Our latest rounds of the Bake-Off challenge have taken place over the past few weeks, and it was nothing short of amazing! This time, the theme was “Around the World”—a perfect opportunity for the teams to take us on a global food adventure and bring some warmth to the cold winter months.

The teams were drawn at random just before Christmas, giving them time to plan their recipes. Each team was allowed one special ingredient outside of our basic shopping list, so they had to get creative!

Our wonderful volunteer, Maggie, kindly agreed to be our judge for this event, and she took her role very seriously. Each week, a team presented their dish to Maggie, who rated them based on theme consistency, flavour, texture, originality, presentation, and most importantly, portion size!

The entries were absolutely fantastic and varied. We got to try:

• Sticky Toffee Pudding made with dates from Namibia.
• Pizzas with multiple toppings, of course representing Italy.
• Fajitas cooked on the firepit, bringing the flavours of Mexico to life.

Each team also got to pick a fun name for the competition, and we had some brilliant entries like The Italian Mob, Steep Learning Curve, and Sticky Toffee Chaos.

Maggie had some great feedback for each team:

• Sticky Toffee Chaos: “Perfect amount of topping and beautiful presentation, good service by Stephen—well done!”

• Steep Learning Curve: “Very brave effort cooking on a fire in February, and a very tasty filling.”

 

• The Italian Mob: “Excellent combination of flavours and timed to perfection.”

We did have a small delay with the last team’s entry as Maggie was away for a few weeks, but once she returned, we were able to announce the winners with a lovely speech from our dedicated judge, followed by the handing out of certificates.
In a very close competition, The Italian Mob took the win with their incredible pizzas—just edging out the other fantastic entries! But truthfully, every dish was delicious, and each team did an amazing job.

Maggie shared her thoughts on the competition: ” What a privilege to be asked to judge this 1st Bake-off 2025! It was very difficult as the standard was so high. The sticky toffee pudding, the pizzas and the fajitas were all delicious. Every team scored full marks on the flavour category.”

A huge congratulations to everyone who took part! We hope you had as much fun creating as we did doing the tasting.

 Having already made bread, chocolate cake, and biscuits, the big question is… What theme should be next on the menu?  Let us know your ideas, and we’ll start planning the next tasty challenge!