Kilkenny’s best camogie players and hurlers raise funds for the Irish Heart Foundation in First-Ever Great Kilkenny Bake Off!
On Bank Holiday Sunday two rising stars in Kilkenny camogie went head to head with former captains of the Kilkenny senior hurling team in a fantastic evening hosted by Mountain View Markets at Savour Kilkenny. Michelle Teehan and Katie Nolan took on Colin Fennelly and Joey Holden in a bake off to raise some ‘dough’ for the Irish Heart Foundation, the national heart and stroke charity.
It’s been established that the ladies are better on the pitch and now we can confirm that they’re better in the kitchen too after emerging victorious in the kitchen showdown of the year! Expert judges Bart Pawlukojc of Arán Bakery & Bistro, Brian Walsh of Cookie Co-op, and John Kelly of the Lady Helen Restaurant at Mount Juliet Estate tallied the scores and awarded the cup to the camogie girls in a hard-fought battle.
GAA lovers turned out in force for this clash of the titans in the Savour kitchen and the sold-out event was a hit with spectators who generously donated to help support such a worthy cause. If you didn’t make it to the event, there’s still time to donate as the GoFundMe page is live for another week – search for Bake Off Fundraiser – Irish Heart Foundation on gofundme.com.
Sophie O’Grady of Mountain View Markets was delighted with the results of the event saying “What a laugh! Our wonderful MC Edward Hayden, our budding bakers Michelle Teehan, Katie Nolan, Colin Fennelly and Joey Holden and our brutal judges had us in stitches all evening long! Thank you so much to everyone who came along and especially to those who donated on the night. We understand that the rising cost of living is affecting each and everyone of us but for you to still put your hand in your pocket and make a donation no matter how big or small it really makes a huge difference! It was so lovely to be able to have such a great laugh while fundraising for a cause so dear to all of our hearts. The Irish Heart Foundation means so much to us here at Mountain View, and once we got chatting to our lovely customers about it, it turns out it means so much to all of you too! I want to give a huge shoutout to all the fantastic local businesses from Mountain View Markets who donated such gorgeous prizes to our charity raffle on the night.”
In this ‘technical challenge’ contestants were given a range of ingredients and a vague recipe, and had to choose what ingredients and how much to use. Supporters were kept entertained by MC Edward Hayden and his hilarious commentary and refereeing as he steered both sides to goals and a clean match without any kitchen nightmares. At kick off the girls were off to a steady start by weighing out their sugar and flour leaving the hurlers scrambling to catch up. Edward encouraged them to give it ‘a good aul shake’ and to not over-egg it but to be gentle and bake with love however the Ballyhale lads soon caught up and gave it a good mix before receiving stern warnings by the ref to not lick the whisk. The girls moved on to a tactic of fillings while the lads followed suit with a nice chip….chocolate chip.
Savour Kilkenny Festival Director Marian Flannery commented “It was fantastic to see such a great turn out for The Great Kilkenny Bake Off! I’d like to thank Mountain View Markets, the hurlers and camogie stars who took part, the fabulous Edward Hayden and everyone who got involved in this super event for a great charity. The success of this community project coming to town mirrors the ethos of Savour Kilkenny, of celebrating and promoting all the wonderful elements of Kilkenny – what an amazing City we live in!”
A raffle took place on the night with prizes generously donated by Mountain View Markets traders, you can check out the fantastic raffle prizes and local businesses on the Mountain View Farmers Market social channels @mountainviewmarkets.
Further information is available at www.savourkilkenny.com or on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @SavourKilkenny. Savour Kilkenny Food Festival is kindly supported by local partners and sponsors.
