Boasting five tiers and made using 14kg of mixed dried fruit, 14kg of fondant, 10kg of marzipan and 50 eggs – the centre-piece for the Oxford Community Lunch is the “biggest ever”.
The annual free lunch is set to welcome a whopping 500 people to The Kings Centre in Osney Mead on Christmas Day.
Guests will enjoy a traditional Christmas feast using food prevented from going to waste by Oxford Food Hub, as well as a wide-range of entertainment throughout the afternoon.
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Taking place each year, the free lunch provides a festive day for people who otherwise would spend Christmas on their own, including the homeless, the elderly, refugees and students living in the city without family.
The piece de resistance of the festive extravaganza is the Christmas cake, which is made by Julia Atkinson and the team at Happy Cakes.
The Summertown-based business has been responsible for creating a huge Christmas cake for the lunch every year for the last six years.
In previous years, the cake has been designed to look like a reindeer, snowman and fireplace.
This year’s cake features five tiers – making it the biggest one yet – with a host of colourful characters decorating the various sugary layers.
Handcrafted by “amazing sidekick” Dawn Robson, the fun characters include a seal wearing earmuffs, beanie-clad snowmen and angelic choir singers.
The layers themselves took an entire day to bake and then a further afternoon to ice ready for the decorations.
The exact weight of the giant cake remains a mystery however, as it is too heavy to pick up.
Mrs Atkinson, who has been selling her delicious bakes around Oxford for more than a decade, described events such as the free Christmas lunch as “very important” given the cost-of-living crisis.
She said: “The Oxford Food Hub are a fantastic umbrella because when we first started making the cakes we thought it was just homeless people who go, but refugees, little old ladies on their own and now people who are pretty skint.
“It is a really jolly occasion.”
Mrs Atkinson went on to praise organiser Sara Strong for putting on the elaborate festive fayre every year for the community.
“She is absolutely incredible. She oversees the whole thing and she is just strong by name and strong by nature,” Mrs Atkinson explained.
The Oxford Community Lunch will take place at The King's Centre, Osney on December 25 between 12.30pm and 4pm.
You can find out more details about attending the lunch, or volunteering, by emailing sara@oxfordchristmaslunch.org.
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This story was written by Sophie Perry. She joined the team in 2021 as a digital reporter.
You can get in touch with her by emailing: sophie.perry@newsquest.co.uk
Follow her on Twitter itssophieperry
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