GREAT British Bake Off champion Frances Quinn visited Gloucester to taste the work of budding cake makers.
Frances helped to judge the free competition at the Gloucester Quays yesterday, which saw Victoria sponge and cupcake entries from bakers across the county.
She was joined at the judging panel by qualified Women's Institute cake judge Sarah Baldwin, former Harrods cake designer Xavier Pelloux, co-founder of Cheltenham's Daffodil Restaurant Fiona Stephens and Citizen editor Jenny Eastwood.
The event was part of the 'Taste of Gloucestershire' Day, which paid homage to the delicacies of the area.
It kicked off the Gloucester Quays Food Festival, to be held throughout the weekend.
Frances, who won the BBC show last year and has since visited cake competitions across the country, said: "The bakers in the competition have been a really high calibre, and events like this in Gloucester help to promote that.
"I'm a big fan of keeping cakes traditional and these entries were really baked well. "It's amazing that there has been a resurgence in baking and that more children are getting inspired to take it up. More people are coming up from the younger generations and they're interested in expanding their knowledge on food."
John and Julia House, from Taynton Farm Foods, won the sponge cake competition, securing first and second place respectively. Julia was unable to pick up her prize as she was busy "milking cows."
Caroline Telford, from Dursley, won one of the cupcake competitions. Her mother, Tracey Pritchard, said: "We're very proud of her for winning especially since she loves cooking."
