Starting Up with Jane Hornby @ Thame Food Festival

When I first met Thame Food Festival patron Lotte Duncan, it was on a white sofa at the Good Food Show at Olympia.

Lotte was interviewing me about my new cookbook What to Bake & How to Bake It. I mentioned the coincidence that we both lived in Thame, we hit it off, and she was soon hatching a plan to run a new baking competition at the food festival with me at its helm. Gulp. The Big Thame Bake was born.

With the new national obsession of baking reaching fever pitch, I knew Lotte had found a winning idea and it would be an exciting prospect for Thame. I’ve always been into baking. It’s a lifelong love that started at my mother’s knee and I am happy I’m no longer the only one getting their kicks from crafting the perfect sponge or choux buns. Whatever you bake, be it a pie or a wedding cake, it’s almost always celebratory, something that holds a message of love and warmth. How could I not rise to the challenge?

Fast forward to this week and we’re in the final stages of organisation. For those not familiar with this fabulous free foodie day out, Thame Food Festival is on September 26, and is a celebration of good local food and drink, chefs and food producers. The Big Thame Bake is the first ever baking competition of its size in the town, with ten tasty categories and a generous dollop of celebrity and expert judges, including GBBO 2013 winner Frances Quinn, BBC GoodFood Magazine food editor Cassie Best, Lynn Hill from the Clandestine Cake Club and of course, The Women’s Institute, who will put the Victoria Sponge entries through their paces.

Thame Food Festival, which as a charity relies on sponsorship and donations, wants as many people as possible to enter, as all proceeds will be split between the festival and Thame Food Bank. Go to www.thamefoodfestival.co.uk/how-do-i-enter for details.

The competition is hotting up, especially as we’ve secured a top prize any baker would love – a KitchenAid 4.8L Artisan Mixer in cream, with an additional glass bowl, food processor and pasta attachments, set of KitchenAid baking trays and a KitchenAid gadget set worth £1,000, donated by Harts of Stur and KitchenAid. If I was allowed to enter, I would!

As well as baking and writing about food, I teach at the WI Cookery School at Denman, which is the WI’s wonderful learning centre in Abingdon. After a few chats with my colleague Kelly Mauger, we decided to start a new WI in Thame.

Our group opened in April, named The Thame Belles, and we already have over 85 members of all ages. We do things differently at our WI, but still appreciate a good bit of tea and cake! We know that food festivals can be thirsty work, so it seemed only natural to bring The Big Thame Bake and Thame Belles WI together. We’ll run The Town Hall Tea Room from 1.30pm onwards on festival day, selling the goodies from the competition plus tea and coffee, again with all proceeds going to good causes.

Come and see us for refreshments, book signings and cake decorating workshops. Book today by visiting www.thamefoodfestival.co.uk/have-a-go-at-cake-decorating If you want to show your support and be part of something special on September 26, register your entry for the The Big Thame Bake by Monday September 22 but don’t delay – it’s Thame to get baking!

See thamefoodfestival.co.uk/the-big-thame-bake

GO ALONG
Thame Food Festival takes place on Saturday, September 26. 
For details, see thamefoodfestival.co.uk