Icing On The Cake
THE sweet taste of success filled the City of Manchester Stadium where the winner of the Stadium’s Eastlands cake competition was announced.
WFM 97.2 presenter Mike George took the first prize.
Over the past seven months, the Stadium has invited budding chefs from across the city and suburbs to submit their finest cake recipe in a bid to find a cake that represents East Manchester – after all Chorley, Eccles and Bakewell all have cakes named after them!
With over a hundred entries received, it was a case of ‘the proof is in the pudding’ as an expert panel of judges gathered to sample the cake making talents of the four finalists.
The judging panel, comprising City’s Consultant Executive Chef John Benson-Smith, Head of Sales David Chell, McVitie’s Technical Brand Manager for Jaffa Cake, Paul Courtney, and Manchester based food critic Neil Sowerby, invited the finalists to present their cakes for sampling while explaining their recipes and its East Manchester connections.
First prize, and scooping a unanimous ‘icing on the cake’ vote from all the judges, was Mike George’s creation, ‘The Eastlands Garden Cake’, a moist sponge cake with layers of apple and pears throughout, rounded off with a crispy hazelnut topping. The fruit is grown and harvested by Mike, 64, from Cheadle, who is a keen gardener at the Philips Park Community Orchard in Gorton, a long goal kick from the stadium.
Speaking about his winning cake, Mike said: “The Eastlands Garden Cake is a true taste of Manchester as it uses fruit lovingly grown in an urban orchard less than a mile from the Stadium. Although I don’t bake regularly, I am however a keen chef, so when devising my recipe I thought about ingredients that would work well together. The apples and pears make the cake moist, while the hazelnuts provide a crunchy topping. For other seasons in the year, there are a number of alternative fruits to use from the orchard.”
Commenting on Mike’s winning cake, John Benson-Smith, City’s Consultant Executive Chef, said: “Mike’s cake was more-ish. It had a winning combination of textures and flavours - everything you could want from a tea time treat.”
Mike will now enjoy an all expenses paid, VIP matchday hospitality package for four at a Manchester City Football Club game, together with a half day cookery class with Consultant Executive Chef, John Benson-Smith.
“Being a huge and lifelong City fan I am delighted to have won the competition. I can’t wait to experience City’s renowned hospitality, and I look forward to honing my cookery skills in the kitchen with John,” added Mike.
Paul Courtney said: “Working as a product manager for one of the largest cake and biscuit manufacturers in the UK, I get to sample a lot of sweet snacks frequently. I was delighted to play a part in judging these entries, all of which creatively reflected the spirit of East Manchester. Congratulations to them all.”
The three other finalists included: Dillian Ball, 13, from Audenshaw, who achieved second place with his ‘Eastlands Spirit Cake’, Bethany Lister, 11, from Blackley, who was placed third with her ‘Manchester Current Cake’, and Celia Poole, 44, from Audenshaw, who came fourth with her ‘Blueberry Moon Cake’.
David Chell concluded: “I was really impressed by the overall standard of entries. It was really difficult to pick the four finalists from the hundreds of entries we received, and even more difficult to pick a winner.
“Here at the Stadium we strive to be innovative, and decided to launch the Eastlands cake competition to add a taste of East Manchester to our hospitality line up. Mike’s use of locally grown produce to create tasty treat was a real winner for us, and will compliment our current offering when it is served to hospitality guests.”