Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines and Fred. Olsen Ltd. raised £300 in an office ‘Dress Down Day and Bake Off’

Keen bakers at Ipswich-based Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines and Fred. Olsen Ltd. raised £300 in a ‘Dress Down Day and Bake Off’ in aid of three staff charities: Suffolk Mind, Ipswich Hospital Baby Bereavement Group and Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

Staff were given four baking categories to enter: ‘Best Scone’, ‘Best Sponge Cake’, ‘Best Savoury Bake’ and Best Random Bake’. Fred. Olsen’s judging panel, headed by Wendie Alexander, Direct Marketing Executive for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, had the hard task of choosing the individual category winners and an overall ‘Best in Show’.

Amanda Cresswell, Chairperson of the Staff Charity Committee, said: “Once again, Fred. Olsen’s team of staff put in a huge amount of effort into baking and supporting our three designated staff charities.

“We thank everyone for their hard-work, dedication and support, which all goes towards boosting funds for these three incredible local causes. While the staff 'Dress Down and Bake Off' raised £173, the company generously contributed £127,  taking the grand total to £300 for our staff charities

In true ‘Bake Off’ style the judges deliberated and selected the following winners:

‘Best Scone’

Winner: Lisa Martin – Purchase Ledger Controller, for her fruit scones in a basket.

Judges’ comments: These were quite fluffy, with a traditional flavour, and the homemade blackberry and apple jam was a lovely additional touch.

‘Best Sponge Cake’

Winner: Katherine Nunn – Credit Controller, for her chocolate delight cake.

Judges’ comments: This was amazing. It was so creative and the presentation was fantastic.

‘Best Savoury Bake’

Winner: Victoria Page – Marine Personnel Advisor, for her vegetarian sausage rolls.

Judges’ comments: The pastry was delicious, the filling was not too seasoned and the texture was good.

‘Best Random Bake’

Joint winners: Diana White – Yield & Revenue Manager, for her scones, and Tom Nunn - Senior Tour Operator & Group Travel Administrator, for his ginger biscuits.

Judge’s comments: The scones were awesome. I loved the presentation and the cream and jam provided an extra layer of flavours. The ginger biscuits were beautiful. They were soft inside, the ginger taste was not too strong.

‘Best in Show’

Winner: Katherine Nunn, who donated her culinary creation as a prize gift in a ‘Guess the Weight of the Cake’ competition.

The baking treats were then sold in a ‘Baking Bonanza’ sweet and savoury sale, and the company also held a ‘Dress Down Day’ to raise funds.

The winner of the ‘Guess the Weight of the Cake’ competition was Di White, who guessed 3kg (only just short of the actual weight, which was 3.037kg).

For further information on Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, visit the website at www.fredolsencruises.com. To find out more about Fred. Olsen Ltd., go to www.fredolsen.co.uk

Click on the links to learn more about the valuable work of Suffolk MIND, Cystic Fibrosis Trust and Ipswich Hospital Baby Bereavement Group.

Photo caption: (from left to right) Fred. Olsen’s ‘’Bake Off’ judge and Direct Marketing Executive Wendie Alexander, Chairperson of the Staff Charity Committee Amanda Cresswell and ‘Best in Show’ and ‘Best Sponge Cake’ winner, Credit Controller Katherine Nunn.