To celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s 70 years on the throne, Fortnum & Mason is launching a bake-off like no other.
Anyone over the age of eight can submit a recipe, and the deadline is 4 February. After submissions close, five finalists will be invited to prepare their culinary creations for a panel of expert judges. The panel will include Dame Mary Berry of Great British Bake Off fame, Masterchef’s Monica Galetti, and Buckingham Palace's head chef Mark Flanagan.
Mark’s advice is to “Keep it simple. Don’t try to include too many different flavours or textures in one dish. Think subtle and elegant rather than fussy and over complicated.”
Dame Mary is clearly excited to be judging desserts once again: “I’m thrilled to be panel chair for this exciting competition to make the perfect pudding for the Queen. I hope everyone who enters has lots of fun.”
Tom Athron, CEO of Fortnum & Mason, is calling for everyone to “roll their sleeves up and get involved, from individuals, families and community groups to care homes, schools and colleges. We can’t wait to see all the inventive entries.”
The winner will be invited to the palace’s lavish celebrations, and the dessert will be served at Jubilee lunches and parties all over the country.
Creating a new dish to celebrate a monarch’s reign is by no means a new invention. In 1953, Le Cordon Blue invented coronation chicken to celebrate the start of her majesty’s now record-breaking monarchy.
Since then, the dish has become a staple, especially in sandwiches. Subsequent Jubilee dishes have been created but none has seen the same popularity.
The winning pudding will be enjoyed at the Big Jubilee Lunches over the extended bank holiday, and the recipe will be made available to the public.
You can enter the competition on the Fortnum & Mason website now.
In other news, an ex-Fat Duck pastry chef is suing for £200k over RSI claims.