Left: Top-three winners of the Red Label Wine Christmas Cake competition with their gift baskets, courtesy of J. Wray & Nephew Limited. They are (from left): Stephanny Richards (third place), Kevin Stewart (winner) and Lorna Wilson (second place). Right: Judges from left: Valrie Davis, two-time winner of the contest; Romario Samuels and Marilyn Bennett, representing the sponsors, and Lorraine Clunie of Elegant Weddings.

Last year, Kevin Stewart won the Red Label Wine Christmas Cake Contest with his Pumpkin Fruit Cake and this year he did it again with his Mix Up and Blend Cassava Fruit Cake, at The Gleaner Company in Kingston on December 11.

Like last year, Stewart was speechless and teary-eyed when he heard he was the winner of the well supported Red Label Wine contest. There were scores of entries, but only 10 contestants made it to the finals and, of the lot, the only male and defending champion was Stewart.

He said he was grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the contest and for winning. He thanked God and his co-workers at the School of Hospitality at the University of Technology (UTech), who supported him. He said many expected him to stick with his winning recipe from last year, but he decided to do something healthier. "Cassava is high in Vitamin C and low in fat, plus it is a Jamaican product," said Stewart.

Stewart is a lab assistant at the bakery at UTech. He told Food that in the future, he plans on attending UTech next year to study food management with a minor in event management.

Lorna's cake

Two years ago, Lorna Wilson sent in her recipe for the cake contest and was chosen to be a finalist. On the day of the judging in Kingston, Wilson was on her way from Manchester to show off her fruit cake. Pregnant at the time, she fell ill during the journey and was unable to make it. Two years later, she re-entered and once again her recipe was chosen among the 10 finalists. This time, she made it without mishap. And as fate would have it, she placed second with her Pumpkin and Yam Fruit Cake.

Wilson told Food that for about a year she tried the recipe and got great reviews, and decided to enter it for the contest. Upon hearing her name called for second place, Wilson held up her arms and screamed gleefully. She said she is overwhelmed to be in second place and hoped to take the trophy next time.

Unlike others who were taught baking by their mothers or grandmothers, Wilson is self-taught. "Every Sunday I used to try to bake something and from the encouragement I received from friends, I continued. Now I am honing my skills but I still see where I can improve," said Wilson, a resource and technology teacher at the Hatfield Primary and Junior High.

Judges for the contest were: Marilyn Bennett and Romario Samuels representing title sponsors, J. Wray and Nephew Limited; Valrie Davis, past Christmas cake contest winner, and chief judge Loraine Clunie from Elegant Weddings.

The judges were impressed with the contestants' presentation, and thought that they stepped it up a notch over last year. Clunie, in her comments to the contestants, said judges all agreed that most of the presentations were simple yet effective. However, she felt that some were a little over the top and reminded them that sometimes less is more. She also advised that they should pay more attention to measurements of ingredients because some of the cakes had too much or too little of some ingredients and that led to disharmony in the overall taste. She advised them that if they wanted to get into business professionally, they needed to be on top of their game and to do their best at all times. She told the top three they they had a future in baking, but they must work on improving themselves through training.

Left: Stephanny Richards copped the third place with her 'Stephanny Sweet Potato Fruit Cake'. Right: Lorna Wilson definitely scored high with the judges in taste and presentation of her Christmas cake.

Sugar flowers were an addition to the presentation of Priscilla Plummer's, Grandma's Christmas Cake.

It seemed like an invitation by Carline Raynor for judges to indulge in a slice of cake and sip a glass of wine.

Utilising the Christmas colours in her presentation, Andria Calloo's entry was eye-catching.