Great British Bake Off to Hold Its First Vegan Baking Challenge 

The Great British Bake Off, a popular British television baking competition featuring amateur bakers, will hold its first-ever vegan week next season with the goal of enticing a younger audience. Contestants typically take part in three challenges throughout the week—the Signature Challenge, the Technical Challenge, and the Showstopper Challenge—at the end of which, one contestant is eliminated. The idea of challenging contestants to bake without dairy products was first introduced in a previous season when co-host Noel Fielding broached the subject. “When Noel put forward the idea, producers leapt at the chance to try something different,” a representative from the popular-Netflix show said, “especially as they think it’ll appeal to younger viewers.” Fielding is responding to a boom in the UK vegan population, where 56 percent of young Brits transitioned to veganism last year.