PULL THAT PIE OUT OF THE OVEN

Okay, let us say it like it is. Paul John Hollywood is Hollywood, or at least a fair imitation of it, so much so fans tremble at the very sight of him pulling a pie out of the oven. He has film star looks. So even if that mythical white beard might not ensure he hangs out with George Clooney he is certainly a media star, someone to invite on fave TV shows.

So how did he do it? Was he born with a silver spoon in his mouth? More likely he was born with Sun in Pisces and Moon in Gemini, now that Astro combo would have helped him morph into a celebrity chef, hands down. There is something of the old soul about the man, an old soul eager to fulfil his karmic obligations by helping others get their heads around a good old bake-off.

He told the Radio Times that Jerusalem was his favourite city. He could see where Jesus had walked and he even knows what bread Christ would have shared with his apostles at the last supper. “It would be flatbread. Absolutely.” Paul is a spiritual man, he finds happiness in his faith, and it is something he can hang on to in dark times.

Perhaps that faith was on his side right from the start. Perhaps he felt a guiding presence the moment he popped his little head into the world. A curious Gemini moon certainly sustained his “Holy Grail” attitude to baking; he travelled to Cyprus, Egypt and Jordan researching traditional techniques and did not even surprise himself when he stopped off at a Bedouin encampment to bake a dessert in one of their upturned cooking pots. In other words, his earth mission could be summed up by one word, BAKE, and he has written a book with that same title, aimed at anyone “from beginners to professionals!”

“I want it to be covered in flour and sponge batter and dough and look a right mess, but the page just falls open at your favourite recipe.”

THE PERFECT RECIPE

Paul saw his very own page fall on the perfect recipe. You know, that Roquefort sourdough recipe, one of the most expensive bread in the UK? Perhaps Paul had finally found his Holy Grail of bread loaves. The Roquefort is supplied by a specialist in France at £15 per kilo, while the flour for the bread is made by a miller in Wiltshire. Some might describe the result as the Mother of all Loaves, he is more modest about his creation.
“My dad always smelled of bread when he came in, always covered in flour. That was then attached to me for many years. It became part of my DNA.” He told Food on Line he trained as a sculptor after he left school – but admits baking “was a natural thing for me to do.” as natural as being a genius with the dough and a judge on the “Great British Bake off”, including the US version of the show. As natural as starting up his own Netflix series, and in that process even taking a nod towards his love for classic cars and the race track?
Paul could be defined as the Cary Grant of baking. Suave, elegant, handsome to the point of exaggeration, talented beyond measure. The fact is Venus adores the man. The planet regaled him with numerous gifts, including taste, sensitivity, flair and charisma. The Goddess missed out on one gift, a fulfilled personal life. He met his wife Alexandria in Cyprus, where he had been working as a head baker. They married and had a family, but things did not go well when he had an affair. They tried to reconcile but failed and divorced in 2019. Paul then went to split from hi girlfriend after a two-year relationship. It must be difficult for a man on a mission to concentrate on domestic bliss. The planets show an ongoing struggle between feeling and action. He knows he has to fulfil his mission, and nothing will stop him; but he also knows that for all the accolades, he still has a personal life to fulfil.

SO, WHAT’S WITH THE EVOLUTION?

With a dominant Pluto calling the shots, Paul pushes himself and others towards evolution, and if that means he pushes too hard, so be it. He is ready to pay the price, and he expects those who love, work and play with him to do the same. He tends to dominate others, to see them as children. People tend to get dizzy around him, some in awe of his beauty, others his talent. The fact is this is a man who does not burn bread in the oven. He knows how to play with the very dough of life, he has faith in the cosmic game, and inevitably it leads him to victory.