Kamala bakes up a treat

Scones were the order of the day at Bolton College this week, when a star baker from Canon Slade School visited the College to recreate her competition winning recipe.  

Canon Slade pupil Kamala Dixon, 14, was the winner of the school’s annual scone baking competition. After walking away with the school’s Darran Armston Memorial Trophy, Kamala was then invited in to the College’s Catering Academy to bake up a batch to sell in its café and food outlet. 

Kamala had beaten off tough competition during the event at Canon Slade, competing against 150 other year 9 pupils to be crowned winner. The judging panel consisted of representatives from Greenhalghs Bakery as well as Bolton, Blackburn and Runshaw College. Guest of honour was Norma Armston, mother of former Canon Slade pupil Darran Armston; the trophy is named in his memory. 

Kamala’s winning recipe added a unique twist to the traditional scone and included lemon, almonds and cardamom. Jaki Hargreaves, manager of the College’s Catering Academy, had sourced the ingredients to make the scones. In the kitchens she helped Kamala and her fellow pupil Harry Cohen, who joined Kamala after being named runner-up.    

Ian Littlewood, Schools Liaison Coordinator at Bolton College, said “We were delighted to welcome Kamala and Harry to Bolton College. The scones they recreated were delicious and sold out by the end of the day. I think we have the next Mary Berry on our hands.” 

Kamala was accompanied at the College by Anne Teasdale, who teaches food at Canon Slade. She said, “The competition has been going for 10 years now, and for me, it’s one of the highlights of the school’s calendar. It creates a fantastic buzz and is all done in the spirit of fun. We were delighted to be invited to the College, it was a lovely opportunity for Kamala and we’d love to come back again next year”. 

Kamala, who would like to study medicine in the future, added “I do a lot of baking at home, and I’d practised my recipe beforehand; I wanted to do something a little different to make my scones really stand out. I was so happy to hear I had won, and it was great coming to the College to make my scones and see them being sold to the students”. 

If you’d like to learn more about catering and hospitality at Bolton College and you’re a school leaver, please click here  for full time courses. Click here for Apprenticeships, whatever your age, and for adult catering and hospitality courses, please click here.