The Platinum Pudding Competition was established in 2021 by the London department store
Fortnum & Mason, conceived by the
British diplomat and food, culture, and travel writer Ameer Kotecha and the former British diplomat and curator Jason Kelly, who shared their idea with Fortnum & Mason. The competition was launched throughout the United Kingdom on 10 January 2022 by
Buckingham Palace, Fortnum & Mason and the Big Jubilee Lunch to find a new pudding dedicated to
Queen Elizabeth II as part of that year's
Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Nadine Dorries, the United Kingdom Secretary of
State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, said: "The Platinum Pudding Competition is a wonderful way to celebrate Her Majesty's 70 year reign and I know it will inspire people of all ages across the UK to get baking". Upon closure of competition entries, Fortnum & Mason chefs managed the process of filtering competition entries in preparation of the competition's final, which Fortnum & Mason hosted at their principal store on
Piccadilly in central London. "The winning recipe will be made available to the public and the pudding will be enjoyed at Big Jubilee Lunches during the Jubilee weekend, and by generations to come," the Palace said.
Eligibility British residents aged 8 and over were eligible for the competition, along with all individuals, families, school classes, community groups, companies and other entities.
Judges The judging panel was chaired by an independent panel of expert judges comprising notable home bakers, professional chefs, authors, historians and patissiers. They were: •
Mary Berry: Food writer and television presenter • Roger Pizey: Executive Pastry Chef,
Fortnum & Mason •
Mark Flanagan LVO:
Buckingham Palace Head Chef • Jane Dunn: Food writer, author and baker •
Liam Charles: Baker, author and TV presenter • Matt Adlard: Pastry Chef •
Monica Galetti: Chef proprietor of Mere, TV presenter and judge on
MasterChef: The Professionals •
Regula Ysewijn: Culinary historian, author and judge on
Bake Off in Belgium • Rahul Mandal:
The Great British Bake Off winner 2018
Timeline The competition opened for entries from 10 January The winning recipe was a lemon Swiss roll and amaretti trifle created by Jemma Melvin. ==Winning recipe==