Bake off fever hits edenderry
THE BBC recently revealed that more people tuned into the final of the Great British Bake Off than the World Cup on BBC One, and it seems the the love of all things culinary has travelled across the water to Edenderry too.
A Great Edenderry Children’s Bake Off planned for next Saturday has attracted upwards of 60 entries from local children as young as three.
The Children’s Bake Off is the brainchild of Canon Lynda Peilow, who said she racked her brains earlier this summer to come up with a church hall fundraiser that would catch the interest of local youngsters.
Catch their interest the competition certainly seems to have done, with more than 60 ready to bring their baked goods along to Church Walk at 2pm on Saturday afternoon for the competition that boasts categories including ‘technical bake’, ‘can’t bake, but can decorate’, ‘brownie decorating’ and ‘cookie making’ across 3-6, 7-9, 10-12 and 13-15 age categories.
“I had no expectations of how many would enter, but if I had it certainly wasn’t that high,” Canon Lynda explained this week, adding that already plans are in place for the competition to become an annual event.
Canon Lynda is herself an enthusiastic baker, a hobby she’s passed on to her own children Chloe (11), Peter (8) and Amelie (5). They will be among the entrants looking for glory on Saturday, and Canon Lynda said preparations for their bakes are in full swing in their house, as they are in houses across the town.
“I hear there’s been lots of practice bakes going on,” she said, adding that she suspects parents “are enjoying it even more than the children”.
Mindful that not every household has lots of baking equipment, technical bakes for Saturday’s competition include scones and friands that can be made with minimal equipment. The category has proved particularly popular, with some 25 entrants.
Meanwhile cookie decoration is the most popular category in the age 3-6 section. “People have been sending me pictures of all sorts of cookie creations,” Canon Lynda said.
Everyone is welcome to call by Church Walk from 2pm on Saturday, when bakes will be on display and tickets will be on sale for a monster raffle with numerous prizes put up by generous local businesses.
The competition judge - a local expert whose identity is being kept under wraps until the day - will announce competition results sometime after 3.30pm, while refreshments, stalls and entertainment will be available throughout.
Competition prizes include trophies and medals, but Canon Lynda is keen to point out that taking part is the main thing. “All children who enter will get a goodie bag,” she explained. “We want it to be a fun day.”
Proceeds from Saturday will go towards the hall, which caters to a number of children’s groups locally.
“The parish allows the groups to use the hall for nothing, but there are insurance, heating and lighting costs,” Canon Lynda explained. “We just need a little bit of help to keep it going.”
Details of raffle prizes and more are available on the ‘Edenderry Union of Parishes’ Facebook page.