Chai and Biscuits: The British Club Hosts a Bake-Off  - The Wheaton Record

On Oct. 30, Wheaton’s British Club hosted its first rendition of “The Great British Bake Off,” a reality TV show where twelve amateur bakers compete to be crowned the best amateur baker in the UK. The event took place in a Memorial Student Center classroom, usually occupied by students studying politics and economics, decorated with the Union Jack and iconic British figures like Queen Elizabeth and actor Tom Holland. A video of white frosted cupcakes drizzled with coconut flakes played in a comforting loop on the screens at the front of the classroom.

Many American cooking shows like “Hell’s Kitchen,” in which star chef Gordon Ramsey hurls insults at the show’s highly competent contestants, place heavy emphasis on intensity and competition. However, the “Great British Bake Off” has a more relaxed feel as British contestants try, and often comically fail, to create baked goods.

Hannah Lape, a senior studying PPE (philosophy, political science and economics) and cabinet member for the British Club, looked to bring this cheerful energy to stressed students as she planned the event. “When I need something calm, it’s one of the things I turn on,” she said about the show. “We’re looking to recreate that comforting feel.”

The Great British Bake Off decides a winner by eliminating one contestant per round. The British Club took a more laid-back approach. Contestants could compete in pairs or as individuals, and there would be two possible awards: the judge’s choice and the audience’s vote. A bowl with slips of paper was placed next to an English tea station for anyone who attended the event and wanted to cash in their vote.

Lape laid out the three criteria for the dishes: taste, presentation and creativity.

Along the classroom’s long tables laid six slips of paper indicating contestants who signed up, and it seemed like a sophisticated event was about to take place. However, out of the six groups that signed up to bring baked goods, only two showed up.

Roommates Ashlyn Jacobs and Brystol Beatley, both juniors studying English writing, made raspberry almond “biscuits” (the British term for cookies). They competed against Esther Foster, a junior also studying English writing, and Lydia Talbott, a junior studying archaeology and classical languages. Foster and Talbott worked as a team to make a chai tea cake.

Playing off the lack of turn-out, Katie Baxter, a junior studying psychology and friend of Foster and Talbott, said, “It’s just like the semi-finals.”

The judges started with Foster and Talbott. The chai tea cake had cream cheese frosting with a caramel drizzle, and dried flowers and grains foraged from around Wheaton adorned the front.

As the judges tasted the cake, Foster talked about her relationship to baking.

“I remember making my own recipes in elementary school,” she said. Foster likes experimenting with different flavors, and Talbott had to bike back to the store to get more spices for the cake as they made it.

The judges moved on to the biscuits next. Jacobs and Beatley baked shortbread biscuits with raspberry jam and white glaze. They placed dried baby’s breath flowers between the biscuits.

The raspberry jam was homemade by Jacobs’ grandfather, who owns a home garden in Wisconsin where he grows raspberries. “Raspberry is the best fruit, in my opinion,” Jacobs said.

The dishes showcased the talents of the two pairs. The chai cake had a cinnamon and caramel aftertaste and felt suited to the autumnal weather. The raspberry shortbread exploded with fresh raspberry flavor juxtaposed with the muted texture of shortbread.

“I swear we didn’t plan this,” Lape said as she announced the winners. The judges decided on the chai cake, and the audience’s vote was the raspberry biscuit.

As students mingled after the event, reflecting on the dishes and British culture, the atmosphere remained peaceful, even during the first week of B-quad.

Reflecting on the event, Lape said with no pun intended, “It was sweet. Everyone who came was sweet.”