Life Science Centre in Newcastle has cooked up the perfect competition for fans of The Great British Bake Off, with Andrew Smyth, an Aerospace Engineer and a former finalist of the TV show, launching its Engineer a Gingerbread House competition today.
For the chance to win £250 to spend in Life Science Centre's gift shop and café*, bakers will need to share a photo of their gingerbread house creations on Instagram by midday on 14 December with #EngineerGingerbreadHouse and tag @ScienceAtLife.
Andrew and Life's Chief Executive, Linda Conlon, will then meet-up virtually to judge the edible entries and pick a star baker.
Linda said: "This year has been difficult for everyone, so we wanted to bring some festive cheer to people's homes. With another weekend of lockdown ahead of us, it's a great time to head into the kitchen and be creative."
Andrew was a finalist in series seven of The Great British Bake Off – where he impressed the judges with his mechanical cog-wheel pies – and returned to the tent in 2018 for The Great Festive Bake Off. He was also a guest maker at Life Science Centre's Maker Faire festival in 2018.
Andrew said: "Engineering is all about creativity, so I’m thrilled to be teaming up with Life Science Centre for such a fun competition. I love using the tasty world of baking to illustrate the fun of problem-solving with engineering, and what better way than with building a gingerbread house?
"In the winning design, I’ll be looking for sturdy engineering, attention to detail and, most of all, a fun and creative design!”
If you've never made a gingerbread house before, or if you've struggled to keep your building upright, then check out Andrew's top tips, plus a downloadable recipe and construction template.
For more activities to do at home this Christmas, follow @ScienceAtLife on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, with lots of festive-themed fun planned for its #LifeGoesONline programme.
*Terms and conditions apply - visit life.org.uk/GingerbreadHouse for details.