THE Chelt’n’Jam Bake Off, held at Manor by the Lake on Sunday, August 17 has raised over £650 for national charity Oxfam.

The baking event, sponsored by Kitchen Garden Foods and Vanilla Pod Bakery showcased local talent which were then judged by a panel of experts including Cotswold Chef, Rob Rees and former Harrods wedding cake designer and now successful owner of Contemporary Cake Designs, Xavier Pelloux.

Categories for entries included ‘cakes’, ‘cupcakes’, ‘tray bakes’ , ‘scones’ and ‘iced cakes’.

Prizes were awarded to first, second and third place in each category.

First placed entrants went on to battle it out for the award of ‘best in show’.

The afternoon kicked off at 2pm with plenty of fun for all the family.

Activities included a bouncy castle, a magician, a juggler and face painting.

After the judging of the entries, the delicious displays of baked goods were available for purchase so that cake could be enjoyed with a pot of tea in the beautiful grounds of Manor by the Lake.

The judges were wowed at the standard of all the entries, but it was Grace West and Fenella Corran both aged 14 who stole the show with their chocolate brownies.

Fanella said “We saw the Great British Bake Off and thought that it would be fun to have a go ourselves. We are really happy that we have won, we are really proud of ourselves!” Grace and Fenella received a day’s baking at a local artisan bakery as their prize.

Other winners from the day included: Angie Petkovic for her courgette & lemon cake (gluten free and dairy free), Professor Frank Leishman for his scones, Samantha Bailey for her chocolate brownies, Michael Duncan for his walnut whip cupcakes, Rebecca Browning for her iced novelty cakes, and India Taylor for the best children's cupcakes.

Winner of the ‘scone’ category, Professor Frank Leishman commented “My daughter is a huge fan of GBBO and I have always been a baker. I was taught by my mother when I was younger and still use many of her traditional recipes today. I think that Oxjam is a great cause to be involved in.”

Fiona Stephens, Oxjam Cheltenham Events Manager said “What a fantastic afternoon! We had a great turn out and everybody enjoyed being in the grounds of the stunning venue Manor by the Lake. All entries were of a very high standard, our judges certainly enjoyed tasting their way through them and everybody was pleased when they were available to buy and enjoy with afternoon tea. The winner’s brownies were absolutely delicious and I hope they enjoy their cooking class. I would like to say thank you to everybody that entered the bake off and to our fantastic sponsors and Manor by the Lake for being such great hosts.”

There are two more fundraising events taking place over the next couple of months including OxFeast, a celebration of food & wines from the countries at Cheltenham Ladies college Saturday, September 27.

The 'Takeover' will showcase 120 local music acts at venues all over Cheltenham on October 18.

For more information on the Oxjam Cheltenham takeover and all events, please visit www.oxjamcheltenham.com

Further media information and high res images can be received by contacting Abbie Ree apt marketing and PR on 01242 250 692 or abbie@aptpublicrelations.co.uk