Crystelle Pereira won a spot in the final of “Great British Bake Off”.
Analysts don’t usually make headlines, but Crystelle Pereira is no ordinary banker.
Employees of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has a talent for cakes, pastries and pies, good enough to get her a spot in the finale of “Great British Bake Off”, the hugely popular US reality TV show called “Great British Baking Show.”
Her cakes most impressed the judges – Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith – who were very scary – combining ingredients as diverse as miso, tahini and yuzu. The show comes to an end this week (damage alert), with Pereira taking on Chirag “Chigs” Parmar and Giuseppe Dell’Anno after a shock defeat by Jürgen Krauss in the semifinals.
The contest was held over the summer and viewers don’t know if she’ll win, but Pereira, who works for wealth management, has returned to the bank’s London offices. Her success has attracted much attention from colleagues and clients in recent weeks, making the 26-year-old one of the most famous faces in the City of London.
It’s not just a bunch of congratulatory emails. At a recent client meeting Pereira attended, 90% of lunches were spent discussing her experience on the show, said a person familiar with the matter.
Crystelle’s creative concept and family-themed cakes impressed the judges. Here’s how she made it to the Finals. #GBBOFinalpic.twitter.com/QAABrs0Wyb
– English Grill (@BritishBakeOff) November 22, 2021
“Even my clients are in the news right now,” Pereira said in an internal interview published on Goldman’s internal site in September. “It created a nice atmosphere and , over the past two years, it’s been a nice positive distraction.”
Pereira, who joined Goldman in 2018, previously interned at the bank, is an analyst on the lender’s Insurance Asset Management team. According to a September interview, she signed up for the show on a whim after spending time baking while in lockdown.
“When I finally got the call to say I was in the last 12 games, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing,” she said, citing the Portuguese-Goan upbringing for Her cooking skills. Of the three cakes that make up each episode, she says the technical challenge – where contestants have to cook a recipe without practice – is the hardest.
“I am a big planner – for example, when I go on vacation, I make a schedule and plan everything in advance,” she says. “I had a great fear of the unknown and I was completely petrified of what was lurking beneath that sheet of gingham.”
Pereira is the second Goldman employee to join the program. Antony Amourdoux, vice president of the market division, appeared in the 2018 season.
Although there are “Bake Off” finalists in their ranks, the title of best baker on Pereira’s broader team is likely to be taken. At a baking group earlier in the year – before her choice for the show was known – some rated their own cupcakes higher than hers.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from an aggregated feed.)
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