Meet the winners of our tastiest competition of the year

Each year it is an Anchor tradition to host a Christmas cake competition. It’s a brilliant way for colleagues and residents to unleash their creativity, get into the festive spirit and work together to make some tasty treats.  

All the entries required a final cake and instructions on how the cake was made. Judges then scored the cake on several criteria, including taste, presentation, and resident involvement. 

We're very excited to be announcing the winners in our 2024 Christmas cake competition. They are as follows:

Cranlea care home in Newcastle won in the north with a traditional Christmas cake decorated with a gingerbread house and Frosty the Snowman.

Harden Hall care home in Walsall also emerged victorious with their impressive cake decorated with candy canes and hot chocolate on the inside. 

Wyken Court in Coventry won in their regional Christmas cake competition with a cake decorated with edible decorations and an edible snow globe covering a winter scene.

The Manor House in Knaresborough won in their region with a traditional cake decorated with polar bears and stars. 

Buckingham Lodge, Timken Grange, Hatfield House and Wharfeside also won the Christmas cake competition in their regions, with the team at Wharfeside even going to the effort of creating a replica of the home in cake form. 

Kimberley Court won with a traditional Christmas cake decorated with a holly and ivy theme. 

Willow Gardens won with a traditional Christmas cake decorated with gingerbread Christmas trees. 

Maple Tree Court care home won with a traditional Christmas cake decorated with snowmen and snowflakes. 

Wellington Lodge won with a traditional Christmas cake decorated with figurines made with marzipan, and desiccated coconut was used for a snow effect. 

Canterbury House care home in Faversham won with a traditional Christmas cake decorated with a Nativity scene made of fondant icing. 

Finally, St Marys care home in Ipswich won their regional final with a cake decorated with a snowman, penguin, and Santa on top.

Tessa Root, a resident at St Marys care home, was overjoyed at winning the competition, saying:

I was really excited when I heard there was a Christmas cake competition. I never in a million years thought we’d win, so this was a wonderful surprise.

I’ve always enjoyed decorating cakes, almost as much as I enjoy eating them! I always take part in the baking sessions at Anchor’s St Marys, so it was a really nice way to get into the holiday spirit.

Anna Dabrowska, Home Manager of Anchor’s St Marys care home, said: 

Activities such as baking, and cake decorating are a firm favourite among our residents at Anchor’s St Marys We’re all delighted that our cake won this year’s Christmas cake competition.

Our Christmas cake competitions form part of our Creative Christmas campaign, highlighting the positive impact creativity can have on people’s wellbeing during the festive season.