How to host a Bake off at work

The Great British Bake Off returns to our screens this Tuesday, hooray! Hosting a bake off style event at your work is the perfect way to celebrate - and enjoy more cake!

The presenters of the Channel 4 show - credit Channel 4.

Your work place may have seen its fair share of cakes. There may be some keen bakers, or just some keen eaters. And what better way to cheer up a mid-week morning at work than hosting a Bake Off style competition among your colleagues?

How to host your own Bake Off at work

1. Choose your day

Our Louise is hosting a Bake Off event in her 'day job' workplace in October, and we think that's a great time. Yes, Autumn is coming and we might need a pick-me-up on a dingy October morning, but mainly the date was chosen because the Great British Bake Off is on Tuesday 30th October - as good a day as any to hold an event, and it gives Louise lots of time to organise herself. Her stall will run over lunch, with people asked to bring their cakes to the stall at 11.30am.

Of course, you could do a 'bake along' style event to showcase staff versions of whatever was baked on the show that week, but that is a lot more work. We like to keep it easy here at 280 Bakes!

2. Organise your space

If you're in a big corporate office you may need to book a room/table space in the canteen. Whatever the size of your workplace, you'll need at least one table (depending on the size) to display the cakes. 

3. Advertise your event

You could write a piece for your company weekly email newsletter to explain that you not only need top notch cakes to be baked for that day, but asking people to come along on the day to vote for their favourite. You may need a chaser email to remind people on the morning of the event, and asking people to bring their entries to you by a certain time. 

If you're planning to raise money for a charity, let them know - they may be able to give you fliers or a t-shirt to help raise the profile of the event and their organisation. Louise is raising money for Mind at her event, and charging staff £1 to taste all the cakes and  vote for their favourite. ​

Put up posters to advertise the week before.

Encourage your immediate team to get involved in baking, voting, putting up posters... Pull in favours where you're due!  

Does your company have a staff Facebook page? Post a message on the wall there. 

On the day you'll need to:

  - Set up the space: Decorate the area - a gingham tablecloth and bunting would be very fitting, in line with the TV show! Put out fliers for your chosen charity (if applicable), and have a stash of knives to cut the cakes into bite-size pieces - remember, most people will want to sample each cake!

​  - Bring something for people to use as voting tokens - matches, pennies or raffle tickets will work just fine

  - Remember a set of bowls or small boxes to put in front of each cake so people can drop their token in to vote. A bowl for donations is also useful, if collecting for charity, and labels to say what flavour each cake is. Highlighting if there are any nuts or other allergens present, or if any of them are gluten free or vegan is always advisable.  
​
​ - Encourage people to come along to your cake stand

  - Be present at the stall to help people understand the task of voting, and, if you're raising money for charity, collect in the voting fees. It's a good idea to send an email to staff or put something in your newsletter again after the event to say how much you raised, with a photo. 

  - Don't forget to clear up afterwards - you don't want to annoy the bosses! Bin/recycle any rubbish, wipe down the table, and clean any cutlery or crockery used. Then make your charity donation and enjoy a cup of tea... with a slice of any leftover cake!

Good luck!

The Team @ 280 Bakes

---