As an avid viewer of baking phenomenon The Great British Bake Off, and lover of anything remotely resembling a cake, I was delighted to see a rather innovative fundraising initiative from the Birmingham office of Lambert Smith Hampton.
Those LSH chaps roped in Michelin-starred chef and all round good Brummie egg Glynn Purnell to judge a GBBO inspired cake, pastries and bread-making competition. The tasty treats were then sold throughout the LSH offices in Edmund Street, raising more than £200 for Macmillan Cancer Support and LSH's own charity - the Marie Curie Hospice Fund.
The budding bakers worked hard to impress Purnell, famous for his TV stints on BBC's Masterchef etc and for his upmarket eaterie on Cornwall Street. It was a hard fought competition which saw Adam Ramshaw's lemon drizzle cake win first place, Mary Croxford's coffee cake was runner up with Julie Baker's bakewell cup cakes coming in third.
Purnell, said: "It was great to see so many people being inspired to cook and rise to the occasion [see what he did there]. Some of the entries were excellent and it was quite tricky picking the overall winner. It was an outstanding effort by all involved and a great way to support charity."
Debbie Hyland, who leads the charity and social committee at LSH in Birmingham, said: "We usually host a Macmillan Coffee Morning event but this year - inspired by TV baking shows - we wanted to do something a little different. We've got a number of talented cooks in our Birmingham office and I'm pleased to say that lots of people got involved and produced some really delicious food."
Hmmn, perhaps coffee and cake next time I swing by LSH?
