More fundraising at Sunfest

We're really pleased to say we raised £600 at Sunfest beer festival at the Rising Sun on Fulwood Road.

It was the second year that we've been invited by Abbeydale Brewery and had a stall selling cake and savoury goods for those hungry beer drinkers.

This year, the money will be split equally between Mental Health Action Group Sheffield, our charity of the year, and Cavendish Cancer Care, who Abbeydale are supporting this year.

A massive thanks to Laura Rangeley for organising and all our bakers and volunteers. Thanks once again to Abbeydale Brewery for inviting us back!

We raised over £1000 at Sheffield Food Festival

We've raised over £1000 selling homemade cake for a local charity at this year’s Sheffield Food Festival.

For the fifth year in a row, our city centre WI group have been at the festival by baking and selling cakes. This year’s stall in the Peace Gardens was extremely popular with the stall selling out of cakes every day. We raised £1024 in total.

Kirsty Bowen, President of Seven Hills WI said “Our stall was a massive hit once again at Sheffield Food Festival. Thank you to everyone who came down and bought cake or entered our raffle and a big thank you to all our members who worked hard to volunteer or bake.”

All the money raised will go to Light Sheffield, a local charity run providing support across Sheffield to families affected by perinatal mental health illnesses, including post natal depression and anxiety. Our members voted to support Light Sheffield as their charity for 2016.

Jess Rennie from Light Sheffield said: “It’s fantastic that Seven Hills WI have raised so much money from cake! We want to thank all the members who volunteered or baked cake. The Money will go to helping mums and their families who are affected by perinatal mental illnesses in Sheffield and the surrounding areas, to access valuable support provided by Light Sheffield.

Seven Hills WI have been invited to take part in Eroica Britannia family festival in June, bringing our popular charity cake stall to Bakewell Showground. We will be at the festival on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 June 2016.

Seven Hills WI return to Sheffield Food Festival

South Yorkshire’s largest Women’s Institute group, Seven Hills WI will be selling cakes once again for a local charity at this year’s Sheffield Food Festival.

The group have taken part in the festival since it began in 2011, selling homemade baked treats by women from the group. 

Members at Sheffield Food Festival 2015

This year, the Seven Hills WI stall will be in the Peace Gardens on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 May 2016. All money raised will go to local charity, Light Sheffield.

Light Sheffield is a small local charity run by volunteers providing support across Sheffield to families affected by perinatal mental health illnesses, including post natal depression and anxiety. Seven Hills WI’s members voted to support Light Sheffield as it’s charity for 2016.

Kirsty Bowen, President of Seven Hills WI said: “Every year, our members pull out all the stops to bake some impressive cakes for visitors at Sheffield Food Festival.

“We hope to beat last year’s amount raised and help Sheffield Light who provide a really important service to women and families in our community.”

Jess Rennie from Light Sheffield said: “We are absolutely delighted that Light Sheffield were chosen as Seven Hills WI’s charity of the year.

“We are a small charity so the money raised at Sheffield Food Festival will really make a difference to our work supporting women and families who are affected by perinatal mental health illnesses.”

Sheffield Food Festival is an annual event in the city centre, celebrating the quality and diversity of food and drink produced within the region.

We raised £1024 at Sheffield Food Festival 2015

Anna, Jen, Kirsty, Grace and Chelle help on the stall

We're very happy to say that our stall at this year's Sheffield Food Festival raised an amazing £1024 for our charity of the year. Our members worked really hard to bake some delicious treats and volunteer on the stall all weekend. Committee member Sam made two beautiful rainbow pinata cakes for us to raffle on both days. Thank you to everyone who helped, bought a cake or raffle ticket from us!

All the money we raised will go to SAYiT Sheffield. They provide support for young people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) or who are affected by HIV.
 

One of Sam's incredible pinata cakes

Tasseled bracelets with Bobbins & Buttons

March's meeting kicked off in the 'usual' way with an introduction and welcome from President Kirsty and then it was onto the normal monthly WI business of announcements, spin off group details and information for planned events and news from WI federation. I should perhaps point out to new members and guests that whilst the news announcements and highlights are always interjected with a little SHWI humour - March was slightly 'unusual' and we had the awesome treat of a Birthday Bainbridge! This led to a lengthy and somewhat hilarious take on our normal SHWI announcements, I only wish we'd got it on video! If you missed anything, don't forget to check out Facebook for details of spin offs, events and to chat to other members.

There was then a quick break for cups of tea, coffee, mingling and some sampling of the amazing cakes and bakes brought by our lovely members - did you know that when you bake, you get free entry to our monthly raffle? I always say I'm trying to watch my weight, and was sorely tempted by the white chocolate blondies but when I saw the beautifully presented chocolate cake with the hidden star inside I weakened, and yes it was as good as it looks. 

Our guest craft activity leader for March was another of our members (you really are a talented bunch!) - Lauren Misiukanis, from Bobbins & Buttons skilfully demonstrated tassel making and bracelet construction to an enthralled crowd.

Then it was time to grab our cups, fill them full of beads (42 small or 32 large - unless you have somewhat chunkier wrists, such as myself in which case you may need a couple extra).

Lauren worked the room and was on hand to deal with tassel traumas as well as any extra hints and tips needed - the resulting bracelets all looked fantastic and all so different. 

After a long day at work there was something calming about sitting at a table with some new and old SHWI chums, just threading beads and chatting. We ended up with a room full of happy and glamorous SHWIers!

Big thanks to Sharrowvale based, Hudson & Wood for the raffle prize of a Citrus Massage & Facial! I'm now off to stick tassels onto anything and everything!

Caryl Carson

SHWI Committee member

SHWI turns five and waves goodbye to Lindsay and Kim

October’s always a special month for Seven Hills WI. It’s a time for partying as we mark the anniversary of our official forming meeting and this year it was a little sad too as Kim and I addressed the group as President and Secretary for the very last time.


Our October meeting saw us celebrate our fifth birthday (five! Time flies!) with a birthday social, pot luck supper and cake competition. We had an abundance of food from crisps to pasta salad, mackerel pate to sausage rolls, and everything in between! And then there were the cakes. Special mentions go to Anna P’s Kinder egg cake with photos of me, Jen and Kim, and Vicky’s M&M and Maltesers dairy-free cake. After a gruelling taste test (it’s a hard life!) we chose Sam’s sponge piñata cake with a hidden filling of M&Ms as the winner. Well done Sam and thanks to everyone who entered the competition or brought food for the buffet, you are all brilliant! 

Sam's piñata cake

In true kid’s party style we played a round of pass the parcel although we had to draw the line at musical chairs; we’re still scarred from the musical chair incident of 2010…
It was a lovely night and great chance for members to have a chat in a more informal setting as we marked reaching the grand old age of five. It makes me so happy to see how far SHWI has come in the past five years and I’m looking forward to seeing what the next five hold. 

Members with the winning birthday cake

October was also a time for goodbyes and hellos as six members of the current committee stepped down, one new member joined the committee and roles were swapped around. As you will no doubt already know, after founding the group with Jen back in 2009 and being officers for the past five years, Kim and I decided to step down from our positions of President (me) and Secretary (her) as from November’s committee meeting. Kim and I will continue to be SHWI members and are looking forward to being able to fully enjoy meetings without worrying about organising them! Other committee members to step down this year are Ruth, Katie, Chelle, and Louise – thank you for all your hard work ladies – while we welcome Sam as a new committee member. 


We are very pleased to say that current committee members Kirsty and Laura will be taking over as President and Secretary so you’ll be hearing more from them soon. Good luck K-Bo and Bainbridge!

Lindsay (centre) with Kirsty (left) and Laura (right)

Kim and I were overwhelmed with the thank you cards and gifts our lovely members bought for us and would like to say another big thank you for everyone’s kind words. So many people told me at the meeting that through founding the group we had changed their lives for the better and that’s something I will continue to be proud of for a very long time.


I look forward to seeing you all at meetings and thank you to each and every member, past and present, for making SHWI such an amazing group to lead.

With love,


Lindsay x

President of Seven Hills WI

SHWI Mad Skillz: Myth Busting Bread Making

Mad Skillz is one of our spin-off groups organised by Di and Anna T. They organise bespoke sessions where SHWI members can learn a new skill in a smaller-sized group. Last week, two groups of five members went along to Forge Bakehouse on consecutive evenings. Committee member Ruth tells us all about it....

A beautiful loaf of freshly baked bread is one of my all-time favourite things to eat, but alas my limited baking skills (and my dodgy oven) have put paid to any attempts at actually making it myself. I tell a lie, I made focaccia once in 2008. So anyway, I was in need of some bread-based education and I was thrilled to be one of the lucky few to secure a place on the oversubscribed SHWI Mad Skillz 'Myth Busting Bread Making' session at Forge Bakehouse.

It was a thoroughly damp day in Sheffield, but there was a warm glow from the oven in the shop and Martha, the young owner and all round baker extraordinaire, greeted us with freshly brewed tea and one of the most amazing brownies I have ever tasted. Having trained at the School of Artisan Food, she clearly knows her stuff. After the obligatory SHWI catch-up over said cuppa, it was time for the session to kick off.

Anna is amazed by the fermenting dough

It was a very hands-on lesson and we started off by mixing our own dough. I think we were all expecting a serious upper arm workout from all the kneading (we've clearly been watching too much Great British Bake Off), but Martha shared an absolutely revelatory tip with us: the ‘Ten Second Knead’ technique. Forget pummelling your dough for an age. Oh no. Kneading the dough in a circular motion for just ten seconds, then leaving it to prove for ten minutes and repeating a couple of times is just as effective and far less exhausting. Win! Whilst the dough was proving, we learnt lots of other interesting snippets about all of the different factors that can affect the success of your bake.

Plaiting the dough

We then went on to shaping and slashing a whole variety of loaves. Martha had kindly prepared lots of dough for us to practice on and I was disproportionately pleased with my baguette. My poor plaits left a lot to be desired though. Other members of the group were far more successful - there was some very impressive plait action going on - but my Great British Bake Off application will have to wait for another year (or four), me thinks.

Jen, Ruth, Di, Cat, Anna and Vicky

I know I speak for the rest of the group when I say what a great evening this was. Martha was knowledgeable, interesting, and thoroughly lovely. A great teacher. Some left with their own sour dough starter to bake for themselves at home. I left laden with some of Mr Potato Bread (it was delicious) and my very own scraper (essential baking kit apparently). I definitely won’t be leaving it another six years between bakes from now on.

If you’re a Forge Bakehouse regular, don’t fear – our loaves were not made to be sold to the paying public. All of the waste products from the shop are given to the pigs at Heeley City Farm – such lucky piggies! That gesture reflects the overall ethos of Forge Bakehouse. They use locally sourced organic flour in all their loaves and provide lots of local cafes with their goodies. Best of all, everything is really reasonably priced. It's only been open for a couple of years but this place is going to become a Sheffield institution, I'm sure of it.

To find out more about what SHWI Mad Skillz have got coming up, speak to Di or Anna T at a meeting or search for the Facebook group 'SHWI Mad Skillz'. 

Ruth Kirkman
SHWI Committee member

Seven Hills WI at Sheffield Food Festival 2014

Our 2013 Food Festival stall and GBBO's James Morton!

It only seems two minutes since the last event but it's time for Sheffield Food Festival again! The event has moved from its usual September date and will take place on May bank holiday. 

Like last year, we will be holding a traditional cake stall at this year's event on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 May, from 10am until around 5pm (or until the cake runs out!) on both days. There will be a delightful assortment of cakes made by our wonderful members and a raffle on each day to win something special made by one of our star bakers! This year the event is taking place on the Moor and we will be located in the old Woolworth's shop.

Our Best in Show competition will also be running once again, this time with four categories - Victoria Sponge, Strawberry Jam, Bread and new for 2014 - children's decorated cupcakes. It costs £1 per entry, and all proceeds, along with all proceeds from our cake stall, will be going to our nominated charity, the Young Women's Housing Project. See below for further information and the rules. 

We will be selling copies of the new Sheffield Cook Book which features lots of delicious recipes from around the city, including a recipe from us!  

We raised over £1,000 for charity last year - this was donated to the Parent's Association of Children with Tumours and Leukaemia - and we hope that with your help we can beat that total and raise even more this year!

So, how can you get involved? Everyone loves cake so come along to our stall on 24 and 25 May (or both if you really love cake!). We'd also love it if you could enter our Best in Show competition, it's all done in the name of fun but there are a few rules which you can find below. 

SHWI members - we also need you to help us by baking lots of yummy cakes and volunteering to help on the stall, please email sevenhillswi@live.co.uk to get involved.

Here's to a wonderfully successful Sheffield Food Festival 2014.

Seven Hills WI x

Seven Hills WI - Best in Show.
Information, rules and regulations

1. Competition Entry

a. All entries must be submitted with a completed entry form. Forms can be downloaded here and emailed to sevenhillswi@live.co.uk prior to competition date or submitted on the day along with product.

b. You can submit one Entry per Category. Your Entry must be your own work. 

c. £1 per entry, payable on arrival with product – all entry money will be donated to the Young Women's Housing Project - a registered charity that provides safe places to live and specialist support to help young women to overcome the effects of abuse.

d. All entries must be bought to Seven Hills WI's stall in the former Woolworth's shop on Sunday 25 May between 10.00am and 11.30am. Entries submitted after this time will not be entered.

e. We accept no responsibility for incorrectly completed, lost or delayed entries or other documents related to the prize.

f. All entries must be presented ‘ready to judge’.

g. If you would like further information on competition entry please contact sevenhillswi@live.co.uk 

2. Entries
a. Victoria Sandwich: cake to be 8” round, filled with raspberry jam, and presented boxed or plated. The entry will be judged on presentation, appearance and suitability as well as, of course, taste, texture and flavour.

b. Strawberry Jam: presented in a clear glass jar and judged on appearance, suitability, taste, texture and flavour.

c. Bread: presented boxed or bagged and ready to eat; judged on presentation, appearance, suitability, taste, texture and flavour.

d. Children's (aged up to Year 6 at school (11 years old)). Six decorated cupcakes presented boxed or plated; judged on appearance, suitability, taste, texture and flavour.

3. Judging
 a. Judging will take place between 12noon and 2.30pm on Sunday 25 May.

b. Winners will be selected from each Category by the judging panel. All judges’ decisions are final.

c. The winners will be announced at 3.35pm on Sunday 25 May 2014 in the Festival Kitchen on the Moor. 

d. First, second and third places in each Category will all be awarded with rosettes. We reserve the right to provide a substitute prize of similar value should the specified prize become unavailable for reasons beyond our control.

e. Any winners not present will be contacted to be informed that they have won a prize and will receive their rosettes by post within seven days.

f. You allow us to take photographs of you and use the photographs together with your name in publicity connected with the competition and prize.

4. Collection

a. Packaging, boxes etc. may be collected by entrants between 3.35pm and 5pm on Sunday 25 May. Any items not collected will be disposed of.

6. General

a. We are required by law to make all the names of the winners publicly available. These details can be obtained by sending a signed handwritten request along with a stamped self-addressed envelope detailing your request to J Evans, Festival Assistant, Sheffield Business School, Sheffield Hallam University, Howard Street, Sheffield S1 1WB and marked with the name of the competition or alternatively email j.evans@shu.ac.uk

b. Information that you have provided to us will be collected, stored and processed for the purposes of administering the competition.

c. We reserve the right to suspend, cancel or amend the promotion and/or review and revise these terms at any time without giving prior notice and by continuing to take part in the promotion subsequent to any revision of these terms and conditions, you are deemed to have agreed to any such new or amended terms.

d. This promotion is governed by English law and is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

Let them eat cake! SHWI's stall at Sheffield Food Festival 2013

Hello!

Our Secretary Kim
at the 2012 Food Festival

As many of you will remember, we've held a stall at Sheffield Food Festival for the last two years and also run the Best in Show competition. We have made over £900 from our stalls and competition since 2011 and we want this year to be the best yet!

Like last year, we will be holding a traditional cake stall at this year's event in the Winter Gardens on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 September, from 10am until around 5pm (or until the cake runs out!) on both days. There will be a delightful assortment of cakes made by our wonderful members and a raffle on each day to win something special made by one of our star bakers!

Our Best in Show competition will also be running once again, this time with three categories - Victoria Sponge, Jarred goods (jams, chutneys, curds or pickles) and new for 2013 - puddings. It costs £1 per entry, and all proceeds, along with all proceeds from our cake stall, will be going to our nominated charity, the Parents' Association of Children with Tumours and Leukaemia (PACT), which provides a range of support services for families whose children have been diagnosed with cancer.

Cake!

An extra special treat for our Best in Show this year will be the person announcing the cake results...it's only James Morton from the Great British Bake Off (you know, the one with the cool jumpers). That's reason enough alone to enter!

We raised over £700 for charity last year - this was donated to Haven House - and we hope that with your help we can beat that total and raise even more this year!

So, how can you get involved? Everyone loves cake so come along to our stall in the Winter Gardens on 21 or 22 September (or both if you really love cake!). We'd also love it if you could enter our Best in Show competition, it's all done in the name of fun but there are a few rules which you can find below. 

SHWI members - we also need you to help us by baking lots of yummy cakes and volunteering to help on the stall, please email sevenhillswi@live.co.uk to get involved.

Here's to a wonderfully successful Sheffield Food Festival 2013.

Seven Hills WI x

Seven Hills WI - Best in Show. Information Rules and Regulations

1. Competition Entry

Our stall last year

a. All entries must be submitted with a completed entry form. Forms can be downloaded here and emailed to sevenhillswi@live.co.uk prior to competition date or submitted on the day along with product.

b. You can submit one Entry per Category. Your Entry must be your own work. 

c. £1 per entry, payable on arrival with product – all entry money will be donated to the Parents' Association of Children with Tumours and Leukaemia - a registered charity that provides a range of support services for families who children have been diagnosed with cancer.

d. All entries must be bought to the Festival Kitchen, top of Fargate, City Centre on Sunday 22 September between 10.00am and 11.30am. Entries submitted after this time will not be entered.

e. We accept no responsibility for incorrectly completed, lost or delayed entries or other documents related to the prize.

f. All entries must be presented ‘ready to judge’.

g. If you would like further information on competition entry please contact sevenhillswi@live.co.uk to answer your queries.

2. Entries
a. Victoria Sandwich: cake to be 8” round, filled with raspberry jam, and presented boxed or plated. The entry will be judged on presentation, appearance and suitability as well as, of course, taste, texture and flavour.

b. Jarred Goods:
i. Pickle/Relish/Chutney: presented in a clear glass jar and judged on appearance, suitability, taste, texture and flavour
ii. Jam/preserves/curds: presented in a clear glass jar and judged on appearance, suitability, taste, texture and flavour

c. Pudding. This can be any pudding. A favourite from your childhood perhaps or a recent invention of your own that you just want to show off. Please bear in mind that all the puddings will be served and judged cold.

3. Judging

Anna and Lisa get judging in 2012

a. Judging will take place between 12noon and 2.30pm on Sunday 22 September.

b. Winners will be selected from each Category by the judging panel. All judges’ decisions are final.

c. The winners will be announced at 2.35pm on Sunday 22 September 2013 in the Festival Kitchen, top of Fargate, City Centre.

d. First, second and third places in each Category will all be awarded with rosettes. We reserve the right to provide a substitute prize of similar value should the specified prize become unavailable for reasons beyond our control.

e. Any winners not present will be contacted to be informed that they have won a prize and will receive their rosettes by post within seven days.

f. You allow us to take photographs of you and use the photographs together with your name in publicity connected with the competition and prize

4. Collection
a. Packaging, boxes etc. may be collected by entrants between 3pm and 4pm on Sunday 22 September.
b. Any items not collected will be disposed of.

6. General

a. We are required by law to make all the names of the winners publicly available. These details can be obtained by sending a signed handwritten request along with a stamped self-addressed envelope detailing your request to J Bletcher, Festival Assistant, Sheffield Business School, Sheffield Hallam University, Howard Street, Sheffield S1 1WB and marked with the name of the competition or alternatively email j.bletcher@shu.ac.uk

b. Information that you have provided to us will be collected, stored and processed for the purposes of administering the competition.

c. We reserve the right to suspend, cancel or amend the promotion and/or review and revise these terms at any time without giving prior notice and by continuing to take part in the promotion subsequent to any revision of these terms and conditions, you are deemed to have agreed to any such new or amended terms.

d. This promotion is governed by English law and is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

Danny Bryden and The Great SHWI Bake Off

Anna adds another GBBO star
to her photo collection!

Laura Bainbridge's 
chocolate and cherry cake

April’s meeting was the first time since we moved to Electric Works that the Helter Skelter sat unused and forlorn. After all, who needs slides when you have over 20 different cakes?!

This month’s meeting saw Great British Bake Off 2012 semi-finalist, the wonderful Danny Bryden, come to speak to the group. And with a baking expert at hand, it seemed appropriate to host our own SHWI Bake Off with Danny as judge. As I am already a great friend of the Great British Bake Off Stars (see April 9th’s blog post!) I was obviously very blasé and nonchalant about this particular SHWI Meeting. Er, yeah RIGHT! I had been dreaming about this meeting for months and excitement had reached fever pitch over the few days prior to it when we started getting hints dropped by SHWI members about their impending cake creations. There were two categories to enter – upside down cakes or flourless. And yet again, SHWI ladies showed their fantastic imaginations and mad skillz in the kitchen. The entries were as follows:

Upside Down Cakes

Pina Colada Sandwich Cake
Pear and Walnut
Orange and Lemon
Pineapple, Lime and Chilli
Cherry and Almond
Banana
Pear and Nutmeg
Salted Caramel, Apple and Pecan
Rhubarb and Ginger
Pear and Chocolate
Apple and Cinnamon
Pear and Pistachio

Flourless Cakes

Rose and Raspberry mini loaves
Cherry Bakewell
Lime and Passionfruit Drizzle
Raspberry and Chocolate
Fig, Pecan and Maple Syrup
Lemon Polenta
Vanilla and Strawberry Rainbow Battenburg
Carrot Cake
Hazelnut and Praline
Clementine and Almond
Cherry and Chocolate Brownie Cake

Louise Worn's amazing
rice flour rainbow Battenburg

Drool, cakey goodness… Sorry, back to business! Committee member Grace had done a wonderful job of organising the 23 entries into their relevant categories and walking round the corner to be faced with the display was quite frankly like walking into utopia – SHWI has some very talented members. The table was laden with beautifully presented cakes of all flavours and types (more of which to follow). Danny was to judge them based on three criteria – appearance, texture and taste. With my mind already boggled by the amazing array of baked delights, I decided to channel my inner April O’Neil (the journalist from the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, non-80s kids) and make notes about all the cakes on display so I could remember them all and note some of Danny’s comments. I wish I had the time, space and superlatives to describe in detail every cake, but actually I think I’ll let the accompanying photos do the talking. Danny’s first job was to judge on appearance so that Grace could slice up the cakes for the taste and texture judging (and also to feed the hungry hordes come break time). I can exclusively reveal (get me!) that she gave a special mention in terms of appearance to Sam Cleasby’s Pear and Walnut upside down cake – she loved the rustic presentation and thought the glazed pear decoration was a fantastic touch.

Danny's next job was to judge taste and texture. She approached this with slight trepidation as 23 slices of cake is a lot in anyone’s book. However, it says something for the quality of entries that she told us she enjoyed every single bite! She was bowled over by the brilliant concepts and beautiful presentation, but as the cliché goes, the proof of the pudding (or cake) is in the eating. She thought the Clementine and Almond cake was beautifully citrusy, the Cherry and Almond had very clean and distinct flavours and she loved the gorgeous home-made marmalade on the Orange and Lemon Cake, these are just a few of the many, many positive comments she made. 

As you can probably guess, the judging was EXTREMELY tight and faced with the prospect of ties, Danny asked myself and Grace to give her a second and third opinion on the taste of her favourite few. It’s a hard life. It just so happened that we were unanimous in our opinions and so after an hour of cake scoffing, the judging was over…

SHWI members enjoying cake!

The next part of the meeting was Danny’s talk and what a captivating talk it was! It was her first time speaking to a WI group and she had planned her speech around the assumption we’d want to know about her Bake Off experience and baking in general – she certainly knew her audience! Firstly she explained how entering the competition had been, in her words, ‘a bet that got out of hand’! She had first developed an interest in cooking at school thanks to her inspirational Home Economics teacher (and of course Delia) and also due to the fact that she wanted to be able to eat things she liked and nobody else in her family was particularly interested in cooking. She has always cooked and baked, especially at Christmas, and was renowned for her skills amongst her family, although she stressed it was not something she did avidly. Danny is not much of a TV watcher herself but her sister is a cookery show fan but not much of a cook herself (something I can definitely relate to). She and her husband encouraged Danny to enter GBBO because they felt it was the most suitable show for her, as she is a vegetarian and shows like Masterchef generally involve a lot of meat and fish cookery.

Upon submitting the LONG application form, Danny was selected to progress to the next stage of a lengthy application process. She had many phone interviews, spot tests on baking, screen tests, techinical challenges and more! Danny says she felt confident about these tests and attributes this to her job as an Intensive Care Consultant, where her medical training conditioned to jump professional hurdles and look for the next. Perhaps it was this attitude (as well as her amazing food!) that got her into the final 12.

Danny then let us into a few secrets behind the filming of the series which we couldn't possibly tell! 

Danny and SHWI

However we can tell you that TV isn’t all glamour and fun. The 6am starts and long hours left the contestants feeling exhausted and Danny admitted that she was happy to get to the semi-final as it had given those who had invested time in supporting her so much pleasure to see her progress, but that personally she was more than ready to go. 

All the contestants got on really well and many keep in touch still – Danny recently had lunch with Brendan and is working with James on a medical article about comparing medical feedback with the feedback you get on TV. SHWI Vice-President Jen was also able to pass on a message to Danny from fellow contestant Cathryn who told us to say hello to Danny after we met her at Manchester’s Cake and Bake Show recently! Danny said that although she doesn’t intend to pursue baking as a profession she has gained a huge recipe library and has infinitely developed her baking skills so that she has the confidence to tackle difficult recipes with gusto and was proud to be able to bake her Mum’s 90th birthday cake recently.

After her amazing talk, Danny proved again what an all-round inspirational lady she is by promoting a charity close to her heart, the Sheffield Hospitals Charity's new initiative, Charity Chef. This encourages charity supporters to host a dinner party and ask their guests to make a donation to the Charity in return for their food. For more information on how you can get involved with Charity Chef go here. 

The final act of the night was announcing the winners of the Bake Off. And (drum roll....) the prize winners in both categories were as follows:

Upside-Down Cakes:

1st Blanche Spataro’s Cherry and Almond cake

2nd Sam Cleasby’s Pear and Walnut cake

3rd Jen Marsden’s Pina Colada cake








Flourless Cakes:

1st Caryl Carson’s Carrot Cake

2nd Samantha Duffy’s Chocolate and Raspberry Cake

3rd Amy Grange’s Hazelnut and Praline Cake


Well done ladies! Although all entrants should be very proud as it was a VERY tough decision! The prize winners were presented with rosettes to mark their accomplishments. A fitting end to a fabulous night! And, of course, the icing on the cake (boom boom) for me was adding a picture with Danny to my burgeoning collection of GBBO contestant photos!


Finally – SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT! If this blog post has whet your appetite, why not come to the next SHWI Dining Club event on Friday 24 May at the Showroom cinema?! 

Notice that I used the word ‘event’ rather than meal – because we are having a TUDOR BANQUET! A bespoke menu has been created for us and in the words of the Tudors themselves, you’d be a massive fopdoodle to miss it! Look here for more details.

Anna Pilson

SHWI Committee 

Photos by Laura Bainbridge

Seven Hills WI at Sheffield Food Festival 2012

Hello!

SHWI members Blanche and Kim judge
the entries at last year's Sheffield Food 
Festival Best in Show competition

As many of you will remember, we held a stall at Sheffield Food Festival last year and ran the Best in Show competition. Our stall, selling homemade afternoon teas, and the competition was a huge success and we have been asked back to do it all again this year, hurrah!

We're doing things a little differently for 2012 and will be holding a traditional cake stall on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 September, from 10am until around 6pm (or until the cake runs out!) on both days. There will be a delightful assortment of cakes made by our wonderful members and a raffle on each day to win a whole cake made by one of our star bakers!

Our Best in Show competition will also be running once again, this time with two categories - Victoria Sponge and Jams/Chutneys. It costs £1 per entry, and all proceeds, along with all proceeds from our cake stall, will be going to our nominated charity Haven House, which provides temporary accommodation for women and children in Sheffield who find themselves homeless due to domestic abuse.

We raised £200 for charity last year - this was donated to the Sheffield Rape and Sexual Abuse Counselling Service (SRASACS) - and we hope that with your help we can beat that total and raise even more this year!

SHWI present SRASACS with £200 made at the 2011
Sheffield Food Festival. (L-R SHWI Treasurer Vicky, Aletheia from 
SRASACS, SHWI President Lindsay and Secretary Kim)

So, how can you get involved? Everyone loves cake so come along to our stall in the Winter Gardens on 15 or 16 September (or both if you really love cake!). We'd also love it if you could enter our Best in Show competition, it's all done in the name of fun but there are a few rules which you can find below. 

Here's to a wonderfully successful Sheffield Food Festival 2012.

Seven Hills WI x

               

Seven Hills WI - Best in Show. Information Rules and Regulations

Jen at last year's Food Festival

1.    Competition Entry

a.    All entries must be submitted with a completed entry form. Forms can be downloaded here and emailed prior to competition date or submitted on the day along with product.

b.    £1 per entry, payable on arrival with product – all entry money will be donated to Haven House -  a registered charity that provides temporary supported accommodation for women and children who find themselves homeless due to domestic abuse.

c.    All entries must be bought to the Festival Kitchen, top of Fargate, City Centre on Sunday 16th September between 10.00 – 11.30 hours.

d.    All entries must be presented ‘ready to judge’.

2.    Entries

a.    Victoria Sandwich: cake can be any size (within reason!) All cakes MUST be filled with jam and with a choice of cream and fruit, presented boxed or plated. Entry will be judged on presentation, appearance, suitability and, of course taste, texture and flavour. Points will also be awarded for individual flair and creativity.

b.    Jarred Goods:

i.    Pickle/Relish/Chutney: presented in a clear glass jar and judged on appearance, suitability, taste, texture and flavour

ii.    Jam/preserves/curds: presented in a clear glass jar and judged on appearance, suitability, taste, texture and flavour

3.    Judging

a.    Judging will take place between 11.30 – 14.30 hours on Sunday 16 September

b.    There will be three judges overall; Seven Hills WI will nominate two judges from their               members, a third judge will be nominated by Eat Sheffield

c.    All judges decisions are final

d.    Winners will be announced at 14.40 hours on Sunday 16 September in the Festival Kitchen, top of Fargate, City Centre

e.    First, second and third places will all be awarded with Rosettes

f.    Any winners not present will receive their rosettes by post within seven days

4.    Collection

a.    Packaging, boxes etc. may be collected by entrants between 15.00 -16.00 hours.

b.    Any items not collected will be disposed of.