By Liz Nolan, Contributing Writer
Northborough – An extra dose of creativity has been necessary to stay connected with friends and family, celebrate special occasions, and entertain the kids since the social distancing restrictions went into effect in March. Northborough resident Marile Borden has been holding a virtual baking challenge among friends each week to occupy some time and encourage her daughter’s love of baking.
Borden’s 13 year old daughter Lia loves to bake and is a big fan of the Kids Baking Championship on the Food Network.
“I decided to make up a baking challenge for her,” said Borden. “When I mentioned it on Facebook, a bunch of friends responded that their kids would love to do something like that—so an idea was born.”
The weekly challenges take place on Tuesdays and announced on Facebook. Bakers are given a deadline to submit a photo of their creation with a description.
“I try to leave a little bit of flexibility since part of the challenge is working with ingredients that the bakers have available to them,” said Borden.
The judges are Borden’s Facebook followers. Photos of the entries are posted and winners are chosen based on the categories of Most Impressive, Most Loved, Makes us Smile, and Most Want to Eat.
Themes for the challenge have included St. Patrick’s Day cupcakes, Edible Zoo, Dessert Sandwiches, Celebration Cakes, Tie-Dyed Desserts, World’s Best Cookie, a space theme of Out of this World, and a Mother’s Day Bouquet.
“When it comes to judging, obviously we can’t taste any of the creations, so it is really about how it looks,” said Borden. “I try to always create themes with that in mind.”
On average, there are about 12-15 kids ages 9-16 participating each week and over 100 people voting on their favorites. The participant living the furthest away is from California.
“I am getting so much positive feedback — from the kids, the parents and the judges,” said Borden. “The kids look forward to it each week. It breaks up the monotony a bit. The parents love that their kids have something to do that doesn’t involve staring at a screen. The judges take their roles very seriously.”
Borden said she plans on continuing the challenge as long as the kids are interested in participating.
“I am enjoying it as much as they are,” she said. “It has been such fun to see the creativity, the totally unexpected ways the kids interpret the challenge, and the joy that it brings both the bakers and the judges.”
A small prize is awarded to each first time winner.
Borden credits her marketing background and creativity in terms of structuring the challenge, communicating it effectively to participants and judges and coming up with weekly themes.
She shared the standard rules for anyone who might want to start their own baking challenge. Participants must be 18 or younger and can work alone or with a sibling, parents may help when safety is a factor, and the internet can be used for ideas and recipes until the participant has won three times.
Photos/submitted
