Cypriot chef brings home Christmas cheer

Greek Cypriot chef Panicos Panagiotou was crowned ‘Best Overall’ in this month’s hotly-contested British Forces Cyprus Christmas Cake competition. According to the statement from British Forces Cyprus, professional military and civilian chefs take part in a bake-off to see who could come out on top and make the best Christmas cake. The traditional event saw 18 brightly coloured offerings judged by the panel on the crucial criteria of originality, creativity, festivity, finesse and skill and it was Chef Panagiotou, the manager of the Junior Ranks Mess in Alexander Barracks, that took home the top prize for his offering, which was packed full of Christmas cheer and all the other essentials that make a prize-winning cake. He said: “It does take an awful lot of effort. I worked on my cake for over a week as there were lots of very small intricate details that I wanted to include. “Of course, it is really nice to win the competition, the other cakes were great and I know how hard every chef worked, so it was really nice and now we can all enjoy our Christmas with loved ones.” According to the statement, all cakes have been auctioned off and the money raised is set to be donated to charity.