The Great Geobakeoff 2020 – The Results!

2020 gave us the most unusual Geobakeoff to date, although our incredible makers and bakers rose to the challenge magnificently. As expected, the entries ranged from the bold to the bizarre to the brilliant, and we had so much fun judging all the entries. We would like to say a massive THANK YOU to all those who entered and kept us entertained over lockdown. Now the moment you’ve all been waiting for is here: it’s time to announce the WINNERS of the Great Geobakeoff 2020!

Most points:

This was a closely fought contest this year, with two competitors vying for the top spot. Taking home the prize are Liz Laycock and her family, Team House Raptor, who wowed us by managing to take on and conquer all of the challenges we set this year. Their gingerbread render of Maui was especially impressive – take a look below:

Honourable mentions for this prize have to go to Mila Mateeva, with an array of makes and bakes, and even re-takes on some challenges! We were especially impressed with the foraged topping for her Greenough Map bread. Congrats, Liz and Mila!

King or Queen of the Mountains: Most Geologically Accurate Bake

To crown a King or Queen for this prize, we were looking for exceptional geological accuracy and attention to detail. Jackie Kendrick takes home the crown this year, for her incredibly detailed and delicate Stegosaurus skeleton in crumbly cake substrate, with a variety of rock pets alongside:

Runners-up in this category were almost impossible to choose, so we whittled it down to four in the end. Annie Matthews gave us a beautiful (and completely edible) painting of Greenough’s map on cake; Wendy MacPherson rustled up some gorgeous-looking microfossil hot cross buns; Louise Hawkins made the Infinity Gauntlet using biscuit with boiled sweets as gems; and finally, Jaime Delano created an incredible ‘Subduction Sourdough’ loaf. Congratulations to Jackie, Annie, Wendy, Louise and Jaime, may you reign supreme!

Junior Baker

This year’s prize is awarded to a young maker and baker who really got into the “thrifty shopper” spirit of things. Demonstrating an innovative use of materials, including meringue, Lego, cardboard, fabric, cake, rocks and her own family, Amelie Meek (aged 13) aced several of the challenges and is 2020’s best Junior Baker!

A special mention in this category has to go to Charlotte Skinner, aged 11, for her 3D representation of Greenough’s geological map, as well as Sophia Lightfoot, aged 12, for her microfossil cakes. Well done to all of our Junior Bakers!

Thrifty Shopper

Makers, you did not let us down. We loved seeing everyone’s artistic side as they got creative with materials they found in their homes. Storming in to take the Thrifty Shopper prize is Instagram artist @draslik, with their beautiful and intricate renditions of Greenhough’s map, Biantholithus for the microfossils category, and Zacanthoides, a type of trilobite.

Alex Booer, who wowed us with entries in nearly every category, is a close runner up. We also have to give a shout-out to the incredible artworks we received via Instagram from @em_gems_.

Master Baker

The Master Baker prize goes to the most impressive, inventive and exciting bake or make – it’s essentially the “showstopper” prize. Our winning entry this year comes from @the_drawing_geologist, a second year geology student who posts geoscience drawings on Instagram. Their showstopper entry incorporates different geobakeoff categories into the Greenhough map – take a look here:

Finally, there are two runners-up for the Master Baker prize; Laura Bussey’s golden creation for Aladdin’s Cave of Wonders featured a glowing mouth and a sneaky Infinity Gauntlet on the side. We also loved Zoe Toorenburgh’s vicious-looking T-Rex cake, cleverly assembled from chocolate orange segments!

With that, #geobakeoff2020 has come to an end! Thanks again to everyone who took part in these bizarre circumstances; we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. We can’t wait to see what you come up with in 2021!