The Jubilee Pudding: 70 Years in the Baking is searching to find a brand new pudding to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
Following a competition that launched in January, five superb bakers were picked out from over 5000 entries to make an original culinary creation to mark the Queen's momentous milestone.
The five finalists will battle it out in the kitchens of the iconic London store, Fortnum & Mason, to impress the judges with their creations fit for the Queen. The winning recipe will then go down in history, among the likes of the Victoria Sponge and Coronation Chicken.
Dame Mary Berry and MasterChef’s Monica Galetti will be judging the puddings alongside some big names in the food industry, before the winner will be announced by the Duchess of Cornwall.
Here’s everything we know about The Jubilee Pudding: 70 Years in the Baking…
The Jubilee Pudding: 70 Years in the Baking air date
The Jubilee Pudding: 70 Years in the Baking will air on Thursday, May 12 at 8pm on BBC One.
Meet the judges on The Jubilee Pudding: 70 Years in the Baking
Dame Mary Berry
The Queen of baking herself was keen to be involved in the competition, saying: “I thought it sounded like a simply wonderful idea. Jubilees are very special, people are going to have street parties and come together for the occasion as families and communities.
“It’s a wonderful thought that perhaps this Jubilee pudding will be made for everyone celebrating whether at street parties, for family occasions, or even made for just two people. The Jubilee weekend will feel as though the country is united.”
Monica Galetti
Monica is best known for being a former judge on MasterChef: The Professionals as well as the chef proprietor of Mere.
She revealed why she was eager to join the judging panel, commenting: “Well, first of all I loved the sound of the competition, but then as soon as they said that Mary Berry was going to be Head judge I said, 'of course.' I just love her. And it’s for Her Majesty, so why wouldn’t I want to be part of such a special event to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee.”
Matt Adlard
Matt is a self-taught baker and pastry chef.
He said: “I think it's a once in a lifetime opportunity, it's not often that a Jubilee rolls around – and certainly not a Platinum one. To be one of just a handful of judges to be able to judge a pudding to celebrate The Queen is a unique, career-defining opportunity. So, it was a real experience, something that I've never done and will never get to do again.
Rahul Mandal
Rahul won The Great British Bake Off in 2018 and is an author and TV Presenter.
Talking about why he wanted to be involved in the show he said: “I think it's to be a part of the history. Even though I did grow up in India, the Royal Family is such a big thing there as well. So, it's a bit like a dream and being a part of the Platinum Jubilee competition, it's just an amazing opportunity. I didn't really think twice.”
Regula Ysewijn
A culinary historian and author, Regula explained that: “Well, I was asked, and I thought it was a great compliment to be involved. In such a historical moment. I've previously written a book about the history of British puddings, so it felt fitting to be involved and to become part of that history really.”
Jane Dunn
Jane is an author and baker, who also believed it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be involved, saying: “I just thought it was a once in a lifetime thing for everyone who was entering the competition and the judges. Everything about it. It was just such an amazing experience that I thought it would be so, so exciting and it definitely, definitely was.”
Roger Pizey
Roger is the Executive Pastry Chef at Fortnum & Mason.
He told us: “I jumped at the chance to be involved, and I just think it's been a huge sense of pride for us all at Fortnum & Mason. After two years of challenging times - to have this moment where the country comes together, and just make something stunning that we think would be fit for The Queen - is cause for a real celebration. And it’ll be a centrepiece for street parties over the Jubilee weekend.”
Meet the bakers
Susan
Susan is a retired sales manager from Scotland who has created a Four Nations Pudding.
She says, “I wanted to make something that would represent the UK coming together. It’s a light, summery pudding using ingredients from each country; Scottish berries, Yorkshire rhubarb, Welsh Cakes and Irish butter and cream.”
Jemma
Jemma is a copywriter from Southport who was inspired by the Queen’s wedding.
She reveals: “When I discovered the Queen had lemon posset at her wedding I decided the recipe had to be based around lemon flavour. I came up with my Lemon Swiss Roll and Amaretti Trifle pudding. I made several versions before adding amaretti and mandarins to make it more special.”
Shabnam
Shabnam is from London and has taken her inspiration from an Indian recipe.
“I decided on The Falooda which is a very elegant but simple-to-make pudding that originates from Mumbai. It has saffron sponges, and is topped with rose petal jelly and chopped nuts. The Queen has embraced a multiracial, multicultural society and I wanted my cake to reflect that as well as the Commonwealth,” she says.
Sam
Sam is a lawyer from Warwickshire who is making a Jubilee Bundt Cake.
“It’s a take on the classic British Victoria sponge shaped like a crown to reflect the celebrations,” says Sam. “Apparently the Queen’s favourite tipple is Dubonnet so I incorporated that into my jam so that it would have a bit of a kick!”
Kathryn
Kathryn is a composer from Oxfordshire and her Passion Fruit Layered Tart contains creamy cheesecake, frangipane and buttery shortcrust pastry.
“My pudding is inspired by my grandma who was a nurse for the NHS. It’s a take on a layer cake that she loved. My recipe marks 70 years of the Queen’s reign but is also in honour of my grandma’s many years of dedicated service,” she told us.
The Jubilee Pudding: 70 Years in the Baking trailer
You can watch a sneak peek here of the judges tasting and the bakers making their delicious treats!
