Get your fingers sticky for a good cause
Image: Supplied
The famous Bobby Goldsmith Foundation Bake Off is back!
So put on your gingham apron, warm up the Sunbeam Mixmaster, and whip it good (the cream, that is) for the BGF 40th anniversary Bake Off!
The BGF Bake Off is an event equalled only by Drag Race in its competitiveness, creativity, humour, obscenity and drama.
It all began in 1987 as a fundraiser for the Bobby Goldsmith Foundation. Back then, HIV/AIDS had gripped the community; very little was known about the virus, and there was no cure or viable treatment in sight.
The Bake Off not only raised much needed money, but it brought the community together in a rare situation where people could laugh and have a moment of reprieve from the fear and grief.
In the decades since then, advances in medical research have meant that a positive diagnosis of HIV is no longer as dire as it once was. That doesn’t, however, mean we can all relax now. People living with HIV today still experience many difficulties including social isolation and stigma, as well as navigating their care options.
The Bobby Goldsmith Foundation provides services that can help with all of the above, but it is in constant need of funding.
In its heyday, the Bake Off was a centrepiece event on the queer calendar, and a significant fundraiser. Why shouldn’t we have our cake and eat it again? And if that cake is inedible, it doesn’t matter, as long as it looks fabulous. (Style over substance always, darlings.)
Use your imagination. Be cute, impressive, wicked; any size, any shape, any flavour. There are seven judging categories: best decorated, best fete baking, best professional creation, best tart or pie, best cupcake, best cake and worst cake. It’s the Oscars for desserts!
But move those buns, honey, you’ve got until April 7. That’s when the gala Bake Off event takes place at The Imperial.
The gold-spatula wielding hostess will be BGF ambassador and Drag Race alumni, Etcetera Etcetera. The glutenous (or gluten-free) artworks will be judged by Claire de Lune, Executive Chef and Director of Claire’s Kitchen at Le Salon, and Adam Worling, Councillor City of Sydney.
And the icing on the cake is that there will be gorgeous prizes and loads of fun on the day. Plus, all the marvellous cakes (and the not so marvellous ones) will be auctioned off with proceeds going to BGF.
So get into that kitchen and don’t come out until your torte is terrific.
Tickets to the event are $20 and on sale now.
Bake Off competition entries across all categories are $10 per cake.
