A jubilee dessert fit for a Queen!
Amateur baker from Southport beats 5,000 entrants with lemon Swiss roll trifle to win Platinum Pudding competition
She took her inspiration from her grandmothers – and from the Queen’s wedding menu.
And last night Jemma Melvin’s lemon Swiss roll and amaretti trifle was unveiled as the winner of the national competition to find a Platinum Pudding fit for the Queen.
Miss Melvin, 31, a copywriter and keen amateur baker from Southport, Merseyside, beat more than 5,000 entrants including four other women finalists.
She said the thought of having her pudding recreated up and down the country for Big Jubilee Lunches in June – as well as being sold in royal food store Fortnum & Mason – was ‘an absolute pleasure’.
Miss Melvin’s triumph was revealed in BBC programme The Jubilee Pudding: 70 Years in the Baking, which followed the competition to celebrate the jubilee by finding an original cake, tart or pudding fit for royalty that pays tribute to the Queen and her 70-year reign.
The recipe also had to have a memorable story, taste just right, be perfect for home bakers and have the potential to stand the test of time – as coronation chicken and Victoria sponge have done.
The winning trifle wowed judges, including Dame Mary Berry, MasterChef’s Monica Galetti and Buckingham Palace head chef Mark Flanagan, at the first mouthful.
Their decision to pick Miss Melvin’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 guest at the filming of the final at Fortnum & Mason in Piccadilly, and announced the winning recipe. She gave Miss Melvin a warm hug and told her: ‘Many congratulations.’
Dame Mary, chairman of the judges, said: ‘It’s absolutely wonderful. I think Britain is going to be so delighted and the Queen too.’ Miss Melvin, who started baking aged six, said: ‘Oh my! I have to tell my grandma first. She is the person that taught me how to bake. She’s going to be so proud.
‘My inspiration is both my gran and my nan. My nan’s signature dish was a trifle. She was a wonderful, poised lady, just like our Queen. She used to make a wonderful trifle. 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 very much liked lemon as well, so it all just slotted into place. My gran is with us but sadly my nan is not.’ Miss Melvin, who lives with her longterm partner and ‘chief taster’ James and their dog Bella, added: ‘The thought of people recreating my pudding, especially round the jubilee, is just a total pleasure.’
The Big Jubilee Lunch is being organised by the eden Project charity, which each year encourages communities to come together over food. More than 60,000 have signed up to this year’s event – to be held on June 5 as part of the official jubilee celebrations.
The winning recipe will be found on the BBC Good Food website and The Big Jubilee Lunch website (www.thebigjubileelunch. com). The trifle will be available to buy in Fortnum & Mason, with all profits donated to Centrepoint and The Big Jubilee Lunch.