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Who is the bun king?

Published:Tuesday | March 13, 2018 | 12:00 AMYanique Williams/Gleaner Writer
Shantoy Keith (left) and Ryan Ebanks emerged the winners of the bun-eating competition. They are presented with their gift baskets by Donna-Kaye Sharpe.
J.F.Mills' Donna-Kaye Sharpe presents Managing Director of Maxfield Bakery Tarik Perkins with the third-place prize.
Trading Marketing and Distribution Manager at J.F. Mills Donna-Kaye Sharpe (left) presents Jannelle Garcia, human resources manager at Golden Loaf Bakery, with their first-place prize.
This ruit bun is sliced and ready for tasting.
Participating in the bun-eating competition are (from left) Jordan Gilfillian, Meschekia Carr, and Rasaie Shurland.
Chief judge Winston Piper, lecturer at the School of Baking at the University of Technology, Jamaica, begins his tasting of the buns.
Judges Marcia Fraser-Cummings and Winston Piper.
The buns were judged based on their shape, shape, texture, colour, and fruit distribution, and, of course, flavour.
Moesha Jones having loads of bun fun.
Stacking up the competition. With each bun given a code, the judges had no idea which bun belonged to who, making the competition very transparent.
Finishing the last piece of bun.
Sponsorship and Events manager at Continental Baking Company Lisa Tomlinson (right) collects her second-place prize from Donna-Kaye Sharpe, trade marketing and distribution manager at J.F. Mills.
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Bun, bun, bun - and more bun! Easter is right around the corner, and everyone is gearing up to make their purchase, but which bun should you buy? What better way to help you choose than with a bun competition?

Lucky for you, that is exactly what J.F. Mills provided with its 'King of the Buns' competition.

Six bakeries from across the island were invited to vie for the title: Hammonds Bakery, Maxfield Bakery, Regal Bakery, Golden Loaf Bakery, Purity Bakery, and National Baking Company Ltd. Each bakery submitted two buns each, with the winner to be chosen through a blind test.

Let the tasting begin! A slice was carefully selected from each bun, and then they were graded on shape, texture, colour, and fruit distribution before a bite was even taken of the juicy buns to mark for flavour.

And what's a bun contest without a bun-eating challenge?

While the judges deliberated, MC Jenny Jenny invited guests to step up to the plate and put their bun-eating skills to the test. This was done with 'hot cross bun' with no cheese, just water to wash it down. Challenging, right? The contestants were placed in pairs, each given a bun, and, as a team, had to finish their buns before the others to be declared the winner.

Through the sweat, laughter, and tears, Shantoy Keith and Ryan Ebanks came out victorious, each earning a specially packaged J.F. Mills basket.

Now that everyone was full, it was time to work it off by trying to remember the words of the J.F. Mills Easter jingle. It was challenging, but proved very entertaining.

Later, it was time to get down to the meat of the matter. Walking away with the title and 27 bags of flour was Golden Loaf Bakery from Ocho Rios, St Ann. The second-place prize went to the baking giants National Baking Company Ltd, who won a mixer. Maxfield Bakery rounded out the top three winning 10 bags of flour, which Managing Director Tarik Perkins has committed to donating to charity.