-old only took up the rolling pin in 2012 after he moved to Australia from England.
The rising star decided to have a crack at the hobby after visiting the Melbourne and Whittlesea shows.
Before long he was entering competitions on his own and auditioned for the TV show.
“I used to joke with my female colleagues that we didn’t have a kitchen in our house,” Mr Mews said.
“I had no idea when we first went to see the shows that first of all I would do any, second of all do any good, or that it would lead to this.”
The former maths teacher said he started out with cakes but quickly moved on to biscuits, bread and pastries.
His breadrolls and wholemeal loaf claimed second at the Royal Melbourne Show last year and he hopes to go one better in 2019.
The Doreen resident said he was a fan of the show from when it first came out in the UK and watched plenty of episodes as research before his audition.
Mr Mews said he enjoyed the competition aspect of baking but nothing could trump the end product.
“No matter how poor it turns out you can still eat it, it’s not that bad. It all disappears in this house,” he said.
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While Mr Mews admitted some of the contestants were young enough to be his grandchildren, he said they all got along fabulously and stayed in touch through social media.
You can follow Mr Mews and his rising career @Dennis.Mews on Instagram.
The Great Australian Bake Offpremieres Thursday, October 3 at 8.30pm on Foxtel’s Lifestyle.
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