We recently hosted our BakeStar and BariStar 2024 event, which saw six bakers and six baristas battling it out in two parallel competitions. Tim Fisher, pastry chef from Lexington’s Subsea 7 contract, won the former, while Samantha Polmear, barista from Lexington’s Schroders contract, claimed the latter.
BakeStar, in its inaugural year, and BariStar, in its 10th year, were co-hosted to raise the profile of the contract caterer’s baking talent and enhance the guest experience combining bakery and patisserie with coffee. Aligning with UK Coffee Week, the event also raised funds for Project Waterfall, supporting clean water for coffee-growing communities.
The competition’s plant-based theme intended to shine a spotlight on the importance of health, wellness, and sustainability, while adding an extra layer of challenge.
Both creations will be rolled out across our business
Fisher’s award-winning creation was a sweet pastry tartlet with layers of British apple, cobnut dacquoise, vegan vanilla cream, caramel and cobnut brittle. Polmear’s coffee, meanwhile, was a banana bread latte crafted with steamed Minor Figures oat milk. They will both be rolled out across our client sites.
Matt Wood, managing director of Lexington Catering, said: “We are so proud of the talent we have at Lexington and the amazing achievements of our winners, Tim and Samantha. Their award wins are testament to their incredible expertise and baking and barista skills, as well as the delicious creations they craft for our clients and customers. All of our contestants were fantastic and the bar was certainly set high.”
A huge thank you to our guest judges, Graham Hornigold from Longboys, International Pastry Chef, Claire Clarke, and CEO of Rosslyn, James Hennerbry, as well as our site mentors and suppliers Pact Coffee, UCC Coffee UK and Ireland, Town and Country, WBC, Minor Figures, DDP, and Vegetarian Express for all your support throughout the competition and for joining us on the night.
Of course, we also want to give a big shoutout to our incredible contestants. Their creativity, hard work, and dedication were truly outstanding, and it was clear in everything they brought to the table on the night.
