The technical rounds of our Great Westbourne Bake Off are all wrapped up (in puff pastry)! We have seen the triumphant creation of quintessential quiches, sensational strudels, satisfying cinnamon swirls, creamy custard tarts, puffy poppy seed palmiers and perfect pinwheels and all our chefs have worked extremely hard. Mrs Bonn, our Food Tech Teacher, is one very full and happy judge; amazing work everyone!
The Junior and Senior Finals will take place at the beginning of next term and our finalists are:
- Year 3 – Teddy L & Ella Crabtree (Junior Final)
- Year 4 – Mirabelle G and Louis Stone (Junior Final)
- Year 5 – Beatrice W & Finn K (Junior Final)
- Year 6 – Ammie K & Dotty B (Senior Final)
- Year 7 – Willow D & James T-F (Senior Final)
- Year 8 – Martha B and Fleur B (Senior Final)
Technical Round News
Year 3
Our intrepid Year 3s were the last to take on the technical challenge and they had to brave the frost to come and cook, some for the first time ever, in the Food Tech room. They were so excited to receive the recipe and discover what they were going to be cooking and there was great competitive and festive spirit in the air!
"Brilliantly all competitors managed to successfully create deliciously swirled Cheese and Pickle Pinwheels on time!" Mrs Bonn said.
Year 4
Year 4's excitement and energy was palpable and they were eggstatic about the mystery recipe! Cinnamon swirls were the flavour of the day, with some serious swirling action going on. There were the usual dramas: ingredients over spilling bowls, eggs jumping out of shells and symmetry being seriously put to the test when cutting eight identical swirls.
The output was beyond impressive with the swirls rising beautifully and the room full of proud, satisfied Paul Hollywoods and Prue Leiths in training.
Year 5
Year 5 baked smoked cheese and poppy seed palmiers. Mrs Bonn said: "Our Year 5 pupils had to dig deep and use not only the recipe carefully, but also employ many of their culinary and high performing skills, to create these tasty party treats!
"As with the pastry, the children rose to the challenge to create their delicious entries. Striving for perfection, inevitably there were a few hiccups along the way, however our young chefs didn’t let the fear of mistakes get in their way, and they used their ability to adapt and demonstrate true agility to help them out of any sticky (quite literally!) situations."
All our bakers including one of our pupils with an "out of action" arm achieved their gastronomic goals! Yet another mouth watering effort and a fantastic effort from everyone.
Year 6
Year 6 kicked off the Bake Off with a miniature quiche challenge. Creating three identical quiches is no easy task and the pupils had to rely on the recipe for answers and their gut instincts: thickness of the pastry, height of filling and quantity of cheese - so many variables! They used their powers of analysis and agility, and linked their prior knowledge, realising and transferring their culinary skills. Their hard work certainly paid off. Despite the competitive edge, pupils also threw in ounces of empathy into the mix too, sharing their learning with each other through handy tips and reassuring nods; this was a truly wonderful and uplifting experience for all.
Year 7
Our Year 7s created delicious mini custard tarts for their technical challenge. Mrs Bonn commented: "I’m pleased to say that there was not a soggy bottom in sight, no tears and no lumpy custard! The technical challenge was conquered, fun was had and everyone took their lovingly prepared tarts home with them to share with their families."
Our Spanish pupils also learnt lots of new ingredient names and cooking terminology, which was fantástico!
Year 8
The Year 8s did a great job honing their culinary skills, including; peeling, chopping, caramelising, shaping, scoring, baking plus many more!
"Creativity was oozing out of the Food Tech Kitchen, along with wafts of cinnamon, stewed apple and sweet caramel. The school was truly awash with tantalising flavours. Another phenomenal effort from our budding bakers!" Mrs Bonn said.
