Video: Huge Success Sees First Ever Wrexham Bake Off Raise Over £1000 For Charity

It was innuendo and drizzle cake galore at the first ever Wrexham Bake Off – with the generosity of participants and spectators raising over £1000 for a local hospice.

It was battle of the bakers on Wednesday night, with 22 amateur and professional bakers hoping to impress the team of bake off judges with their homemade drizzle cakes.

The full video of the welcome, judging and results is below… (we had hoped to live stream, but this was filmed right through the evening as-live!)

The event, which took place at The Bank in Wrexham Town Centre was organised by local campaigner Andrew Atkinson and Wrexham’s very own Paul Hollywood, Alex Jones.

Over 70 residents packed out the venue to support the bakers and sample the stunning array of cakes from the 22 participants who were all seeking the much coveted title, ‘Star Baker.’

Bakers paid £5 to enter and the cake was sold by the slice to the hungry spectators, which along with generous raffle prizes and kind match funding from Natwest Bank raised £1195.44 for Nightingale House Hospice.

Wrexham.com and Wrexham TV joined forces to film the event so that it could be enjoyed by a wider audience across the County Borough.

The Mayor of Wrexham who was nicknamed ‘Mayor’y Berry’ was the Head Judge along with his wife Anne the Mayoress, and was joined on the judging panel.
After a tough competition (and some classic Bake Off innuendos) the winner of Star Baker was announced as Beverley Patterson-Jones from local business Bev’s Been Baking – who went for a real show stopper of a cake, her Toffee Apple Drizzle cake with apples from her own garden.

Speaking about winning the first Wrexham Bake Off, winner, Beverley Patterson-Jones said: “I am overwhelmed with this win. I’ve had amazing support from the other contestants and the Wrexham network. This win has honoured my sisters wish, (Marilyn Jones) that I do something with the talent I have, after she passed away last year.”

Second place went to ‘Master Baker’ Emma Wilson of Emz Cakes, for an incredible cake topped with macaroons.

Emma Wilson from Emz Cakes said: “Fabulous evening at Bank Bar for the Wrexham bake off we had a great evening and over the moon to have come 2nd, there are so many talented bakers in Wrexham, well done to everyone.”

Third place went to local baker Helen Owens for another stunning cake topped with meringue swirls.

4th place was awarded to 15-year-old Carys Jones competing on behalf of Chris De Burger food van in Rhostyllen.

A special prize was awarded to Gateway Church for their very inventive and delicious courgette drizzle cake. Three wooden spoons were also awarded to Cllr Phil ‘he didn’t win’ Wynn for his Lemon Drizzle cake.

Event organiser Mr Atkinson commented: “Myself and my co-organiser Alex Jones from the Bank Bar are just blown away by the community spirit that played such a big role in the success of this event.

“To think that this was organised in 14 days is fantastic, it highlights the support we had from bakers, businesses, individuals, Natwest, raffle prize donors and more! People were really excited it was an incredible event and one that we think can be an annual event for Nightingale House.

“This was a great opportunity for businesses to showcase themselves, Wrexham.com and Wrexham.TV have provided a great platform for these businesses to showcase their talents and I hope lots of people will watch the video!”

Chris Andrews, Area Fundraiser for Nightingale House added: “What a night. It was fantastic seeing all the local people, businesses and communities coming together and making the bake off such a success. The cakes were delicious, the atmosphere exciting, and the competition fierce.

“We’re absolutely delighted that the night raised £597! This will be doubled by the amazing team at Natwest, meaning around £1,200 has been raised for the Hospice. We are so incredibly grateful to Andrew Atkinson, Alex Jones, Natwest, and everyone else who has made the inaugural Wrexham Bake Off such a successful fundraiser.”

Pictures taken by local photographer Tony Eccles – more of his work can be found on the Prime Lens Photography website and Facebook page.