GREAT British Bake Off contestant Sandy Docherty has spoken of her dream of getting hundreds of Bradford children baking and enjoying creativity in the kitchen.

The 51-year-old school worker, who runs an over-subscribed after-school cooking club in Bradford, believes cooking ought to be taught as a "life skill" and not just as another exam to pass.

Ms Docherty, who works as a child welfare officer at Titus Salt School in Baildon, hopes to talk to Bradford Council and others to encourage the spread of similar clubs for disadvantaged children.

She was speaking after judges on the BBC show voted her off after she had a bit of a disaster with her cheesecake creation.

But she was all smiles this week and happy to put it behind her.

"I can't blame the oven, I blame me," she said of the cheesecake and creme brulee blunders.

"I was cooking with my heart when I should have been engaging my head."

And she admitted she hadn't taken enough care to ensure her creations were easy on the eye.

"I think I let myself down in that area. My baking is like me – it may not be the most glamorous but it's tasty."

She said after-school cooking clubs could "go global" and has already been in talks with several organisations to discuss the next steps.

Since her appearance on the show, she has been stopped in the street by strangers while one newspaper columnist praised her "bone-dry Bradford wit".

She hit more than 1,000 followers on Twitter in just weeks.

And she was a hit with the Bradford public on Friday as she conducted an impromptu cake-testing session in City Park.

Ms Docherty, who lives in Yeadon, invited the public to try her Amaretto and apricot Madeira cake, which she made that morning. It was a copy of the one that impressed the show judges.

Passersby enjoying the sunshine in City Park stopped to have their photo taken with Ms Docherty.

Gillian Proctor, of Saltaire, described the Madeira cake as "lovely".

Davina Okuzu, visiting Bradford from Scarborough and a big fan of the show, said: "What an honour to have a piece of cake baked by one of the contestants. The flavours are very subtle; it is delicious."

Janice Thornton, of Shipley, stopped to offer Ms Docherty her congratulations.

"You did fantastically well and you are a credit to Bradford. I'm really proud of you."

Ms Docherty said she felt overwhelmed by the response from the public since she appeared on the show.

She added: "It is a bit surreal and a lot of fun. I'm absolutely agog and in awe. One day I'm going to wake up and it's not going to have happened. If I say too much I would cry as I get quite emotional."