A community bakery in Southampton is hosting a bake-off style competition for amateur bakers this month (July 2022) to help raise funds for new baking equipment.
CommuniBakes, which is the commercial arm of the charity Communicare, is hosting the competition on Saturday, July 30 and the winning bake will be made and sold in August.
Ally Molyneaux, Bakery Manager at CommuniBakes on St James Road, Southampton, said, “ We are so excited to be hosting our first Great CommuniBake Off this summer to help raise funds for a new bread slicing machine for the bakery.
“We’re asking amateur bakers to design and bake at home, six individual cupcakes, muffins or sweet pies. All parts must be homemade from scratch, if possible, so no box cake mixes or bought pastry, but sprinkles are allowed.”
There will be two categories, under 16s and adults and entry is £5 per person, which will go towards the new bread slicing machine. People can register to take part at www.communibakes.co.uk.
The winner in each category will win an embroidered apron and their bake will be made and sold in the bakery throughout August. The runner up in each category will receive an embroidered apron.
Ally added: “Entries will need to be delivered to the bakery on July 30 between 10am and 10.30am, along with a description card and a full ingredients list. We will display the entries so members of the public can come and view them between 10.30am and 11am. Judging will then take place at 11am by our director and well-known Southampton baker, Matt Baker and some special guest judges yet to be announced.
“We will be selling tasting boxes on the day containing a sample of each entry, along with a form for people to vote for their top three. The results from the forms and the opinions of our judges will be combined to determine the winner, which will be announced at 12noon on the day via our social media channels.
“Anyone not entering the competition, but who still wants to get involved, can come along and purchase a taster box and cast their votes. We will also have games and a raffle at the bakery on the day too. We are aiming to raise £2,000 for our new bread slicing machine and we hope the competition will help towards this. We can’t wait to see all of the entries.”
CommuniBakes (previously Love Cake) was purchased to help raise funds for Communicare in November 2021 and is a separated limited company. All profits from the bakes sold go towards the charity and the work it does to help lonely and isolated people across Southampton.
Communicare, which is a friendly, neighbourhood charity, provides services that enrich the lives of lonely and isolated people in and around Southampton. Its services are staffed by volunteers, known as Communiteers.
Communicare’s Good Neighbours’ Network currently supports more than 600 individuals/families through tasks including one-to-one telephone befriending, transport for essential appointments and assistance with shopping.
Anyone interested in finding out more about the competition and CommuniBakes, which is at 21, St James Road in Shirley, is invited to pop in when it’s open, visit its website www.communibakes.co.uk or to call 023 8070 1888.
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