Frances Quinn was on campus this week to judge the final of the Loughborough Hall of Residence Bake Off Challenge alongside University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Robert Allison. 

This was the second and final stage of the challenge, with Frances having also visited campus in November to deliver a live demonstration and set the Halls their baking challenge.

Five finalists from across campus presented their work to Frances and the Vice-Chancellor, whose brother is a professional chef.

The winner was chosen as Rutherford Hall’s Olivia Sergeant, a first-year Civil Engineering student, who impressed the two judges with her baked impression of Vincent van Gogh’s infamous Sunflowers painting. As well as Olivia winning the £500 prize, the Vice-Chancellor also pledged to donate £50 to Rutherford’s Rag total.

Frances graduated from Loughborough in 2001 with a Foundation Arts Diploma. She won the Great British Bake Off in its fourth series in 2013, releasing her first book, Quinntessential Baking, in 2015. She also holds two Guinness World Records for baking the world’s biggest jaffa cake and jammy dodger.

Speaking about the students’ bakes, she was quick to praise their ingenuity, and mentioned her pride at returning to campus:

“I thought the standard was great. There was lots of different creative flair, it wasn’t just the case of a cake – there was a lot of thought put in to it.

“The winning creation by Olivia was amazing. It would of course been nice to have rewarded everyone but there could only be one winner.

“It’s always good to return to Loogabarooga! Loughborough will always have a special place in my heart and I’m very proud to be back.”

Thank you to Frances for judging the competition.