Help Sale woman to win Bake Off competition (From Messenger Newspapers)

Help Sale woman to win Bupa Bake Off competition

12:00pm Saturday 2nd March 2013 in News By Kate Banks, Reporter

A SALE baker needs your votes if she is to gain the chance to showcase her skills in the famous Great British Bake Off marquee.

If Helen Cloherty, of Carrington Lane, wins the northern heats of Bupa Bake Off, she will compete in a live final against six other amateur bakers, judged by Brendan Lynch, who came third in the BBC2 show this year.

The competition has been launched to try and tackle and loneliness and isolation amongst the elderly in the community – making everyone welcome to afternoon tea events at all Bupa care homes – at which Helen’s ‘whiskey and dry’ cake will be served if it is named the official ‘sweet bake’ of Bupa’s Communi-tea Week.
 

Helen said: “It’s a recipe I developed just for this competition; I used to work at All Saints Parish Hall in Sale and the people there loved drinking and whiskey and dry, so this is more healthy way for them to enjoy that taste.”

Both Helen’s grandparents are residents at the Bupa-run Woodend Nursing and Residential Centre, Altrincham, and are very excited she is taking part in the competition.

“My granddad’s very proud, sometimes he won’t eat but he’ll eat my cake,” Helen joked.

Una Burgess, activity co-ordinator at Woodend, said she hopes the home’s Communi-tea event which is taking place on April 16, 2-4pm, will help illustrate that the home is open to all, not only residents and their families.

“We want to welcome the local community into the home and maybe encourage volunteers to visit on a more regular basis just to do something as simple as holding hands with the residents,” said Una.

Helen added: “Care homes have a lot of stigma but it really is a home from home.”

- To vote for Helen or to enter yourself, visit bupa.co.uk/bakeoff. Voting ends March 8.