Rules You Didn't Know 'Great British Bake Off' Contestants Have to Follow

For nearly 11 seasons, The Great British Bake Off has drawn audiences into its whimsical tent as amateur chefs compete in challenges week after week. The mouthwatering desserts are enough to inspire you to whip out your electric mixer and frost some cupcakes. But do you have what it takes to compete on the show? From 7 a.m. wake-up calls to one very specific rule about ovens, here's what you need to know before competing in The Great British Bake Off.

If you think you have what it takes to be on the show and wish to apply, it's as easy as filling out an online application. Make sure to check that applications are open, as they typically close in January.

All perspective contestants must be at least 16 years of age to apply. If you don't meet the age requirement, you can try the show's spinoff program, Junior Bake Off.

Although the show is massively popular in the United States, the program is based in Britain—it is called The Great British Bake Off, after all—and aims to find the best British baker, so you have to be a resident of the U.K. to compete.

According to contestant Sophie Faldo, the application is seven pages long and has you describe in detail your experience with baking. "Every section, like bread and cakes, and biscuits, has its own page and you have to say what your signature bake is and how often you bake it," Faldo told Radio Times.

After your application is selected, all perspective bakers are asked to schedule a phone interview and later an in-person interview.

All contestants must bring two of their best bakes to their in-person interviews. "You can bring anything you like," Sophie Faldo told Radio Times. "Producers advise that one bake should be sweet, and the other be savory."

During the audition process, the cost of ingredients is not covered by production and contestants aren't reimbursed, even if they make it onto the show. Until you get into the big tent, it's all out of pocket.

The final round of interviews is on-camera and it entails baking in front of production: "You have to bake something while you're there, to make sure you've not just been bringing in someone else's work," Sophie Faldo told Radio Times. "They have cameras walking around the place. I think it's to see that we were happy baking and talking at the same time, and whether we can cope with that."

Per the show's website, if you make it onto the show, a producer will contact you with the next steps. Sadly, if you don't hear back by March, that means your application hasn't been accepted.

If your application is accepted, a producer will provide you with the dates and must receive confirmation that you have no conflicts before moving forward.

All bakers are required to be interviewed for the spin-off show after the episode that they are eliminated in.

To keep the show fair, any employees of Channel 4 or their production company Love Productions are prohibited from entering the contest. Anyone who is financially connected or has a close friend or relative working at the previously mentioned companies aren't allowed to apply either.

The program prides itself on showcasing the country's best amateur bakers. No one who's previously been employed as a baker, cook, or chef or received any sort of professional degree or qualification for baking is allowed to compete.

Before filming begins, production conducts a thorough background check to make sure your application is correct and that you're fit to compete.

According to former contestant Sophie Faldo, the production team informs you that you've been chosen about six weeks prior to filming. "You know you're potentially in the running but they never really commit themselves until the very last minute," she told Radio Times.

After being chosen to compete on The Great British Bake Off, production has all bakers sign a release form. No ifs, ands, or buts—you must sign to participate.

Contestants must remain tight-lipped about certain aspects of production and the application process. They also can't provide any photographs or videos of the competition to the media.

For security reasons, you have to hand over your cell phone to producers before entering the tent, according to former contestant Karen Wright. This is a common practice on reality competition shows, as it helps prevent people from recording footage that could spoil the show.

Again, the show restricts contestants from bringing any recording device, including cameras, into the tent.

Whether you win or not, bakers invest quite a bit of personal time to be on the show. However, they aren't financially compensated for their time.

Nope, the champion doesn't get a monetary prize. Womp, womp. Instead, you're given the title and a trophy to commemorate your feat. The clout that comes with competing on the show definitely paves the way for future financial opportunities though.

Once in the big tent, all ingredients are paid for by production. Contestants are given a per-episode allowance and have to shop accordingly.

All bakers are picked up in the morning from their (paid for) accommodation and are transported to the tent for filming. After the day is completed, they pile onto the bus again, are given back their phones, and taken back to the hotel.

The show films each episode over two days, which means that contestants are required to wear the same outfit both days.

In order to allow contestants to keep their day jobs, filming only occurs on the weekends. As we previously mentioned, each episode takes two days to film and all dates are given to contestants in advance.

Days on set are long and grueling for contestants. Over the course of the 10-week filming schedule, contestants are required to film for up to 16 hours a day.

All bakers have early mornings while filming. "We had to get a train down on the Friday and we'd have a wake up call at 5 a.m., we'd be in the tent at 7 a.m.," contestant Frances Quinn told Cosmopolitan UK.

To make sure a baker isn't eliminated over a faulty oven, the show makes sure that each oven is working properly before a challenge begins. How do they do that? By baking a Victoria Sponge Cake, of course.

When a baker's cake has risen to perfection and is ready to be taken out of the oven, that's a pivotal moment in the competition. As such, each baker must inform a producer before taking their item out of the oven so that it can be caught on camera.

The show's chief home economist Faenia Moore is tasked with shopping for ingredients each week. "I filter through recipes and compile a list of ingredients a week before each episode is filmed, then I do a massive shop," Moore told BBC Good Food. "People normally have 12-20 ingredients, but it varies–Frances Quinn had 124 for her cake in the final."

Can you imagine the bakers having to rinse their mixing bowls during a time crunch? "Lovely Iva does all the washing-up. The runners help, and we have a good system with two sinks. A dishwasher would be too noisy, and probably take longer," chief home economist Faenia Moore told BBC Good Food.

Production is on hand to explain how to use equipment in the tent, but when it comes to technique, it's all on the individual contestant. "I make sure everything is going as smoothly as possible. But if I see a contestant doing something that I know will go wrong, I just have to turn away–I worry that they'll see my reaction and realise," Faenia Moore told BBC Good Food. "All I say is: 'Do what you would at home.'"

Although filming happens in a tent, the competition is still largely outside. And while the aesthetic looks lovely on camera, it's not without its challenges. "If we're doing bread when we need warmth for proving, chances are it'll be freezing. Then when it's chocolate, it'll be scorching," Moore told the outlet.

After the timer buzzes and the desserts are completed, it's time for the judging. However, contestants aren't privy to the judge's comments on their fellow competitors. Each baker must remain at their own individual station, which are scattered around the tent.

Whether you're safe from elimination or it's your last time on camera, every contestant is interviewed by producers after a challenge ends. "You're being interviewed about eight times a day, just so they've got every type of answer and every type of question has been asked," contestant Francis Quinn told Cosmopolitan UK.

Throughout the episode, what you're waiting for is that close-up of the cake/tart/biscuit the bakers just toiled away making. These beauty shots are taken after judging is done, when the bakers are being interviewed.

There's no set time for how long the judges take to deliberate. "In the past we have sometimes known who's leaving the moment we've finished judging–or it will take half an hour," judge Mary Berry told BBC Good Food. "Do you remember when it took five hours to make a decision in series one? Interminable. It was like waiting for a new Pope—extraordinary!" former judge Mel Giedroyc told BBC Good Food.

Judge Mary Berry told BBC Good Food that their decision is not cumulative: "We always judge on what takes place on the day–not the week before, or the week before that."

In order to keep things professional, the judges keep their distance from the bakers outside of the tent and refrain from any sort of socialization.

After giving it their all and making delicious creations, the bakers deserve a taste of their finished product. Although you don't see it on camera, the leftover desserts are given to the cast and crew.