A FORMER Great British Bake Off contestant will appear at Taunton Flower Show at Vivary Park to discuss her experiences on the show and offer baking advice.

Val Stones, who appeared on the programme in 2016, will visit the show on Saturday, August 6 and speak in the Seeds of Knowledge Tent.

The retired headteacher is originally from Conisbrough, near Doncaster, but now lives in Somerton with her husband Ian.

Since appearing on Bake Off, she has written a recipe book, The Cake Whisperer. For every book sold, she donates £2 to charity.

Val will decorate a lemon, elderflower and poppyseed cake at Taunton Flower Show while discussing her Bake Off memories and offering kitchen hints and tips.

Ahead of her appearance at the show, Val said: “I have chosen a lemon poppy seed cake filled with elderflower and lemon Chantilly cream and lemon curd, decorated with edible flowers and herbs.

“I love to forage for ‘free food’. Elderflowers make a beautiful syrup and the elderberries later in the autumn make delicious jams, syrup and wine.

“As I assemble the cake, I will talk about the various herbs and flowers that are edible and finally decorate the cake with edible flowers and herbs.”

Val applied for Bake Off after her sister-in-law suggested she put her name forward two weeks before the deadline on January 10, 2016.

She was supply teaching a class of 32 students when Love Productions phoned to offer her an interview, which eventually led to her participation.

Meeting her fellow bakers, seeing the tent for the first time, and winning a technical challenge are among her Bake Off highlights.

“It was so exciting to be with like-minded bakers who all shared a passion for baking,” said Val.

“Driving up to the tent for the first time on a cold, sunny, spring day, seeing the tent for the first time made us all scream. It was the actual tent and we were to bake in it.”

She also remembers entering the tent for the first time, putting on her apron, and thinking: “I’m not watching this, I’m making it happen.”

She made it to round five of the competition, making her the eighth-best baker in that year's cohort.

Val has since raised money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and Childline by walking along the Great Wall of China and joined the Royal Osteoporosis Society as an ambassador.

Taunton Flower Show will celebrate its 190th event at Vivary Park on Friday, August 5 and Saturday, August 6.

Tickets are available to purchase in advance from tauntonfs.co.uk, Taunton Visitor Centre, and Hatchers department store.

Children can attend for free with a paying adult. The public can enter at 10:30am on Friday and 9:30am on Saturday. The show closes at 6pm on both days.

Read more: 190th Taunton Flower Show to be held at Vivary Park next week