Name Trinity’s new Bun – and join the tasting panel!

Chefs at Trinity have created a new sweet treat that is set to become a College tradition. Now they need your help to refine the recipe – and come up with a fitting name.

The ‘Trinity Bun’ is an eclectic mix of ingredients relevant to the College, past and present. This year, Trinity celebrates 700 years since the beginnings of King’s Hall, one of two medieval institutions later merged by Henry VIII to form Trinity College.

With this anniversary in mind, Trinity’s new Executive Head Chef, Jon Witherley, set his experienced pastry chefs a challenge. For his interview at Trinity, Jon had created and cooked a recipe using a clever combination of ingredients linked to the College. Once in post, he asked the Pastry Chef team to use those elements to devise a unique baked good with the potential to become a College tradition.

‘It was a challenge they rose to admirably,’ says Jon, smiling. Puns apart, the Trinity Bun, jointly created by Pastry Chefs, Malcolm Winter, Peter Beasley and Sarah Hopkin, is a serious business. From start to finish, it takes at least three and a half hours to bake a batch.

Made from an enriched dough that needs time to prove, each Bun is topped with caramelised apple (Newton, need we say more), rose petals (the Tudor rose dominates the College crest), lime and cherries (lime trees and cherry blossom trees line the Avenue on Trinity’s Backs).

The icing on the cake – or rather, the finishing touch piped into the Bun – is Trinity Burnt Cream. About which no more, except to say that, yes, College chefs hope that the new baked good will come to rival Trinity’s famous dessert.

The only sticky point is the name…or the lack of one. Jon Witherley said:

We’re looking for a name that captures the unique combination of ingredients and essence of Trinity. A catchy, clever and memorable name would be brilliant – and would help ensure the Bun becomes a new tradition at the College.

The prize for the best names is a place on the Trinity Bun Tasting Panel – where your feedback will help College chefs perfect the recipe. The panel will take place on Tuesday 12 December 2017 at 3.30pm in Trinity’s Old Combination Room.

The competition is open to the public, members of Trinity past and present, and all staff at the College. The panel will include two members of the public, two Trinity alumni, two current Trinity students, two Fellows, and two members of staff (aside from the chefs).

The panel will be chaired by Trinity’s Senior Tutor, Professor Catherine Barnard, and Head of Catering, Ian Reinhardt. To take part, please email names for the Trinity Bun to: Communications@trin.cam.ac.uk

The deadline for entries is Wednesday 6 December 2017. Winners will be notified by Friday 8 December.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to The Making of a Trinity Bun.