AN Easter cake made by chefs in Launceston has been named the best in an annual decorating competition.

Excitement is running high at Kernow House Care Home in Launceston where the talented hospitality team led by head chef Rachel Bateman have been named the winners of the annual Barchester Easter Cake competition for the Hospital and Complex Care Division.

Each year hospitality teams from Barchester homes and hospitals up and down the country compete for the coveted Easter Cake of the Year title. The competition is run by the central hospitality team and the bar is set very high. Many of Barchester’s chefs are trained in patisserie and the Easter cake designs are very elaborate and highly technical. Competition is fierce and only the very best recipes and designs will prevail.

The hospitality team at Kernow House put their heads together and donned their aprons to come up with the winning Easter cake. Their fabulous cake was designed as a table centre piece. A chocolate cake with chocolate ganache inside and around the edges, decorated with white chocolate dripped down the sides and with lots of chocolate eggs on top, the cake is an impressive sight but its real feat is its taste.

Leigh Stanley, general manager at Kernow House, said: “The team had such a brilliant time taking part in this competition, it has been such fun. Our staff love to bake and everyone here loves cake so we were all very excited to take part. It has been a real collaborative process as we also had a cake competition for resident to take part in. They also baked and decorated an Easter Cake for the competition. The residents and staff have loved eating cake. It really has been no hardship!”