A TOP chef couldn’t believe his mince pies when called upon to judge Beaminster School Association’s hotly contested baking contest.

TV chef Hugh Fearnley- Whittingstall dropped into the school to get a taste of the platefuls of hundreds of mince pies made for the BSA Christmas Fair.

And even when confronted with scores of the tasty seasonal treats, he sampled every entry.

“Having Hugh there certainly raised the bar this year,” said BSA member Helen Fisher.

“He took it really seriously, which was lovely and he did genuinely try every single pie – and thankfully he said he really likes mince pies.

“The first mince pie he cut into did have a hair inside it – but after that they got better and better!”

“He said he was really impressed by the high quality and he particularly mentioned how many good ones there were from the lower school.”

“The BSA would like to thank everyone who supported us by donating bottles and chocolates for the Christmas Fair, and for coming along on Friday night.

“We raised lots of money for the school.”

Entrants had to bring a tray of 12 mince pies of any shape or design into school last Friday and all pies were sold in aid of the association at the Christmas Fair in the public hall that evening, for 50p each – and £1 for the winning entries.

Hugh presented each prize winner with a River Cottage gift and the association gave £5 worth of raffle tickets to the Best in Show and Best Presentation winner with a chance to win the star prize of an Apple iPad.

THE WINNERS

  • Best in Show: Louis Jones 7L
  • Best Presentation: Flora Coleberd 7M
  • Best Lower School Pies: Tibby Morris 7L
  • Best Upper School Pies: Matthew Webb 10L
  • Best Sixth Form Pies: Oscar Smoker Sixth Form
  • Best Parent or Teacher: Mark Keating (parent – prize was collected by daughter Erin from 7E) The raffle will be drawn tomorrow, December 13, and envelopes should be returned to the school today to be in with a chance of winning the iPad, £50 or £25 cash or a Bridge House Hotel voucher.