Bake Off Competition 2026

The cakes were fabulous – all of them. The six competitors from Bertha Park and St. John’s High schools created beautiful and all different cakes/bakes based on the theme of Perthshire strawberries. The standard was so high at the competition on Wednesday 20th May, 2026 at UHI Perth that it was hard to judge.

At this tough competition the judges scrutinise six criteria: Appealing to eye, Originality, Balance of Components recognising the theme, Ease of Eating, Flavour and Work Practices.

All of the competitors had already passed through a heat within their own school to compete at Perth College UHI under the direction of Neil Mugg, Chef Lecturer and Bill Montgomery, Master Baker and Anna Martin, President of the Rotary Club of Perth.

At the end the winner was Lewis Bethure who created a strawberry upside down gluten free bake. It was delicious, he used the strawberries very well and it looked very appetising.

Lewis said “the reason I have picked this dish is because after becoming gluten free I never stopped appreciating how much gluten is such a part of everything we eat and how challenging it is to make food without it. I want to prove to people that even though the food is gluten free it can taste just as good without gluten, if not better”. And Lewis was a very worthy winner receiving his prize and silver salver from Anna Martin, President of the Rotary Club of Perth.

The competitors were Olivia, Daniel and Isabel from St. John’s and Sadie, Lewis and Jamie from Bertha Park.

A huge thank you to the school teachers and especially Neil Mugg and the UHI Hospitality team.