Ready, steady, bake! Great Upwey Bake Off helps beat lockdown blues

Contestants are vying to be star baker in the Weymouth contest

Author: George SharpePublished 19th Feb 2021

Rolling pins at the ready, Upwey has it’s own version of the Great British Bake Off.

It’s being run by the Upwey Wishing Well and pits 16 bakers against one another to be crowned the star baker.

Nicholas Pestana is one of the managers at the Wishing Well. He says it’s all to raise a bit of cheer:

“The idea with the Great Upwey Bake Off was to spread love and positivity at the moment. We’ve found that people come to the wishing well to enjoy themselves and enjoy the cake, and people have been coming to us for years, so why not spread the positivity in times such as now?”

The contest has four rounds and will end with a live-streamed finale in March as the final four contestants battle for the crown.

Every week four bakers send in their submissions and a star baker is picked to go on to the final round.

The theme is love, meaning each baker has to send in a love-themed bake to get judged.

After the cakes have been judged they are taken to care homes and hospitals.

Nicholas said:

"Yesterday evening I delivered four cakes, I think two to Dorchester Hospital and then two to two other care homes, one in Weymouth and one in Dorchester as well.

“So it’s just a great way to spread positivity in times which are so hard and tough at the moment.

“And who doesn’t love cake?”

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