Who are Suhas and Sergei from Bake Off: The Professionals 2026?
Suhas Lokhande and Sergei Kuzmin are two of the pastry chefs competing on Bake Off: The Professionals 2026.
The pair both work for Sutton Hotel Collection, although the Channel 4 competition marks the first time they have collaborated.
Each chef leads the pastry section at a different hotel within the group, meaning their paths had not crossed professionally before they were teamed up for the competition.
They only started working together one week before appearing on the show, adding another layer of pressure to an already demanding competition.
Bake Off: The Professionals returned to Channel 4 on Tuesday, May 26, with teams tested across illusion cakes, secret recipes and ambitious showstoppers.
Dubbed “Britain’s toughest patisserie competition”, the professional spin-off focuses on trained pastry chefs from hotels, restaurants, bakeries and patisserie businesses, with teams judged by pastry chefs Cherish Finden and Benoit Blin on flavour, structure, technique, creativity and execution under pressure.
Who is Suhas Lokhande?
Suhas Lokhande is team captain and a head pastry chef within Sutton Hotel Collection.
In 2023 he was hired head pastry chef at Castle Hotel Windsor.
Before moving to the UK, Suhas spent years honing his craft in five-star establishments, including The Oberoi in Mumbai, where he grew up, the Grand Hyatt and The Wolseley Hospitality Group.
His background also includes time as senior chef pastry at Brasserie Zédel, the Michelin Bib Gourmand-awarded Parisian brasserie in London, as well as experience with Barry Callebaut Group as a technical advisor and academy chef.
Suhas has also worked as executive pastry chef and partner for International Baking Company in Mumbai, giving him experience across hotel pastry, bakery, confectionery, chocolate and menu development.
As team captain, Suhas brings both operational experience and technical pastry knowledge to the competition.
Who is Sergei Kuzmin?
Sergei Kuzmin is Suhas’ teammate on Bake Off: The Professionals 2026 and also works within Sutton Hotel Collection.
He is pastry chef at The Athenaeum Hotel and Residences in Mayfair, where he is behind the hotel’s desserts, afternoon tea and many of its sweet moments.
Sergei began his career at The Savoy, where he worked as a pastry chef between 2010 and 2014.
He has since held pastry roles at a number of five-star establishments, including Shangri-La The Shard, Four Seasons Hotel London and Rosewood London.
The Athenaeum has described his desserts as being inspired by childhood memories and driven by “a constant curiosity to discover something new”, with Sergei believing the best desserts do more than satisfy a sweet tooth - they tell a story.
Away from the kitchen, both Sergei and Suhas enjoy sport, ranging from running to more high-adrenaline pursuits such as snowboarding.
What happened in their first episodes?
Suhas and Sergei entered Bake Off: The Professionals 2026 as a newly formed team, having only begun working together shortly before filming.
In their first week in the competition, the pair finished in the bottom two and narrowly avoided elimination.
The result underlined the challenge facing the Sutton Hotel Collection chefs, who were not only adapting to the pressure of the Bake Off kitchen but also learning how to work together as a team.
Their second week showed a clear step forward.
After surviving their opening appearance, Suhas and Sergei finished second the following week, giving them a stronger platform in the competition.
Grete and Goda Butkute of Scotiq placed first in both of those episodes.
Who are the judges and presenters?
Bake Off: The Professionals is hosted by Liam Charles and Ellie Taylor.
Liam first became known to Bake Off viewers as a contestant on The Great British Bake Off before going on to present Junior Bake Off and Bake Off: The Professionals.
Ellie is a comedian, actress, writer and presenter, and returns alongside Liam for the 2026 series.
The judges are Cherish Finden and Benoit Blin.
Cherish is one of the UK’s best-known pastry chefs and has judged Bake Off: The Professionals across multiple series.
She has worked as executive pastry chef at The Langham Hotel and Pan Pacific London and won a host of awards during her career.
Cherish has also been appointed as chair of pastry judges for the 2026 National Chef of the Year and Young National Chef of the Year competitions.
Benoit is an award-winning pastry chef with a long career in luxury hospitality and fine dining, known for his technical standards and classical patisserie expertise. He notably worked at Raymond Blanc’s two-Michelin-starred Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons for more than 30 years, leading a team of 13 pastry chefs in his role as chef pâtissier.
Together, the pair judge the teams on flavour, structure, finish, technique, creativity and execution under pressure.
What is Bake Off: The Professionals 2026?
Bake Off: The Professionals is the professional spin-off from The Great British Bake Off.
Rather than amateur bakers, the series focuses on trained pastry chefs from hotels, restaurants, bakeries and patisserie businesses.
Each team is tested across demanding pastry, chocolate, sugar work, illusion cake and showpiece challenges, with the weakest teams leaving the competition as the series progresses.
The 2026 series is the 11th series of the show and features 12 teams competing for the title.
Suhas and Sergei had a difficult start to the competition but showed progress in their second week, with more technical challenges and showstoppers still to come.
For more on the full series, read our Bake Off: The Professionals 2026 guide.
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Who are Suhas and Sergei from Bake Off: The Professionals 2026?
