Grand Cayman, 1 March 2022 – In celebration of Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee, The Governor’s Office has announced that submissions are now open for the new “Cayman Platinum Cake Competition” from today onwards (Tuesday March 1 2022).

The Governor’s Office is seeking talented, home bakers with tasty recipes to add to an illustrious list of royally-celebrated foods. The winner of the competition will be invited to work with the Chef at Government House, to recreate their masterpiece for the Queen’s Birthday Party in June 2022. The deadline to submit entries is Sunday April 3 2022. The application form can be found at gov.ky/jubilee/cake.

Entry requirements

The competition is open to all residents of the Cayman Islands who are amateur bakers over the age of 8. Participants must not have any formal qualifications in cooking or baking, be employed in a commercial organisation as a baker, cook or chef, or have a livelihood derived from commercial baking or cooking.

Submissions made to the Governor’s Office should include a recipe, story, and a photograph of the creation. Participants are asked to submit a clear, high-resolution photograph for judges to accurately view the dessert or cake. The recipe must be: genuine, accurate and original, hand-made, and should be submitted by email to the Governor’s Office at [email protected].

The entry must not include: any names or personal details, or any components exactly copied from somewhere else. Recipe submissions should be sweet – either steamed or baked, layered or rolled, a pie or crumble, even a cake or tart, but this is open to interpretation. The dessert or cake also needs to be easy for others to recreate at home. The use of locally-sourced ingredients and kitchen equipment is therefore encouraged. 

The tastiest, most interesting recipe with the best story determined by a panel of judges will then be invited to a ‘taste off’. Criteria judges are looking for in entries include: recipes with ingredients that are 100% accurate and suited for home bakers, stories with good inspiration and passion, and finally a cake that looks the part with decorative flourishes.

Round One commences 4 April 2022 where written entries will be initially judged. Expert judges invited to the panel include Lori Ann Foley (Sugar Artist and Owner of The Cake Studio) Elizabeth Larsen (Chef and Owner of Jazzy Cakes), Mark Lea, (Chef at Government House), and Brittani Seymour (Owner and Executive Pastry Chef of Scratch Gourmet Desserts).

“As Governor, I have sampled many delightful cakes and desserts across our 3 islands. Cayman Brac still gets the prize for serving me the widest variety of heavy cake at one event!” said The Governor. “I am therefore very excited to launch the Cayman Platinum Cake Competition as part of our celebrations to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee. I look forward to seeing Cayman’s wonderful creations and tasting the winning entry at the Queen’s Birthday party on June 6.”

Round Two commences 25 April 2022, where 10 to 15 entries will be short-listed and taste-tested by the judges. Shortlisted applicants will be contacted by the Governor’s Office after the first round of judging. By early-May all applicants will be notified via email, shortly followed by an announcement of the winners. 

The Governor’s Office request that all recipes, pointers and images posted on social media use the hashtag #caymanplatinumcake.

For more details on how to submit your application for The Cayman Platinum Cake Competition and to learn about other Jubilee events and celebrations, visit www.gov.ky/jubilee.

(GIS)