Village fete tomorrow - entering the food competition

[MonkeyJungleConga]

It's like the final of masterchef round here today as the cooking gets well underway for tomorrow's Village fight fete.

Team Monkey will be entering the following:

• White Loaf (hand made, as opposed to machine made)
• Brown Loaf (ditto)
• Apple Pie (never made one before)
• Chutney (I made this last year from my courgettes)
• Possible cup cakes if I still have the will to live
• Sloe Gin (except it's damson gin but we've decanted the sloes and we're hoping the judges are a bit tiddly feeling generous when they try it and therefore overlook this minor departure from the rules).
• Best decorated hard boiled egg head
• Gingerbread man, decorated. Excpet we haven't got a man cutter so it's going to have to be a fairy / snowman / fish or summat.
• Best decorated bookmark.

This is the first time we've ever entered anything so tensions are running high. I've just made pastry for the first time in my life, the gingerbread's ready to be rolled out, the eggs are cooling, one bookmark's half finished and DH is about to be asked to go to Tescos for the 4th time today...

It doesn't get any messier than this.

Any other Fete entrants on MN? What are your top tips for success with the no doubt ruthless judges, besides bribery and corruption.

OOh nearly forgot - going to have a go at a Victoria Sponge too if I have time tomorrow.

Good luck! I will watch with interest as I am always promising myself I'll enter at the show we always go to.

There was a classic thread a few years ago where MNers helped Slubberdegullion romp to second place with her Victoria sponge.

Yes I remember that one have been looking at it for 4/4/4 or 5/5/5 ratios. Still giggle at her pic of the High Sift!

ooooo - good luck - this was me a month or so ago!
came 3rd with the rhubarb (not as straight as the winner!)
came 3rd with apple pie
came 1st with our redcurrants (very shiney was the comment!)
came 1st and won a trophy with photograph
came 2nd with a shoe box scene (dd)
came 2nd with a picture (ds)

it is soooo exciting to look at the cards when you go back after judging to see what the results are! We even beat the local councillor with the redcurrants!!

Really Bellie - hope they're not in the planing dept or anything should you choose to every make an application for an extension or something .

Blind baking my apple pie right now. not sure if I should or not but am verr verr worried about a soggy bottom.

get there in good time and don't forget your doilies. And resign yourself now to doing and redoing gingerbread men at 2am, even if you swear you're only giving it all one go. I shoved my last meringue in the oven at 12.30am the other week.

One apple pie tip I read that seems to work is to scatter a fine layer of cornflakes in the bottom of your pie case; it absorbs any excess liquid.

And good luck!

This will be me next weekend.

Have to make

Lemon drizzle cake
choc brownies (won class last year so need to be good)
Victoria Sponge
Raspberry Jam (made in June)
Home made cider (made last Nov)

Ds needs to make

Home-made crown
edible necklace
animal made from fruit or veg
garden in a seed tray

Needless to say life is gonna get VERY stressed at our place

Only bit of advice I would give is that presentation counts so break out the pretty china plates and the doillies.

Good luck op

Bugger . Over blind baked the bottom. might have to just have that for tea and be done with it.

Is it terribly bad if one uses shop bought pastry or will the judges never know?

results?!

How did you do? (or have you finished the sloe gin in celebration!! )

Well my kids scoffed the apple pie before the show , although they said it was the best pudding I'd ever made and I wasn't well last night and still off colour this morning so I didn't get round to doing the other stuff. My chutney was entered but didn't get a placement.

Kids did well - 1st & 2nd for bookmarks, 1st for decorated egg and 2nd and Highly Commended with the gingerbread men.

Dh decided he didn't want to risk the village pissheads our friends not to scoff his Sloe / Damson gin so didn't enter.

There's another one next week in the next village along so I'll have another crack at it.

Well done!!
It was obviously a good apple pie and clearly would have won a prize

Have fun for the next one!