By Vanessa Obioha
For its first celebrity bakeoff, Baileys crowned Team Alex winner. The bakeoff which was a major part of its baking festival attracted a large pool of festivaliers with sweet tooth to the lush green grounds of Muri Okunola Park, Victoria Island, Lagos recently.
The celebrities: Alex Ekubo, Funke Akindele, Waje and Mai Atafo were earlier paired with upcoming bakers who were selected from a large pool of entrants on social media. Funke Akindele was paired with Olusegun Adeyemi; Waje with Oluwayemisi Ariyo; Alex Ekubo with Tolu Samaiye while Mai Atafo was paired with Fimisade Osiyemi.
The bakeoff featured three individual rounds with the winner of each round announced as soon as the round was done and an overall winner announced at the end of all proceedings.
Round one was all about the cakes and tarts with Team Waje stealing the show with an early victory. Team Alex roared back by winning the cocktail round with a cocktail inspired by one of Nigeria’s favourite snacks, Kulikuli. Team Mai were not to be outdone as they won the final dessert round. The overall winner was announced late in the evening by the panel of judges consisting Lara Rawa, Ify Mogekwu, Chef Eros and Alex Oke, with Team Alex narrowly edging out the other teams to seal a famous victory. All four upcoming bakers were presented with appliances furnished by Beko.
There was also a celebrity cocktail contest where Noble Igwe, Ufuoma McDermott, Kunle Remi and Kaylah Oniwo displayed their signature Baileys-infused cocktail. However, Kunle Remi’s Baileys in A Rush won amid other delicious creations.
Developed to showcase and demonstrate the versatility of the premium crème liqueur, Baileys, guests were treated to food supplied by over 40 of the finest treat vendors in Nigeria. The fun and excitement was endless with games like the evergreen tic-tac-toe and darts to table tennis and table soccer. Baileys also provided free cocktails to the indulgence-seeking crowd. King of the chop knuckle, Chuey Chu and the original Oga Madam, Lolo 1, also put on a show as they dished out rib-cracking goodness.
Baileys Brand Manager, Ufuoma Udjoh in her closing remarks boldly stated, “We promised the first ever baking festival in Nigeria and we delivered a festival of epic proportions. We can only hope that you have picked up on more ways to indulgeâ€.
