The first All-Ireland CEIST Schools Bake-Off took place on 27 March in Ardscoil na Tríonóide, Athy. The event was launched within the 110 Catholic Education An Irish Schools Trust (CEIST) around the country.

With tough competition among the students, seven contestants were narrowed down to compete head-to-head at the grand final in Athy. Catherine Leyden from Odlums judged the entries on the day. The cakes each student baked on the day represented the theme of talent – either their own or that of their school or local community.

“The idea was based around promoting young people’s creativity and skills, as well as promoting home economics as a subject within schools. The original idea came from one of our own home economics teachers, Jackie Cooper,” explains Margaret Cambie McEvoy, deputy principle of Árdscoil na Tríonóide.

The winner was Sorcha Matthews, a transition-year student from Scoil Chríost Rí in Portlaoise, Co Laois.

“I love to sew. I sew my own clothes. I also like embroidery, so I decided to incorporate these ideas into the theme of my cake by adding tools I use for sewing onto the cake, like buttons, scissors, a needle and thread,” says Sorcha.

This lemon cake was a clear winner as the intricate design had caught the eye of Catherine Leyden from the beginning.

“Coming up with the design was the hardest part for me. There were so many things I wanted to do. Originally, I wanted to put a sewing machine onto the cake, but it was too time-consuming. I was very surprised I won because I saw the competition I was up against and knew it would be a close call. But I’m delighted,” adds Sorcha.

Áine O’Callaghan from St Joseph’s Secondary School in Tulla, Co Clare, came second, with a cake based on the theme of farming.

“My idea stemmed from a neighbour’s farm I always go over and visit the animals on. I realised there was a huge amount of effort involved in looking after the farm and the time that goes into caring for the animals. You wouldn’t be able to bake if farming didn’t exist. You wouldn’t get your eggs, flour or sugar if it wasn’t for farming,” explains Áine.

“The most challenging part was making the flowers. It took me three hours to make the cake,” she says.

In third place was fifth-year student Ciara Galligan from Colaiste na Toirbhirte in Bandon, Co Cork.

“I originally made the cake for my best friend. As you can see it’s a guitar and she plays guitar. We recently entered a music competition where she played guitar and we both sang. We’re also massive fans of Ed Sheeran,” says Ciara.

“My cake took very long to cook and it wasn’t cooling quickly enough, but it all worked out in the end,” she explains.

We asked Ciara if she would ever consider a career in the food industry.

“I’d like to become a dietician, but I want to keep baking as a hobby,” she answered.

Runners up on the day included Rachel McFadden, a sixth-year student from Árdscoil na Tríonóide in Athy, Co Kildare, who created a chocolate madeira cake inspired by the theme of gardening. She used crushed Oreos to represent soil and created a flower pot using coloured icing.

Flavia Alvarez from Presentation School in Thurles, Co Tipperary, was another runner up. She’s interested in falconry and she baked a chocolate biscuit cake shaped as an owl.

“My mother is from Italy and she always cooked and baked when I was a child. I was always surrounded by it,” explains Flavia.

Natalie McConnell from St Columba’s College in Stranorlar, Co Donegal, created a cake based around her hobby – fishing.

“We live near a river and me and my brother would go fishing a lot,” she adds.

The final runner up was 16-year-old Katie Eliffe from Meán Scoil Mhuire gan Smal in Roscommon.

“I’ve been doing judo since I was eight and I have a green belt now. I decided to use that theme for my cake. My Judo uniform and belt were the starting point for my cake,” says Katie.