Scots finalist in Queen’s Platinum Pudding competition hoping for a call from Balmoral
THE Scots finalist of the Queen’s Platinum Pudding contest might have lost out on being crowned the winner, but is ready to head to Balmoral if she is asked.
Susan Gardner, from Argyll and Bute, flew the flag for Scotland as one of five finalists in the nationwide competition to create a pudding to mark the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations.
While her four nations-themed pudding lost out to winner Jemma Melvin with her lemon and Swiss roll amaretti trifle, she still hopes she might get to present a dish to the Queen a her summer residence.
“I can be in Balmoral in two-and-a-half hours, so you never know I might get a call,” joked Mrs Gardner.
Despite losing out she was still upbeat at being involved and says she and her fellow finalists are now friends for life.
The National Trust for Scotland Hill House guide said: “I am thrilled for Jemma and everyone is so pleased. We had to remain tight-lipped about the result for weeks and couldn’t tell anyone.
“Watching it all again on TV on Thursday night when the winner was announced to the nation, I got swept up in it all. It was an amazing experience that I might not even have gone for if I hadn’t been recovering from a fall at home last November.”
Mrs Gardner is now looking forward to spending Jubilee weekend with her family and it won’t just be her own pudding that will be making an appearance.
“All the puddings were wonderful and I think I will have a go at making the other four as well,” she added.
“We have a busy time ahead as my son Ross is graduating from university this year so we will be celebrating that as well as the Jubilee.”
Winner Ms Melvin, from Merseyside, created the dessert, inspired by the lemon posset served at the Queen’s wedding to Prince Philip.
The trifle is made with layers of lemon curd Swiss roll, custard, jelly, a mandarin coulis and amaretti biscuits.
It will join the ranks of royal-inspired dishes, such as coronation chicken and Victoria sponge. Some 5,000 people, aged eight to 108, entered the nationwide competition to craft a new pudding to commemorate the Queen’s 70-year reign.