Great Granity Bake Off raises dough for Starship

Buller bakers of all ages united for the Great Granity Bake-Off, presenting a delectable array of goods. From loaves and cakes to cookies and jams, over forty entries filled The Lyric Theatre, all to raise money for the Starship Foundation.

The aromas of fresh baked goods filled the theatre as the entries rolled in at mid morning and once the tables were laden under the weight of all that deliciousness, the judges got to work.
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Emma Riddell (also the superstar organiser), Luke Robertson and Janis Lennon had the very difficult task of deciding which entries would take out the extensive prize pool. They spent considerable time on each entry, scoring 1-5 over 3 weightings - taste, difficulty and overall presentation, for a possible perfect score of 15.
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Once the official tasting was done and the numbers tallied, Emma announced the winners. There were six categories; breads, cakes, jams/spreads, cookies and the Under 15s as well as an award for the People's Choice.
Bread - 1st
Martin Terry - Wholemeal and oat knot loaf
Bread - 2nd
Tania Hammond - Seeded white loaf
Cookies - 1st
Sam Curtis - Eclairs
Cookies - 2nd
Kate Doran - Pumpkin spiced cookies
Cake - 1st
Penny Madden - Gluten-free chocolate cake
Cake - 2nd
Jennie-Leah Duston - Teddy surprise
Jam/Spread - 1st & 2nd
Kate Doran - Tamarillo, orange and chia marmalade, Orange and thyme jam
Under 15's - 1st
Evelyn Newbury - Focaccia bread which was also the only perfect score of the day!!
Under 15's - 2nd
Evelyn Lancaster - Chocolate rainbow cake - youngest entrant of the day!
People’s Choice
Lindsey Gardiner - Lemon drizzle cake
It felt as though most of Granity, Hector and Ngakawau turned out for the Bake-Off to get their hands on some sumptuous samples. There were some attendees from further afield and everyone wanted to know if the Bake-Off would become an annual extravaganza.
As the supply of delightful goods dwindled and everyone raved about how yummy everything was, money tinkled into the jars and flowed onto the online Starship fundraiser portal...
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Total funds raised by this event
The prizes, donated by a huge range of wonderfully supportive local businesses, totalled over $3000! A massive thank you to those businesses:
And, of course, a huge thank you to the judges, attendees, bakers and the team of Lyric Theatre volunteers!
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