Inspired by the hit TV show, twenty eager protégés donated their hard earned cash to elevate their skills from home baker to star baker by bidding  in the Taylor Woodrow Smart Auction to take part in “The Great Rail Bake Off”.

These generous recruits recently join Executive Chef Didier Quémener, along with Railway Children’s CEO, Terina Keene and Events Manager, Katie Mason, on at Michel Roux Jr’s London Cookery School, for Railway Children’s own take on the show.

Hands-on, practical, interactive and fun, this six-hour experience took recipes from the Roux family archive and classic patisserie techniques to challenge and inspire. Working in pairs, bakers were able to show off all their culinary creativity and skill in a fast paced and engaging baking competition.

The day began with coffee and pastries and an introduction. Each team spent the morning cooking classic Roux recipes and were then are treated to a glass of wine and lunch of prepared by Michel Roux Jr’s team in their dining room. In the afternoon teams returned to the kitchen to put the finishing touches to their handiwork.
The experience concluded with a Champagne celebration. Then the moment everyone had been waiting for, when teams toasted their achievements, sampled their delectable creations and congratulated Kirsty and Anita, the winning team, who were crowned The Great Rail Bake Off champion.

Our thanks to everyone for being such good sports and raising £5,605 for Railway Children.

Didier Quémener

Didier worked with Michel Roux Jr, on his BBC4 documentary “Patisserie” and his Channel 4 series, “Kitchen Impossible2”.