But it’s not due to calls from sick patients or other stresses of life as a busy doctor – it’s usually because he’s been struck by inspiration for an elaborate new cake design which he urgently needs to scribble down in a notebook.

The 35-year-old works four days a week as a general practitioner at Kingston and in the Huon Valley and also works as a medical educator for General Practice Training Tasmania.

But in his free time he’s usually found in the kitchen of his home in the Channel region whipping up impressive looking biscuits, cakes, pastries and other extravagant baked goods.

And now Noor is vying for the title of Australia’s Best Amateur Baker as a contestant on Foxtel’s fifth season of The Great Australian Bake Off.

Sporting his trademark hat and curly moustache, the talented baker has quickly captured the attention of the show’s judges – culinary royalty Maggie Beer and acclaimed chef and restaurateur Matt Moran – in the three episodes of the show that have aired so far with his innovative creations inspired by his upbringing in Indonesia and his adopted home of Tasmania.

“You know who really excites me? Nurman,’’ Beer enthused after Noor’s stunning chandelier out of Pocky-inspired finger biscuits won the challenge at the end of episode two.

She said she was “blown away” by his baking and described Noor and his creativity as “incredibly special”. Meanwhile, Moran said Noor was “so deserving” and had done “exceptionally well’’ on the show so far and he was excited to see what else the creative cook would come up with in coming weeks.

“I suppose being a GP and having a medical career is very much guideline-based and has a lack of creativity in it. You very much have to follow a certain structure,’’ Noor says.

“I find the baking part of it to be a really nice creative outlet … I’ve never seen myself in just one box. Baking is a really nice way to use the other part of the brain that gets to be really creative and really inventive.

“It’s the perfect antidote to life as a busy GP.’’

Noor started as one of 12 bakers on the popular reality show, with the contestants since whittled down to nine.

Over 10 weeks, participants will take on 30 challenges to test their baking prowess, creativity and skill. Each episode begins with a “signature” challenge where bakers put their personal spin on a familiar recipe. This is followed by a “technical” bake, where bakers must tackle a previously unseen recipe set by either Beer or Moran and then have their bakes blind-tasted by the judges and ranked in order of success. Finally, the all-important “showstopper”, where bakers are challenged to make the most spectacular, mouth-watering creation they can possibly manage. All within some very strict time limits. At the end of each week, one contestant is crowned Star Baker and another is eliminated, until one is ultimately crowned Australia’s Best Amateur Baker.

Noor was crowned Star Baker at the end of episode two and broke down in tears of joy after hearing glowing feedback from the judges.

He has quickly become known for his big emotions, with his tears and happy dances a common sight on the show.

“They’re starting to see what I can do,’’ Noor said at the end of episode two.

“And I think being a Star Baker also makes me think, ‘You know what, I can actually do this.’ And if I continue doing this then who knows, who knows …’’

Noor was born and raised in Indonesia, where he inherited a love of cooking from his mum.

“I discovered a love of baking when I was about eight helping Mum in the kitchen when she had a catering business,’’ he explains.

“That is a really nice memory for me. And even now baking is a way for me to feel closer to Mum because she’s still in Indonesia.’’

He moved to Hong Kong when he was 14, and at 18 he moved to the US to study before moving to Australia in 2009 to complete his medical qualifications.

Noor chose Australia because he liked the look of the University of Wollongong’s medical school. He also liked that Australia was closer to his family in Indonesia.

After completing a bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery at Wollongong, Noor worked in Sydney for three years, where he spent a year working in critical care and also gained a diploma of child health at Westmead Children’s Hospital. He is a member of the Australian Institute of Dermatology, and his professional interests include dermatology, mental health and LGBTIQ health.

Enticed by the beauty and lifestyle of Tasmania, he started general practice training in the state – working initially in Burnie before moving south to join Cygnet Family Practice and he now considers Tasmania his home.

“I did science and philosophy for my undergraduate studies,’’ Noor explains of how he ended up in Tasmania.

“My dad is a surgeon, and he said, ‘Why don’t you try with medical school?’”

“So, I applied in a few places … my mum wanted me closer to home, so I said ‘OK’ and I applied closer to home in Indonesia and Australia.

“Eventually I started my GP training in Tasmania. I was really attracted to the landscape and the food – the food particularly – so that’s why I moved to Tasmania in 2015.’’

He plans to stay here.

“Absolutely – Tassie’s home,’’ Noor enthuses.

“I live down the Channel; it’s nice and quiet. And it’s nice weather – I actually prefer the colder climate.’’

He’s also developed an affinity for Tassie’s landscape, discovering a love of bushwalking since the coronavirus pandemic began.

“It started from when Covid hit,I suppose, slightly after that,’’ Noor says.

“I started getting more into hiking, and I started A Hike a Weekend project just to explore what Tassie had to offer.

“It’s a really nice way to calm yourself and get a bit of that mindfulness … to listen to the water and look at the greenery.’’

The place that sparked his enthusiasm for hiking was actually Snug Falls – which also provided inspiration for a cleverly decorated bushwalking cake he presented to the judges in episode one of The Great Australian Bake Off.

His chocolate stout cake with whisky cream ganache was decorated with green sponge trees, green biscuit crumbs for grass, dehydrated cake crumbs for the soil, and tempered chocolate branches.

“That’s actually the place that started all of that, the hiking,’’ he says of Snug Falls.

“I just felt like it was a place of calmness for me. And the baking shed [where the show is filmed] can feel a bit chaotic, particularly when you apply the time limits and the amount of things you have to do and the film crew are all around you trying to get shots. So, it was a really nice memory to go back to.’’

He recalls he was a “ball of emotion’’ when filming that first episode.

“I was sobbing after I finished that bake,’’ Noor confesses. “Mind you, it’s not uncommon for me to cry. I’m so glad that I survived the first episode.’’

While he’s been receiving glowing feedback from the judges, and from the show’s hosts, comedians Claire Hooper and Mel Buttle, Noor was actually turned away from the show the first time he applied.

The Bake Off franchise began in 2010 with The Great British Bake Off, with the format since being reproduced successfully in the US, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Poland, Ireland, Norway, Finland, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Turkey, Ukraine and France, as well as in Australia.

“I have applied twice, this was actually the second time that I applied,” he says. “The first time I applied was two or three years ago. I left thinking it would have been nice experience, I didn’t know if it would happen again, but Covid came and then the announcement came that they were looking for new contestants. I figured I’d just give it a go and ‘if it happens, it happens, if it doesn’t, it doesn’t’.’’

And he admits it was worth the second try as he loved the opportunity to showcase his work and learn new skills on the show, which was recorded during September and October last year. He’s also learnt a lot about himself along the way, as well as making many new friends.

“It was quite daunting, trying to go through the challenge part of it,’’ Noor says.

“I was thinking I want things to look good, for me and also for the camera, but also I haven’t got much time to do that. The other part of me was also thinking I wanted to be there to learn, whether that was from Matt and Maggie or the other contestants, because they all brought different things to the shed so that part excited me, the learning component.’’

“I’ve always been very critical of my own baking … I often don’t end up liking my own baking. So, it was actually nice to hear from someone else that, you know what, I actually know how to bake. It’s a nice change of mindset.

“I tend to focus on the imperfection, but then realising, you know, there is a little bit of beauty in that imperfection. I don’t have to be perfect all the time, and what I’ve done is more than good enough.’’

He has no previous TV experience, except for filming a TV ad when he was in high school.

“I had a lot of fun,’’ Noor says of being on the show. “I met amazing people, I learnt a lot during my time and it’s nice that I had the opportunity to impress Matt and Maggie.’’

He also remains in touch with his fellow contestants.

“We have a WhatsApp chat running, we just send each other our bakes and plan things. They are like my baking family,’’ Noor says.

Noor took leave from work as a doctor to film the show and says his patients have been very supportive of his culinary pursuits.

“I’ve been in Cygnet for almost six years now and I think a lot of my patients know that I love baking, some even say, ‘What are you baking this weekend?’ ’’ Noor says. “For some others, they say, ‘Ooh, we saw someone [that looks like you] on television’ and I say, ‘Well, I haven’t got a twin brother.’’’

He doesn’t wear his trademark hat to work – “it feels a bit awkward in a clinic in a hat’’. The beard he had on the show has also gone (to improve the fit of his Covid face mask) but his curly moustache remains, although when he’s working as a GP it’s largely hidden behind a mask.

Noor says he’s content being a doctor but is open to any cooking opportunities that come his way as a result of appearing on the show.

“I would love to explore that part of my life,’’ he says. “I think variety is always nice. There is nothing concrete planned just yet, so I’m just taking it as it comes really.’’

With a strong interest in fashion – he was known on the show for his quirky fashion choices, including a tartan jumpsuit, and describes himself as a fashion “rebel” who loves avant-garde outfits – he would ultimately love to work on a project that involves both fashion and food, such as creating gowns out of baked goods.

Just as his outfit choices are a bit unconventional, Noor also admits that his baking stems from equally unorthodox beginnings.

“I’m too punk to follow recipes,’’ confesses Noor, who shares his baking achievements with followers on Instagram (@Nurman.Bakes).

“I love the experimentation part of baking. Once you learn the basics, for me, because I come from a little bit of a science background, I know how to substitute certain things with other things. The process of being experimental is probably my favourite part of baking.’’

His home kitchen is on the small side, and he’s a messy cook, so a weekend of baking is typically a messy affair, with pastry – especially choux pastry – his favourite thing to cook.

“I’ve got a gas oven and the temperature set-up is not very consistent,’’ he says.

“But in saying that, things manage to come out well. When I cook, it’s pretty much like a shipwreck. I spend three or four hours cleaning.’’

He says cooking is the perfect cure for any of life’s ailments.

“It’s nice to procrastibake and it’s also nice to stress bake,’’ he laughs. “Usually I put in a day during the weekend to do [a baking project] that’s a little bit bigger.

“I like doing things that are a little bit architectural, something with structure. I’ll grab a sketchbook in the middle of the night and I’ll just be drawing what my bakes are going to look like. I think it’s just part of that outlet to get my creativity out. If life has been a little bit crazy and I need to de-stress I’m going to be in the kitchen. And I’m not in it for being safe – I want to be bold.’’■■•

Watch The Great Australian Bake Off on Thursdays at 8.30pm on Foxtel’s Lifestyle Channel or On Demand.