The winner of The Great British Bake Off 2021 has been announced, and after a thrilling final where Giuseppe, Crystelle, and Chigs went head to head, it was Giuseppe who is joining the long list of Bake Off winners.
But while it was a close call, with all three bakers pulling out all of the stops to impress judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith, fans already knew that Giuseppe was going to win before the results were announced by hosts Noel Fielding and Matt Lucas - and it's all thanks to a spatula.
Long-time fans of The Great British Bake Off will know that host Noel has a habit of popping up to chat to the bakers when they're at a crisis point in their bakes, often to get them to go along with something silly he has cooked up.
One of his favourite games is getting the bakers to kiss a 'lucky' spatula, and tonight's final saw him bring out his trusty kitchen utensil once again.
“This is Mr Spatula. You just have to kiss his head and then you win.” - @noelfielding11 #GBBOFinal pic.twitter.com/IUcWis07SzNovember 23, 2021
But while Chigs and Crystelle both refused to kiss the spatula, with Chrystelle giving it an elbow bump instead, it was only Giuseppe who kissed the spatula, and fans are joking that this is how he won the competition.
Of course, it was his amazing baking skills that lead to Giuseppe being crowned star baker tonight, but that hasn't stopped fans joking on social media that it is the lucky spatula that got him there...
Giuseppe only won because he kissed Noel’s spatula #GBBOFinalNovember 23, 2021
Giuseppe had to win. He was the only one who kissed Noel's spatula #BakeOff #GBBO P.S. This will make no sense to you if you're not in the UK.November 23, 2021
I'd like to point out, Noel said "if you kiss Mr Spatula, you'll win", and Giuseppe was the only one to kiss him, so... 🤷🏻♀️ #GBBONovember 23, 2021
Giuseppe kissing the spatula did the trick then! 👏🏻👏🏻 #GBBONovember 23, 2021
Fans were also in agreement that one of the best bits of The Great British Bake Off final is seeing what all the bakers have been getting up to since they left the tent.
Every series there is a montage about what each baker has been getting up to, and this year saw Lizzie and Freya going on a Bake Off road trip to see their fellow bakers, while it was also announced that Giuseppe would be releasing a cookbook with his dad.
Bake Off winner Giuseppe has credited his dad for his passion for baking throughout the series, and now fans have got a cookbook from both of them to look forward to.
If you missed any episodes of the latest series of The Great British Bake Off, you can catch up on 4OD.
There is also The Great Christmas Bake Off to look forward to, which is coming to Channel 4 next month.
