THE prestigious rich fruit cake and Genoa cake baking competitions were held at the Royal Adelaide Show (RAS) recently with Penola resident Carolyn Lambert invited to judge the events.
A veteran on the show scene, Ms Lambert has been judging cooking competitions for many years but this was the first year she had the opportunity to judge at the RAS.
Although she always had a love of baking, Ms Lambert did not start entering competitions until around 25 years ago.
She was approached by a friend and encouraged to enter the Penola Show and from there her passion took off.
Ms Lambert admits to start with she was not as competitive as others, but she persisted and with each event advanced her skills.
Eventually she was asked to judge a baking competition at a local show and has since had the opportunity to judge at state semi-finals, although this was the first time judging the state final.
“It was such a lovely surprise to receive the invitation to judge this year,” Ms Lambert said.
“I feel very honoured to have done it – judging the state final is a pretty special honour.”
This is not the first time Ms Lambert has attended the baking competition at the RAS, she has been skilled enough to not only compete herself, but win the state final twice.
With many years of experience in the baking world, Ms Lambert has seen different interpretations of cakes.
“The Genoa cake is the competitor’s own, but the rich fruit cake is a set recipe,” she said.
“You would be surprised how each competitor’s cake is completely different even though they use the exact same instructions and ingredients.”
Ms Lambert said the judging experience is something she would cherish.
“I really enjoyed the opportunity,” she said.
“Hopefully they ask me to do it again as I would definitely give it another go.”
For now, Ms Lambert will judge local shows this year in addition to possibly entering the Penola Show competition herself.
