Everyone has their own idea of what constitutes brownie bliss; be it chewy, gooey, fudgy, cakelike, a hybrid of all those attributes, or indeed something else entirely. Some home bakers can’t even get past the matter of that batter, and their rich mixtures don’t even see the inside of an oven before it meets the inside of the eager eater’s mouth.
Whichever chocolate-crammed kind you champion, there should be something to suit amongst the expert-created entries for The Big Chocolate Brownie Bid. Supporting The Sick Children’s Trust, the auction has attracted a broad band of bakers from various areas of Britain’s food scene; from chocolatier and charity Vice-President Paul a Young and GBBO hero Edd Kimber, to feted chef and ‘Godfather of Fusion’ Peter Gordon and Rococo founder and OBE Chantal Coady.
Chantal Coady OBE
All 21 entrants will rustle up a double dozen of their chosen creation, with each batch delivered to the highest bidder in good time for the recipients to put on host their own Sick Children’s Trust-supporting May-time Big Chocolate Tea Party (charitable soirees anyone willing can host; where some cheeky Big Chocolate Brownie Bid-winners may quite possibly pass off their spoils off as their very own bakes).
Whether you’re after Ed Loftus’s marvellous macadamia praline brownie with choc creme brulee and salted caramel popcorn or Peter Gordon’s Original Beans Virunga 70% chocolate, macadamia, chilli and coconut brownie with matcha and white chocolate drizzle, you can keep your eyes firmly on your intended prize with the live leaderboard on the bidding site.
Charity Vice-President, chocolatier Paul a Young
So where does your dough go, and why does the batter matter? For the small sum of £28, The Sick Children’s Trust manages to provide a family with one night’s ‘Home from Home’ accommodation at any one of ten specialist units countrywide; enabling them to stay both emotionally and physically close to a child undergoing critical care.
Since paediatric specialists Dr Jon Pritchard and Professor James Malpas founded the charity in 1982, The Sick Children’s Trust has grown admirably, now supporting 3,500 families annually. With your help, that number will only increase.
Patissier Will Torrent
Who’s baking all the batches of brownies you’ll be bidding on?
Adam Degg – Head Pastry Chef at Chiltern Firehouse
Andrew Scott – Executive Head Chef at Sudbury House
Chantal Coady – Founder of Rococo Chocolates
Chris Galvin – Galvin Restaurants
Ed Loftus – Executive Pastry Chef at Jamie Oliver group
Edd Kimber – 2011 Great British Bake Off Champion
Giancarlo & Katie Caldesi – Co-owners of Caffe Caldesi, La Cucina Caldesi and Campagna
Jools Oliver – Wife of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver
Nigel Boschetti – Executive Chef at Grosvenor House
Nuno Mendes – Head Chef at Chiltern Firehouse
Ollie Dabbous – Head Chef at Dabbous
Paul a Young – Master Chocolatier and Co-founder at paul.a.young fine chocolates
Peter Gordon – Executive Chef & Co-Owner at The Providores
Peter Sidwell – Chef & judge on ITV’s Britain’s Best Bakery
Rosemary Shrager – TV chef and owner of Rosemary Shrager Cookery School
Sarah Barber – Head Pastry Chef at ME London Hotel
Steve Edwards – 2013 MasterChef Professional Champion
Steve Groves – 2009 MasterChef Professional Champion and Head Chef at Roux at Parliament Square
Suzy Pelta – Winner of Lorraine’s Cake Club Competition on ITV1’s Lorraine
Tim Anderson – 2011 MasterChef Champion
Will Torrent – pastry chef and Waitrose consultant
- The Big Chocolate Brownie Bid runs from noon on 17th April until noon on 24th April, and each winning bidder will receive their batch of brownies on 7th May
- Visit bigchocolatebrowniebid.com to take part in the online auction
- For a free Big Chocolate Tea Party pack, email chocolate@sickchildrenstrust.org. Find out more at sickchildrenstrust.org/bigchoctea, follow @BigChocTeaParty on Twitter and ‘Like’ bigchocolateteaparty on Facebook
- For more on The Sick Children’s Trust, visit sickchildrenstrust.org
Culinary Adventures of The Cocoa Nut 
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