The Great Bake Off, Hedge Fund Towers, Soho

Sugar is the crystallised juice of the Saccharum officinarum and S. edule plants. It has been cultivated in India since ancient times but the process first became industrialised during the Arab Agricultural Revolution from the 8th century onwards. In the 12th century William of Tyre wrote that sugar is "very necessary for the use and health of mankind". We would very much dispute this pointing to sugar's role in the Atlantic slave trade and more recently increased levels of obesity in the Western world

That aside when we were invited to participate in a baking competition images of sponge cakes emerging from ovens in Ye Olde Merrie Englande filled our mind. We aligned ourselves with a group of partisans coming in from the South East of the city attempting to bring down the system from within using the techniques of low-sugar baking. These advocate using sugar as little as chemistry allows, combined with as much use of home-grown produce as possible. The group submitted a chocolate and home-grown pear cake, a victoria sponge cake and a lemon drizzle cake. The judges gave the mantle of victory to a carrot cake whose wholesomeness none could question and, in second place, a rival victoria sponge. Nonetheless we are not bitter...

What has all this to do with the hearty ploughman's you may ask? In fact very little other than that this contest to place at the time when the rustic gentleman would set plough aside for his hunk of bread, cheese and condimentary items. Indeed, we would not have troubled you with it but for the demands from our readers for commentary on this event.