Cakes, Bakes & Faith at Christ Church, Lisburn

Friday October 4th 2019

Pictured at the Cakes, Bakes & Faith evening in Christ Church, Lisburn, are, from left: The Ven Paul Dundas, rector; Gemma Brown, Tearfund; Martha Collison and Will Torrent.

There were mouth-watering treats and inspiring stories to enjoy at Christ Church Parish, Lisburn, on Thursday October 3.

More than 250 people came along to support Tearfund’s Cakes, Bakes & Faith tour featuring celebrity bakers Martha Collison and Will Torrent.

Martha was the youngest ever contestant on the Great British Bake Off, and Will is an award-winning chocolatier, patissier and Waitrose consultant who regularly appears on Ready, Steady, Cook.

Martha and Will talked about how they had got into baking in the first place – telling two very different stories. Martha talked about her experience in the Bake Off tent, and Will explained that they had met when he reached out to Martha on social media after she had spoken about her Christian faith.

Both talked about their recent trips with Tearfund, sharing inspiring stories of how Tearfund is supporting families in greatest need. Will met cocoa farmers in Ivory Coast, while Martha visited Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

There was a live bake-off on stage between the two special guests, with the rector of Christ Church, the Ven Paul Dundas, helping judge the winner. In the end, Martha’s stacked desert, featuring baked apples, digestive biscuits and cream, just pipped Will’s rice pudding.

There was a nail biting time too, as Will and Martha selected a winner from a number of cakes baked by members of the audience – well done to all competitors – you all deserve to be winners.

Paul said afterwards: “On such an autumnal night, it was so encouraging to see more than 250 people engage with Will and Martha as they were interviewed about their love of baking and their faith.

“They also talked about their trips with Tearfund, and people who came along had the opportunity to support the work of Tearfund and to sign up to support this work on a monthly basis.

“The fun part of the evening was when Will and Martha had 15 minutes to cook something using only the ingredients that were given to them. These included local produce like Club orange and Bramley apples.

“Both their dishes were delicious! It was a very successful evening for the parish and for raising awareness of the work of Tearfund.”