Great British Bake Off 2014 finalist Richard Burr can't wait to head to Cockermouth for Taste Cumbria.

The builder turned baker, who won last year's TV series, will be in the town to deliver workshops and sign copies of his first book BIY, Bake It Yourself.

Richard said: "It's my first food event in Cumbria but definitely not the first time I visit the Lake District.

"I just love it, and my wife Sarah and I can't wait to come back.

"Cumbrians have to come to my workshops mainly because I can show them how to make fun stuff, anyone can be a baker, so bring along anyone, no matter what their level of experience is."

He will be holding two masterclasses on Saturday and Sunday, September 26 and 27, at 1:30pm.

On the Saturday he will be demonstrating how to make Challah bread and on the Sunday he will share his orange and chocolate biscotti recipe.

Richard said: "Challah is a type of Jewish bread and there's quite a few dough techniques.

"The biscotti recipe, just talking about it makes my mouth water.

"I've always enjoyed these events, my wife and I always used to go even before the Bake Off experience, just eating loads of food and meeting people. 

"I'm really looking forward to Taste Cumbria, trying different food and possibly tramping up a hill or two, I'll be like a kid in a candy store. 

"I love exploring and meeting as many people as I can. Since Bake Off I haven't had a single negative experience, everywhere I go I get to do fun stuff and I get to go to all the food festivals and pretend it's work."

Richard will also hold a book signing on Saturday at 3:30pm at the New Bookshop, on Main Street.

He said: "I never thought I'd publish a book, I really didn't expect all this to happen. It was wonderful making all my favourite food and writing about it.

"I've never been formally trained, so as a lay man I wrote it thinking about things that you could have lying around in the kitchen, rather than stuff that you never use for cooking.

"There's something for every skill and level, there's always something to fall on to if you've never picked up a spoon."

Catherine Hetherington, who runs the New Bookshop, said: "It's lovely that he's coming to take part in Taste Cumbria, people remember him from the Great British Bake Off and it's good that he can come and meet people, these kind of events are always good for the town."