The inaugural Great Excite Christmas bake-off ๐จโ๐ณ
Whether youโre a Christmas fanatic or more of a Grinch, thereโs no denying that this time of year brings everyone together over delicious, indulgent treatsโespecially baked goodies. For many busy parents (myself included), baking isnโt exactly a top priority most weeks. But the moment Christmas decorations hit the supermarket shelves, we all start thinking about that inevitable late-night baking marathon when our best intentions are put to the test.
Baking, bonding, and a dash of competition ๐ค
At Excite, family comes firstโitโs at the heart of everything we do. So, sharing in the delights of homemade treats ticks a big culture box for us. Thereโs something special about coming together over good food; nothing unites a team like a little friendly competition. That is why we thought a Christmas Bake-Off would be the perfect way to get everyone in the festive spirit by bringing plenty of laughter, shiny trophies and, of course, a serious sugar rush!
And that it did โฆ the day was a complete success! With 19 entries across four categories, the 26th of November brought all that and more. Not only did we crown four category champions, but we also used the experience as an opportunity to find a hero dish to win our grand champion trophy and feature it as our client Christmas gift for 2018.
Planning the perfect bake-off ๐
However, this success didnโt just happen overnight. Weeks of planning went into bringing the idea to life, starting with the creation of the Bake-Off brand identity. From there, we built excitement with teaser messages across our internal channels. Before we knew it, posters were popping up in the kitchens and around the office, with friendly reminders on Skype, Slack, and Tempo keeping the buzz going.
After tackling the initial planning hurdles, the next big challenge was choosing a judging day. Mondays seemed ideal since everyone had the weekend to bake, but there was always the risk of forgetting. With Mondays already packed with planning for the week ahead, it was a bit of a gamble. But we took the risk, and it paid off, delivering better results than we could have hoped for!
The arrival of the judges ๐ฉโ๐ณ
As the boardroom table filled with a great variety of tasty sweet treats, our judging panel started to arrive, and we knew they would be a tricky bunch to please. To make the event even more special, we invited some of our local Excite clients to be our โfair and honestโ judges.
A huge thank you to Karen and Steven from Prescare, Ryn from Red Candy, Jane from Fig Tree Children, Andrea from Tackle Warehouse, and professional baker Robyn from Little Birdie Cakes. With scorecards in hand and coffee at the ready, they took on the tough task of delivering our inaugural results.
Drumroll please ๐ฅ
We would like to congratulate our 2018 Champions:
๐ Julia and her Pecan Butter Tarts (Open Category Winner)
๐ Erinna and her Banoffee Pavlova Wreath (Cookie, Slices and Crunchy Things Winner)
๐ Polina and Andrew with their Russian โMegobukโ Honey Cake and Crunchy Cranberry & White Chocolate Muffins respectively (joint Winners of Cakes, Muffins and Spongey Things on identical scores)
๐ And Tracey for Pepperminty Mystery Bars (Gluten Free, Vegan Winner)
Big congratulations to our Overall Grand Champion, Erinna, for her spectacularly delicious Banoffee Pavlova Wreath
Excite Media wishes you a very Merry Christmas! ๐
Now itโs time to bring the Christmas spirit to our Excite clients with Erinnaโs Banoffee Pavlova Wreath taking center stage. Over the next few weeks, our creative team will be hard at work, turning this delicious treat into a unique and quirky Excite offeringโwithout giving our Production team too many headaches! Stay tuned for more details coming soon.
So as Christmas approaches and the festivity kicks in, from everyone here at Excite, we wish everyone a stress-free silly season and hope that your 2019 is truly Exciting!
