Thursday 11th December was the date etched in the calendar, from before the moment that the last crumb from the 2024 Christmas bake off had been consumed! As the day grew nearer, anticipation rose as to which culinary delights the judges would have the pleasure in sampling!
Responsibility weighs heavy on the judging panel year on year, and this year it was no different! Keith Burn, whose culinary credentials extend to having lived in the same county as one of the hairy bikers, and lifelong late night connoisseur of the Greggs sausage roll accepted his nomination with good grace. He was joined by Mike Longfellow whose legendary chocolate stash meant that he was well placed given his general sugar intake to withstand many entries! This years competitors faced a stiff challenge to convince our judges that their bakes warranted being awarded the 2025 prize.
In terms of the entries, particular mention needs to go to Julie Thurston in our Norwich office who despite not being able to enter the competition from Norwich due to the certain degradation of her bakes should they be put in the hands of a courier, still baked for her colleagues in the Norwich office. One of her gingerbread ladies was sporting a rather noticeable anatomical feature, but the biggest concern of the day was the Christmas tree topper in the background, which is our Head of Legal Indemnity, Alex Bielinski.
Alex himself entered the fray by submitting 3 bakes, but unfortunately did not tickle the judges tastebuds sufficiently enough to win a single prize.
This year’s event also had an extra Christmassy feel due to the fact that it coincided with Christmas jumper day, which helped to bring a lighter air to our normal working day, which was made heavy again by the amount of carbs consumed by colleagues. There was unanimous approval that the baked goods sampled this year were all excellent!
The spoils however this year went to Andrea Gibbons with her festive sausage bake, and no sugar in sight, but plenty of carbs! Andrea’s bake was closely followed by Angie Quilty with her Baileys cheesecake (containing at least 3 bottles of Baileys, but welcomed by all who sampled!!), and also Daniella Stefani with her chocolate Rice Krispie Christmas puddings.
Congratulations to all of our winners, but the real winners however were our 2 nominated charities, Merseyside Youth Association (MYA) and North West Air Ambulance, who will each receive at least £160. Donations are still coming in as this article is published. We were particularly pleased to host an MYA Board meeting and so the attendees were also able to sample the delights. Gill Bainbridge, CEO of MYA, along with Kim Kearns were also on hand to present the prizes to our winners.
Well done to all involved and thanks to all colleagues and guests (who were accosted for money as they visited our offices during the day) for your generous contributions to a wonderful cause!
2026 is sure to be one to behold!!
