Saturday was an amazing day! Sam, one of my cake club friends and I went to the BBC Good Food Show in Harrogate and omg it was great! We got to meet Mary Berry, Paul Hollywood and the Hairy Bikers!

Usually most of the shows go to Manchester, Birmingham and London so it was a real treat to have one come to Yorkshire. I only live 20mins away from Harrogate so there was no excuse not to go.

With our ticket we also got to go to a demonstration by Paul and Mary which was absolutely fantastic. I really wish I had borrowed the DSLR from work but instead I had to use my phone which wasn’t the greatest for taking photos with all the harsh lighting. I loved the demo; Paul and Mary have such a great working relationship – I smiled and laughed the whole way through!

As for the actual show, it was really good. We loved trying samples from all the exhibitors and watching demonstrations. I was very controlled in my spending by only taking £20 cash with me although I caved and bought a Hairy Bikers book to get signed woops! I blame WH Smith accepting card payments haha.

Book signings! All I can say is wow! Never ever did I think I would meet Paul, Mary or the Hairy Bikers but to meet all 3 in one day and get my books signed was amazing! The people on the WH Smith stand were brilliant too, they came down the queue writing our names on a post-it and sticking it on the correct page so whoever signed it knew your name and spelt it properly. It made everything so efficient and running smoothly.

Paul, Mary and the Hairy Bikers were all so lovely. I did feel a little rushed (and totally star struck!) but I understood security had to move you on quickly so everyone got their books signed.

All in all it was a fab day, I can’t wait for the Cake and Bake Show now in June woop!

Bettys – I love it! I had never heard of it until my friend at uni (from Harrogate) mentioned it to me. Then one day Mr T and I were in Ilkley, it was just after 4pm and we were wandering past Bettys  when it had no queue (yes, no queue!) so we decided to pop in and try it out. From that point onwards I’ve been totally smitten with it. Whenever the parents come to visit we like to go to Bettys and it was my first choice to celebrate passing my driving test.

When Lynn (CCC founder) emailed me and asked would I like to come to a special event which involved tasting the new Bettys range I jumped at the chance. The only stumbling block for me was do I drive to CCC HQ or get the train? I had only been driving 4 weeks at that point so to say I was nervous at the thought of a 40mile round trip was a serious understatement. I was freaking out but at the same time I knew I had to overcome my fear and challenge myself in driving new places.

Armed with Mr T’s sat nav I set off in good time and managed to get there with only a few minor hiccups. All I can say is that big roundabout at Crossgates really scared me, I did not like that one bit! It also made me realise how big Leeds actually is, Lynn and I live at total opposite ends of the city and it took the best part of an hour to get there!

When I got to Lynn’s I was feeling slightly shaky but I was greeted with a steaming cup of Yorkshire Tea and the most beautiful array of goodies from Bettys. I was seriously excited about tucking in to them, they all looked delicious! Sharon (Pudsey CCC Organiser), her husband Craig, Jo (Cambridge CCC organiser) and some of Lynn’s family were all there to savour the delights. We also had the wonderful Kayti taking photos of the day (all photos are by her). I’d like to say I took the photos but I’m a baker, not a photographer and I’m pretty clueless in that department!

It was great to catch up with everyone while putting the world to rights over tea and cake. My surprising winner in the cakes was the Parkin, usually I can’t stand the stuff but Bettys, whatever you put in yours, it’s amazing! I loved the fudgy brownie fox cupcakes too, they were to pretty to eat but needs must when cake needs tasting. The Lemon cake was really scrummy too and the Apple Sponges (so cute!) reminded me a lot of the Princess Torte from that week’s GBBO.

It was a wonderful afternoon and I feel so fortunate to have been a part of it. There is a special interaction with cake that brings people together and I’ve said it before, cakey people are the nicest people you will ever meet.

Thank-you to Lynn and Bettys for allowing me to be part of such a special event, it really makes me love Bettys even more.

PS. How adorable is the owl? He needs to be the new CCC mascot!

***Special thanks to Kayti Peschke for taking all these wonderful photos. Mine didn't do it justice so I hope you don't mind me using yours.***