The winner of the national competition to find a Platinum Pudding fit for the Queen has been unveiled.
And what could be more quintessentially British… than a trifle?
The Lemon Swiss Roll and Amaretti trifle inspired by the Queen’s wedding menu beat more than 5,000 entrants to find a desert which will go down in the annals of history along with the Victoria Sponge and Coronation Chicken.
It was created by Jemma Melvin, a 31-year-old copywriter and keen amateur baker from Southport, Merseyside, who was taught by her grandmother.
She said the thought of having her pudding re-created up and down the country for Big Jubilee Lunches in June – as well as being sold in royal food store Fortnum & Mason – as ‘an absolute pleasure’.
Jemma Melvin, a 31-year-old copywriter and keen amateur baker from Southport, Merseyside, has been unveiled as winner of the national competition to find a Platinum Pudding fit for the Queen
The Lemon Swiss Roll and Amaretti trifle inspired by the Queen’s wedding menu beat more than 5,000 entrants to find a desert which will go down in the annals of history along with the Victoria Sponge and Coronation Chicken
Her triumph was revealed in a BBC programme ‘The Jubilee Pudding: 70 Years in the Baking’ which followed the competition to celebrate the monarch’s seven decades on the throne by finding an original and celebratory cake, tart or pudding fit for royalty.
The winning trifle wowed judges, including Dame Mary Berry, Masterchef‘s Monica Galetti and Buckingham Palace Head Chef, Mark Flanagan, at the first mouthful – and it can be easily recreated by people at home.
Their decision to pick Jemma’s trifle – consisting of lemon curd Swiss roll on the bottom, St Clement’s jelly, lemon custard, amaretti biscuits, mandarin coulis, fresh whipped cream, candied peel, chocolate shards and crushed amaretti biscuits on top – was unanimous.
The Duchess of Cornwall, who is Patron of The Big Jubilee Lunch, was a surprise special guest at the filming of the final and announced the winning recipe.
The amateur baker was inspired by make the lemon flavoured dessert after learning the Queen had lemon posset at her wedding to Prince Philip
She gave Jemma a warm hug and told her: ‘Many congratulations.’
Dame Mary Berry, chair of the judging panel, said: ‘It’s absolutely wonderful, I think Britain is going to be so delighted and The Queen too.’
Jemma, who started baking when she was six, said: ‘Oh my! I have to tell my grandma first.
‘She is the person that taught me how to bake and I am so excited to tell her. She’s going to be so proud, I can’t wait, I can’t wait.
Her recipe came out tops in the all-women final, fulfilling the criteria of being fit for a queen, have a memorable story, taste just right, be perfect for home bakers and with the potential to stand the test of time
‘I am so happy. I am so happy. Thank you so much, Mary. It’s been an honour as well to have your feedback. It’s just meant the world to me so thank you.
‘The thought of people recreating my pudding, especially round the Jubilee, is just a total pleasure.’
Her recipe came out tops in the all-women final, fulfilling the criteria of being fit for a queen, have a memorable story, taste just right, be perfect for home bakers and with the potential to stand the test of time.
Jemma, who lives with her long-term and ‘chief taster’ partner, James, and their rescue-dog Bella, said: ‘My inspiration is both my gran and my nan.
Dame Mary Berry, chair of the judging panel, said the pudding was ‘absolutely wonderful’, revealing ‘Britain is going to be so delighted and The Queen too’
‘My gran is with us but sadly my nan is not. They are both extremely important to me. My gran taught me how to bake but my nan’s signature dish was a trifle.
‘A wonderful, poised lady, just like our Queen. She used to make a wonderful trifle, but hers was laced with sherry and decorated with kiwi fruit and flaked chocolate, but this trifle is elevated and fit for The Queen herself.
‘I found out that The Queen had lemon posset at her wedding so I decided the pudding had to be based around the lemon flavour. My gran and my nan, they very much liked lemon as well, so it all just slotted into place.’
She added: ‘I think it’ll be perfect for Jubilee celebrations as it’s refreshing for Summer. It can also be made in a large dish or in individual portions – whichever you’d prefer.’
Fortnum & Mason Executive Pastry Chef and Judge, Roger Pizey, said he thought that people would be making Jemma’s trifle ‘for at least the next 50 to 100 years without a doubt’
Jemma said her boyfriend, fortunately, has ‘hollow legs’ but that she also used her family and friends as guinea pigs for her desert.
However as she was sworn to secrecy, she couldn’t tell them what she was actually trying the recipe out for.
‘Even my boyfriend didn’t really know what he was tasting at the time,’ she said.
She said going to Fortnum & Mason to make her pudding for the final was a surreal experience.
‘I’m a northern girl from a northern town, a seaside town. It’s so outside of my normal life,’ she said.
The copywriter said going to Fortnum & Mason to make her pudding for the final was a surreal experience
Asked what she plans to do for the Jubilee weekend, she said: ‘I’m going to be making my recipe for my gran at her street party.’
Fortnum & Mason Executive Pastry Chef and Judge, Roger Pizey, said he thought that people would be making Jemma’s trifle ‘for at least the next 50 to 100 years without a doubt’.
Judge Monica Galetti added: ‘I love lemon and sometimes people hold back, and they’re scared to put that lemon into it, and as you’re eating it you’re thinking, “oh it can’t get any better”.
‘I got chunks of the amaretti biscuit that have soaked up the cream and they’re chewy and I am so happy right now.’
The Big Jubilee Lunch is being organised by the Eden Project, who each year encourage communities to come together over food.
More than 60,000 have signed up to this year’s event which will be held on June 5 as part of the official Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
The winning recipe will be available online via the BBC Good Food, The Big Jubilee Lunch www.thebigjubileelunch.com or to buy in Fortum and Mason, where all profits will be donated to Centrepoint and The Big Jubilee Lunch, part of the Eden Project.
Source: Daily Mail