Shred Station’s Festive Bake-Off
In a final push to achieve our 10,000 Tree Challenge target by the end of the year, our staff are participating in a range of festive-themed fundraising events. This will include a Christmas sweepstake, a Christmas jumper day and a festive bake-off!
Back in March 2022, we hosted the Great Shred Station Bake Off across all of our depots. In total, we managed to raise enough money throughout the challenge to plant 912 new trees in Kenya. With our deadline of 10,000 trees by 31st December 2022 quickly approaching and our last baking competition such a huge hit, we thought we would host another! The bake-off will be festive-themed, held at our Norwich head office and will have 12 bakers participating. It will also be held on the same day as our office Christmas party. This means that all of our field-based members of staff will be in Norwich for the day and can get involved in the fun.
So, without further ado, let’s meet the bakers.
Emily – Marketing Manager
Our first festive baker is Emily. Emily is Shred Station’s Marketing Manager and is a returning contestant from our last bake-off. She organises most of our tree planting challenges and last time made the highly controversial decision that “everyone in the bake-off is a winner”. Emily was actually the winner of the last bake-off but wasn’t interested in the glory. Truly, all she cares about is the trees. But will her determination for the team to achieve the 10,000-tree target mean she goes for quantity over quality for this festive bake-off? We’ll have to wait and see.
Dawn – MI Reports Administrator
Our second baker is Dawn, another returning contestant from our last bake-off. Dawn works at the Shred Station head office and is an MI Reports Administrator. This means she does a lot of complicated things with spreadsheets for our largest customers. Dawn is regularly praised by her colleagues and customers for her very helpful and kind nature but, when it comes to baking, Dawn shows no mercy. She has challenged contestant nine, Martin, to a sausage roll-off, and fighting talk has been exchanged between the two bakers! We’re afraid this could get ugly. Ugly, but delicious.
Orinta – Accounts Administrator
Contestant number three is Orinta – our very own superwoman. Her official title, though, is Accounts Administrator. Orinta is cool as a cucumber, is never stressed about anything and is an incredible multi-tasker. We can only imagine she glides around her kitchen at home in a state of ethereal bliss. Burnt biscuits? Sunken cake? Soggy bottom? Not a chance in Orinta’s kitchen. She is far too organised for that. Whatever she bakes, we know it will be superb. Good luck, Orinta!
Ross – Finance Director
Contestant number four is Ross, our Finance Director. We’ve said before in other blogs that Ross is one of those people who are just good at everything. Baking is no exception to that. He is yet another of our previous bake-off contestants, and he impressed us all last time with his chocolate chip blondies. Will he impress us all again this time? We are sure he will.
Nicole – Customer Service Advisor
Number five is the very lovely Nicole! Nicole is one of our Customer Service Advisors and is what we would describe as “chaotic good”. Nicole often has a ready meal for her lunch, and always tries to carry the piping-hot plastic container to her desk without a plate. We think she could even have heat-proof fingers – something that could work to her advantage in this competition. Nicole also doesn’t care if you are offended by the smell of her food. Microwavable fish pie? She’s game. We kind of have to respect that display of dominance. However, we do all live in hope that Nicole’s festive bake isn’t a fishy one… (please read this, Nicole!)
Scott – Accounts Assistant
Scott, our Accounts Assistant, is contestant number six. He has worked at the company for over eleven years, and we can’t recall the last time he baked something. We aren’t even sure he ever has. What we do know is that Scott is hardworking and gives 110% every single day. He is our glue – even if he does say so himself! We know that whatever Scott makes, he will have given it his all. Good luck to you, Scotty!
Hollie – Operations Coordinator
Festive baker number seven is our Norwich Operations Coordinator, Hollie. Hollie is another contestant from the last bake-off, and if you have to know anything about her, it’s that she’s obsessed with Disney. In the last bake-off, she even made Mickey Mouse sugar cookies! Disney is widely known as the happiest place on earth – so will Hollie go for a merry Mickey Christmas creation in hopes of winning? Or, will she go for something entirely different? We can’t wait to find out.
Sarah – Accounts Administrator
Contestant number eight is our superstar, Sarah. Sarah has been at Shred Station for over ten years and is yet another contestant from our previous bake-off. Sarah has done lots of baking during her years at Shred Station, and her creations never disappoint. Sweet or savoury, in our eyes, she can do no wrong.
Martin – Operations Manager
Baker number nine, Martin, is our Norwich depot’s Operations Manager. Martin has previously made big claims about the awesomeness of his sausage rolls but is not yet rising to Dawn’s challenge of a sausage roll-off. Is Martin afraid of a crippling defeat, or, in his words, is he backing down to spare Dawn’s feelings? Whatever he bakes, we will just be happy to see this rivalry come to an end.
James – Maintenance
James is a key member of our national maintenance team. Anything to do with shredding machines, James can fix. But can he bake? Well…
There are only two rules for this competition. The first rule is that the contestants must have made the item themselves, and the second is that the item must contain at least one baked element. James – the rascal – casually let slip that he ordered his cake from a bakery. Under normal circumstances, we may be outraged by this confession: #BakeryGate. However, we are letting this one slide for the trees.
Richard – Business Support Administrator
Contestant number eleven is Richard, better known to his colleagues as Rich. He is still quite new to the company and works as a Business Support Administrator. Despite his newness, Rich is already a valued member of the team. He has many interests, including gaming, coding, and cooking. In fact, in one of his previous jobs, he worked as a chef in an AA Rosette restaurant! We’re pretty sure this means he is going to destroy the competition. Go easy on us, Rich!
Chloe – Customer Service Advisor
Last but certainly not least is contestant number twelve, Chloe. Chloe is another one of our Customer Service Advisors and the edge she brings to this competition is her vegetarian lifestyle. No meat, no marshmallows, no problem! We can’t wait to see what you make, Chloe!
Don’t forget to stay tuned in to our social channels to find out who wins the bake-off and how many trees we can plant from our bakers’ sales!
LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
*Update 05/12/2022 – Our Festive Bake Off raised enough money to plant 1,490 new trees in Nicaragua’s Bosawas Biosphere Reserve. Well done to all of our bakers and to our Star Baker, Dawn!
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