Coinneach Macleod on his book The Hebridean Baker, living in a remote hut and inspiration from Anneka Rice

Virgin Radio

27 Sep 2021, 10:14

The TikTok star and not-so-wee Scottish baker joined the Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Sky to talk about his new recipe book and living miles away in the middle of blissful nowhere.

He told Sam Pinkham who was standing in for Chris: “Well, I honestly just wanted to post a video of Aunt Bellac’s famous Clootie dumpling recipe and not knowing that if I put it on the internet that people might watch it and it's kind of gone a wee bit crazy to say the least.

"I think 15 million people have watched my baking video and when you're from a village of 30 people it's a little bit intimidating.

“Over the past year and a half, even though things have blown up on the internet you still don't believe it until you actually see people with the book... Or I'm on my book tour at the moment around Scotland and it's absolutely humbling just having the enthusiasm and the support it's been amazing.”

On living in Russia for a few years, he said: “I kind of blame Anneka Rice for this. I remember watching a TV show about how she got into television and it said she walked into a TV channel in Hong Kong and said she was a famous television presenter in Britain just to make some money and then the next day she was reading the news. 

“I don't know if that's a made up story or not, but I did the same thing. I walked into The Times in Moscow and said I was a journalist, and the next day I was a sports editor of the Moscow Times. I hope they're not listening to that.

“I’m a big, big sportsman and that's been my life since then is working in sport. Sport and baking are my two passions.

“I’ve worked at Celtic Football Club, I worked for the Scottish National Team and FIFA, UEFA and all these amazing adventures, so I am so lucky that I love my work and I love my wee passion on baking."

Talking about his love of the Outer Hebrides and living in a remote hut, he shared: "I think you always plan to move back. It's such a beautiful part of the world. The landscape is harsh and dramatic... but as a result it really is a beautiful place and I'm very proud of where I'm from.

“We have a wee hut, like a cabin if you want to make it sound fancy. After the supermarket, we get in the canoe and 15 minutes later we're in a wee cabin so it seems completely normal, but when we invite people they always get a wee bit of a surprise.”

The Hebridean Baker is out now.

Find him on TikTok @HebrideanBaker.

For more great interviews listen to The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Sky, weekdays from 6:30am on Virgin Radio, or catch up on-demand here.