He was possibly the most hipster contestant the Great British Bake Off tent has ever seen, but sadly musician Stuart Henshall and his trilby were sent packing in the first new episode last night.
Mary Berry's disdain at Hipster Stu's edgy decision to use beetroot in his untraditional Black Forest Gateaux was a highlight, while his walnut cake earlier in the show also disappointed the judges, not least because he only managed to use a sole caramelised nut for decoration.
Catch up with our GBBO live blog
Stu runs his own food blog, aptly-named The Alternative Kitchen, where he posts about his passion for Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food fused with English, and also brews his own beer. Of course he does.
Just had a burger from a leading high street chain. My first in 15 years, my last for at least 15 more. Yikes. Make your own people
— Stu Henshall (@stu_henshall) July 26, 2015
Reactions to Stu's untimely departure were mixed, with many people swooning over his tats and artiness, while others denounced him as "an irritating t**t". We collated some of our favourites below:
Oh Stu. I thought you were alright until you decided to do a beetroot sponge. #BakeOff
— Hollie Huxstep (@Holliee172) August 5, 2015
Stu lad, you just went on bake off and put beetroot in a cake.
— Tom Crookes (@Crookeshanks) August 5, 2015
Hmm, good luck Stu. Don't let the tent door hit your arse on the way out #GBBO #bakeoff
— Laura Crisp (@LozzaCrisp) August 5, 2015
Stu is wayyyy too hipster to follow the recipe. He was doing bake-off before you'd heard of it. #GBBO
— Jonny Singer (@Jonny_Singer) August 5, 2015
The lads at work... have mulled over the evidence and are all in agreement.. Stu off Great British Bake Off was a monumental bell end #GBBO
— Dazz (@darrenbizzle) August 6, 2015
Mary is not impressed with the hipster vibe. It's the Bake-off tent not Shoreditch, Stu #GBBO
— Beth Brewster (@BethEleri) August 5, 2015
Just catching up with Bakeoff, Stu looks like a sort of hipster topman Simon Pegg #GBBO
— Luke Stewart (@LoookeStooowart) August 5, 2015
Stu looks like he's auditioning for the voice #bakeoff
— #Luke (@MrLukasBye) August 5, 2015
The slow and lonely walk home from the bake off tent for Stu. Stopping on the way at an artisan cereal cafe. #GBBO
— Simon Pegg (@Simon_Pegg) August 5, 2015
At least Stu thought outside the box! Don't think he deserved to go first! #gbbo #bakeoff
— Ian Mannly (@ian_mannly) August 5, 2015
I just knew the hot guy would go first. Come back Stu #bakeoff
— Sam Poolton (@spamvicious) August 6, 2015
This stu guy on bake off is in a band and bakes cakes. I think he's perfect
— Harriet (@H_Hallum) August 5, 2015
Can't believe we don't get to drool over Stu's buns for the rest of #bakeoff
— Mike Noble (@MikeyJNoble) August 5, 2015
The 35-year-old from Guildford follows last year's memorable baker and fellow beardy hipster, Iain Watters, who hailed from Hoxton and set Twitter alight with the #bingate scandal. More on that one here.
"Meeting other bakers was a joy, it's a whole family thing and they are a nice bunch of people," Stu said after leaving the Bake Off, which he thinks has "redefined him".
People have been either totally lovely or just plain hilarious. Twat in a hat and Great British Jerk Off are my current favourites. #GBBO
— Stu Henshall (@stu_henshall) July 29, 2015
"It's made me think about what I want to do in life and look at what opportunities might come my way," he continued. "I felt disappointed in myself initially as I felt I didn't perform as well as I could, but it's onwards and upwards!"
Best Great British Bake Off innuendos
As expected, there were plenty more innuendos being thrown around in the first show, with Sue Perkins kicking things off by asking the contestants to "reveal their cracks".
