Students, staff, and CMS alumni gathered in King’s Manor Refectory on Tuesday 5th December for the annual Christmas Bake-Off competition. As the judging got underway, attendees enjoyed refreshments including mulled wine, and medieval carols performed by the CMS choir Cantio Conventus.
We had a fantastic selection of bakes, including a cake representation of The Divine Comedy, multiple illuminated manuscripts, and a delicious “50” cake to celebrate the upcoming 50th Anniversary of the Centre this summer.
The judges, CMS Director Sarah Rees-Jones, Charlie Iffans, Head of Frontline Security, and Dimitris Charalampopoulos, King’s Manor Catering Manager, judged the bakes based on design, taste, and overall excellence, and after comprehensively assessing the offerings, three winners were selected:
- Best flavour – Gevulde Speculaas, baked by CMS MA Daphne Slob.
- Best design – “Marginally Tasty” Madeira cake with lemon icing, team-baked by Alex Kiddier, Claire Walsh, and Isobel Staton, who are all CMS MA students.
- Showstopper –a Chili chocolate “Hellmouth” cake, baked by CMS PhD Alana Bennett.
But it wasn’t just baking on offer, as the event offered a chance to view (and vote on) the posters produced by our current MA students on topics from the core course module. A poster entitled “Pots, Pans, and Punishments” about Hrotsvitha’s Dulcitius took the prize, produced by CMS MA students: Daphne Slob, Isobel Staton, Max Botheras, and Claudia Rosillo. All the posters are now on display in the CMS building.
The CMS Christmas Bake-Off is also the chance to award the Garmonsway Dissertation prize for best MA Dissertation for the previous cohort, and this was awarded to Philippa Carter, for her dissertation on: Immaculate complexions: Skin, Sexuality and Gender in the Middle English Romances, which scored a whopping 95!
As the event wrapped up, Alana Bennett (CMS PhD) continued to serenade us with her hurdy-gurdy, adding to the medieval-themed festivities.
Images courtesy of Harriet Evans, Giacomo Valeri and Lydia Zeldenrust:
Medieval Studies at York 