Fossils, Balloons and Bushrangers are what most people think of when they hear the name Canowindra but after this Easter they can add gingerbread and scones to the list.
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Young cooking talent Jake Hamilton took out first prize in the 2018 Sydney Royal East Show Under 13’s gingerbread figures competition and second place in the Under 13’s plain white scones competition.
Jake entered the show thanks to a sponsorship by Cowra Salvation Army’s Captain Mark Williamson and said he found it exciting entering such a large show but he was also nervous at the same time.
“I wasn’t too worried about winning prizes, I was just happy to be entering,” Jake told the Canowindra News.
“I’m very thankful to Cathryn and Mark Williamson for their encouragement and for transporting the entries to the show when I was unable to get there.
“It was a great surprise and reward for my hard work when I got a first for my gingerbread and second for my scones,” he said.
Jake’s mum Louise said she was equally excited for her son’s success.
Louise said the family had been longtime supporters of the local shows.
“We thought he might not even get a look in being his first time entering and that we are from a smaller show environment,” she said.
“We’re always big supporters of the Canowindra Show and the Cowra Show, since Jake was in pre-school, but we hadn’t ever thought of entering outside of them.
“Kindly, Captain Williamson watched the judging and took some video, so Jake got to watch the feedback given.
“His Nan Margret is the president of the ladies auxiliary here in town and she’s always been a big encouragement for the kids to cook,” she said.
Jake said the hardest part about entering was deciding which sections to enter and what items would survive the trip to Sydney.
“My entries had to travel a long way to get to the show, I also had to think about what decorations on my gingerbread men would hold up to the trip,” he said.
“I used a scone recipe from the Holman Place School Cookbook, my sister goes there, the recipe uses self raising flour, cream and water, I combine all of the ingredients and then roll out the mixture by hand.
“Then I cut them out and cook until golden on top, I learnt some tips on how I can do this slightly different next time to get a better show scone.
“The gingerbread recipe was from an old Women’s Weekly cookbook, Sweet Old Fashioned Favourites, it was fairly involved. I was being judged on the actual cookie and the decoration,” he said.
Jake is now looking forward to entering the 2018 Canowindra Show later this year and hopefully the Royal Sydney Easter Show in 2019.
