One hundred applications complete with videos were received for the premier staging of the Jamaica Observer Christmas Bake-Off Challenge.

Conceptualised by Novia McDonald-Whyte, senior associate editor, lifestyle and social content, the challenge seeks to showcase generations of bakers using decades-old recipes to create sensational Jamaican cakes that remain as integral to the Christmas table as sorrel, gungo rice and peas, ham and curried goat.

Partnering with the Observer on this initiative were Supreme Ventures, Frigidaire, Wray & Nephew, and Gas Pro.

All five finalists, notably Jovan Walker, Latoya Newell-Irving, Pamela Bunting, Sandra Samuels and Trevanne Donegal-Porter, convened inside the pavillion of the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel where they presented their cakes for judging to Professor Lloyd Waller, Yanique “Curvy Diva” Barrett, Matthew Hogarth, Winnie Veronica Allen, and McDonald-Whyte.

Flavour, presentation, texture, aroma and overall taste dominated the deliberations. When the scores were tabulated by chartered accountant Patricia Henry, Pamela Bunting emerged the clear winner.

Please see Thursday Food for more highlights.