However, don’t ask her who she wants to win the latest series of The Great British Bake Off, which has its finale coming up on November 15. Does she think her peer-group – at almost 24 she is somewhere between a Millennial and the younger so-called Generation Z – are confused about food and diet? “Yes,” she replies, without hesitation. “I am from the generation with arguably the most delusional approach to food. There’s so much noise surrounding it on social media. The influencer set are hugely to blame when it comes to diet issues. People aren’t sure about where they stand as they receive mixed messages almost every day.”

Everything processed is why we’ve lost touch with fresh food. E-numbers, additives, colourants, preservatives and so on are all man-made and, of course, they’re going to cause damage and health problems. Naturally occurring ingredients are hardly to blame.” I keep getting sent photos of my recipes people have tried, which is fantastic. My aunt has done 10 already.But, rather than move to London to pursue a career as a celebrity baker, Flora returned home to Dunkeld, Perthshire, to open her very own artisan bakery. Flora explained: “I don’t think telly would have been the one for me. It was fun when I was doing it, but I really struggled with the attention and kind of ‘nowhere to hide’ side of Bake Off. At nineteen, Flora was catapulted into the public eye when she became the reality show’s youngest-ever semi-finalist – an experience she found “incredibly daunting”. “I wouldn’t have done it if I’d known what it would be like to have that level of exposure, with so many people forming opinions about you,” she says. Afterwards, her agent was keen for her to move from Trochry, the rural village outside Dunkeld where she grew up, to pursue the television personality route in London. But the self-confessed homebody was having none of it. “I’d love to be a cool city person, but that’s just not me,” she says. “And after seeing the kind of attention generated by being on TV, I knew I wasn’t comfortable with it. So I decided to stay put.” With veganism gaining in popularity among Gen Zedders, does she offer vegan options? “A couple, but that’s not something we do massively,” she replies, with an almost imperceptible sigh. “Apart from the fact that it’s very hard to cater for every possible dietary requirement, our ethos here is hugely based on local, as opposed to dietary.

So, does running a bakery span the genders? “Yeah, it used to be all women but the balance is more even now. In fact, I call my team ‘The Boys’,” she says. “Gatherings was more focused on home and family whereas this is much bigger and wider in scope and people. What we’re doing here is definitely more collaborative. People of both genders bring in ideas and suggestions, either orally or from memory, and we try them out. We’re doing continual R&D and things are developing organically. And in the village, the wider community spirit is strong.” Flora’s book, Gatherings, has been flying off the shelves since its release on January 26 and she isn’t ruling out a second.

My sister Hebe is doing neuroscience at Glasgow University so I get to be a student again when I visit her.” Assemble the salad on a large serving platter. Scatter some watercress over the base of the platter then dot with the dressed fennel slices, grapefruit and chicory in a haphazard fashion. Finish with a little more watercress, some cress leaves, parsley and the fennel fronds. Dot the crabmeat over the dish.

She has a baby due in December, and she’s just launched her third cookbook, Supper: Recipes Worth Staying in For. It seems that she might be a carpe diemkind of person.Lots of people want me to call it the Flora Shedden Bakery but I’m unconvinced and there are a few more names being tossed around. Using a sharp serrated knife, slice the loaf into thin biscuits. Arrange on a large baking tray. Return the biscotti to the oven for its second bake. You are looking for the biscuits to dry out at this stage, though they will colour a little too. Bake them for 10 minutes before turning them over and returning to the oven for a further five minutes. Last week, Scots clan chief Lady Claire Macdonald, Irish TV chef Rachel Allen and Yorkshire cook Frances Atkins were photographed attending screen tests in London with judge Paul Hollywood, sparking rumours they are to be the replacements for Mary Berry. Paying a visit to our dear friend Flora Shedden is always attended by a sensation of warmth, the kind of familiarity that we more often associate with coming home. The journey to her hometown of Dunkeld in Scotland may be a long way from the well-travelled road to our own, but the feeling of being ushered into open arms is similarly suffused into every thoughtful element of her enchanting Aran Bakery, as well as in the irresistible Lon, her lifestyle store, too. To cross their threshold is to step into a complete world where the generous and abundant thread that yokes it all together begins and ends with Flora herself. But there are downsides to living near the businesses. “There’s definitely no divide between work and the rest of my life, and I battle with that sometimes,” she admits. Sunday is Flora’s only day off: the rest of the time she pinballs between Aran, a baking unit in Birnam where its produce is made, and Lòn, usually doing a few shifts a week across them all while juggling the admin that comes with owning a business.

To make the pastry, combine the ingredients in a food processor and blitz until you have a smooth dough, but be careful not to overwork it or it will become tough. Alternatively, work the butter into the combined flours and icing sugar using a wooden spoon, then mix in the milk and gently knead until you have a smooth dough. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill for 15-30 minutes. Now she’s 27, with even more precocious achievements under her belt. There’s her bakery, Aran, in her home town of Dunkeld, as well as the produce store, Lon. In Aran, she writes: “Sugar gets a bad rep, as does gluten, sadly. But my principles remain the same throughout this bizarre time. Use proper and honest ingredients and think of food as a source of fuel and satisfaction, not as something to fear or discuss negatively.” She said: “I’ve been working on the book for so long that when it was put into my hand it felt very surreal. Thankfully, everybody I know seems to like it.Flora, who has been baking for as long as she can remember, said: “Most of the food will be takeaway but there will be a few seats near the door for folk who want to come in for a coffee and slice of cake. The following day, heat the oven to as high as it will go. If you have a cast-iron pot, place this in the oven at the same time. If not, use a sturdy baking tray, again heating it up along with the oven. Flora, who has a cat called Dog, said: “I know there have been rumours about who will be fronting the new show with Paul Hollywood and they all look interesting. In the early years of The Great British Bake Off, contestants shared a few simple goals – rise to the occasion with an impressive cake, avoid dropping any showstoppers on the floor, and maybe even wow the judges enough to win a coveted Hollywood Handshake.