BBC One follows a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as five exceptional home bakers are plucked from thousands in a national competition to find a brand-new pudding to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s historic Platinum Jubilee. Following in the footsteps of the Coronation Chicken and the Victoria Sponge, this winning recipe will go down in history and become part of the British food story. Up and down the country on Platinum Jubilee Weekend (June 2-5) the winning recipe will be recreated at street parties, family events and community gatherings as the centerpiece to the celebrations as the Platinum Pudding. Fortnum & Mason challenged the people of Britain to create an iconic dish fulfilling the criteria of being makeable in a home kitchen, containing easily accessible ingredients, telling a story, and having the potential to stand the test of time and become Queen Elizabeth II s Platinum Pudding. A phenomenal response of nearly 5,000 entries flooded in from across the country, the final short list of 5 was selected by Executive Pastry Chef, Fortnum & Mason, Roger Pizey, Fortnum’s Chef Director Sydney Aldridge and their team. They painstakingly assessed the incredible range of different styles of cakes, tarts and puddings, to select the finalists -- ambitious, passionate and creative bakers – all sharing inspirational stories behind their stunning designs. We follow the finalists as they make their way from across the UK to London and walk through the iconic Fortnum & Mason doors to prepare their culinary creations fit for The Queen. Our finalists have motivations and inspirations as varied as their creations – all with two things in common, a love of baking and the honor to develop a dish worthy of being named the Platinum Pudding. The esteemed judging panel includes Food writer and Television Presenter, Dame Mary Berry, Monica Galetti: Chef proprietor of Mere, TV presenter and judge on MasterChef: The Professionals, and Food Writer, author and baker, Jane Dunn; Baker, author and TV presenter, Rahul Madul; Pastry Chef, Matt Adlard; and culinary historian and author, Regula Ysewijn. The creations are an exceptional sight to behold, taking inspiration from grandmothers, grandparents, childhoods and the four nations with puddings, tarts and cakes that are thoughtful, utterly delicious and entirely accessible to recreate – truly worthy of the Platinum Pudding title. Once the historic decision is made, Dame Mary Berry has one last surprise for the finalists as she introduces a very special guest to announce the winning recipe - HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, patron of The Big Jubilee Lunch, an idea from the Eden Project.
