Bake Off contestant casually chows chips during crunch time

Bake Off contestant casually chows chips during crunch time

Great British Bake Off contest Karen gave a new meaning to the phrase "grace under pressure".

karen chows chips
Twitter screenshot/British Bake Off

Avid followers of cooking shows will be familiar with the Great British Bake Off: the beloved tent, the incredibly confectionary challenges, and, of course, the tension that is so thick one could cut it with a knife. The show is as popular for its display of the theatrics of baking as it is for the drama that each of the unique contestants bring to the table. 

And this year, viewers were introduced to an early frontrunner in the "ruthless competitors" category: a woman named Karen. 

During the dying moments of the first big challenge of the show's new season, in which the contestants had to make a tray of biscuits, all the bakers are visibly stressed. As they scurry around their workstations putting the finishing touches on their biscuits, the anxiety is plain on their faces. Everyone is worried, except for Karen. 

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Karen finishes her presentation with time to spare and then casually reaches for a lunchbox and proceeds to tuck into a packet of potato chips. She is not fazed at all about the rising stakes of the current competition and seems to be confident that she's got this one in the bag. Some viewers related to Karen's sassy attitude, while others remarked that she should have offered to help the other contestants instead of standing back and gloating

It would turn out that her Yorkshire Perkin Biscuits were not enough to impress the judges, but Karen certainly showed the audience one way to display grace under pressure. 

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