The Great STU Bake-Off

On May 12, 2023, Rise Up, a popular French baking co-corricular with the middle and high schoolers alike at Stuart Hall, 

came to an end. In fact, Graham Hess, class of 23’, participated and competed in the first bake-off the curricular had. Each trimester a mini bake-off was held, and at the end of the year they held the biggest and most amazing bake-off yet, The Great STU Bake-Off.

Each winner of the mini bake-offs was invited to compete in the final one. The first trimester winner Graham Hess 

triumphed with his molasses cookies that impressed Bryan Hollar, the previous owner of Reunion bakery. In the second trimester, Julia Bennet won with her tasteful tarts that impressed the new owner, Paul Fairbanks. In the final trimester, Mr. Fairbanks came back and was impressed with Alyssa Byers' French puffs.

For the Great STU Bake-Off, Graham was not able to participate, however, both Alyssa and Julia competed. The bakers 

were asked to make their previous winning dish again, which they had two days to do. As soon as the second day started, the bakers rushed to the kitchen and worked on finishing their dishes. Alyssa immediately went to the stove to start making the chocolate sauce and sugar cinnamon glaze that went on top of the french puffs. In the meantime, Julia started putting the lemon, vanilla, and orange filling into her shells and garnishing them with various fruits and citruses. Julia had even incorporated edible gold into her tarts, an extra detail that added a pop to the presentation. Julia finished with plenty of time to spare, so she decided to add 3 drops of chocolate ganache to one of her tarts. 

Alyssa, on the other hand, had ran into a problem when making the chocolate sauce for her puffs. According to Ms. Hyde, 

“Her liquid to solid ratio was incorrect, causing the sugar to caramelize before it mixed with the chocolate.” This is all what Rise Up is all about, working in a stressful environment, and having to use critical thinking to fix problems that may occur. With only fifteen minutes until Mr. Fairbanks, the judge, arrived, she had to remake the sauce. In the nick of time, Alyssa had finished and started plating. 

With zero minutes remaining on the clock, Mr. Fairbanks walked into the Student Center. The bakers got ready to hear 

what he had to say about their dishes. He tried Alyssa’s French puffs first. He appreciated the last bake-off when Alyssa’s puffs were warm and fresh out of the oven. Now, aside from not being as warm, the topping had already hardened, but the flavor was very good according to Mr. Fairbanks. Julia’s tarts were presented very nicely and he specifically enjoyed the lemon tart flavor.

Ms. Hyde added that sometimes, a recipe might only call for a teaspoon, however, a French bakery may use thirty times that 

just to get the flavor perfect. Mr. Fairbanks said that Julia’s tarts could have set up a little longer, but that would have required an extra day that they did not have the luxury of having.

Both bakers have come such a long way since when they joined. Both Julia’s and Alyssa’s baking skill has improved greatly 

since they joined Rise Up. Both bakers have put blood, sweat, tears, and sugar into there dishes, however, there can only be one winner. So. after much consideration, Paul Fairbanks declared Julia Bennet the winner for her flavorful tarts. It was extremely close with the only one point difference in the presentation category. Participation in these competitions was completely voluntary, and it took a lot of bravery and dedication to step up.

Article and photos by Liam Evans