Who is Giuseppe? The GBBO star from Bristol and his ‘shock’ at reaching the final

TV history was made on The Great British Bake Off this week thanks to Bristol contestant Giuseppe Dell’Anno.

The 45-year-old became the first ever Bristolian to reach the Great British Bake Off final after Briony May Williams lost out in the semi-finals of the competition in 2018.

After a nail-biting patisserie round on Channel 4 on Wednesday night (November 16), Giuseppe earned a Hollywood handshake for his Tiramisu slices and left fans in awe with his Leaning Tower of Pisa showstopper.

Sadly it was ‘pud-bye’ for German baker Jürgen Krauss though, who’s been tough competition for Giuseppe from the start but was sent packing in a shock decision.

Giuseppe said he was ‘scared sockless’ for the final but was ‘over the moon’ to have made it and that he hoped to have ‘a jolly good time’.

He told BBC Bristol he had been left ‘shell shocked’ after learning that Jürgen was going home and that he’d landed a place in the final.

“It does feel like a massive relief and it took a while to sink in, you can probably see it from our faces - literally shell shocked,” said Giuseppe.

“It took the shock of seeing Jurgen go to get excited about being in the final, it took a while for me to realise.

“I thought ‘wow, hang on a second, if he is going means that I’m in the final’.”

Who is Giuseppe?

Giuseppe is originally from Italy and describes himself as a ‘proud Britalian’.

The 45-year-old engineer lives in Bristol with his wife and their three (’noisy’) young sons.

Giuseppe’s dad was a professional chef and it was he who inspired him to start baking as he did all the cooking and made a cake every Sunday.

Inspired by this Italian heritage, Giuseppe loves using Italian flavours in his bakes, and has been a fan favourite from the start.

A self confessed ‘food snob’, he encourages his children to enjoy homemade treats and shun mass-produced confectionary.

Outside of the kitchen, Giuseppe has a passion for design, architecture and gardening.

The baker has amassed more than 46,000 followers on Instagram where he often shares pictures of his culinary creations with fans @giuseppecooks.

The Great British Bake Off final will air next Tuesday (November 23) on Channel 4 at 8pm.