Bakers around the island are getting ready to get back in the kitchen, roll up their sleeves, dust off their aprons and prepare for one of the most hotly contested world championships held on the island.

After a year’s absence, the World Bonnag Championships returns to St James’ Church, Dalby, tomorrow night (Friday).

The much loved competition was forced to miss a year last year due to the ongoing Covid situation, and the year’s absence has generated a great deal of interest in this year’s competition.

The contest looks for the best bonnag cooked within five classes, gentleman’s, ladies, children under 14, commercial and gluten free, and will be judged by chef Tony Quirk, himself no stranger to baking a bonnag.

The competition was last held in 2020, with Ted Williams claiming the title of world Bonnag champion, as well as the gents’s class.

Six-year-old Breeshey Wade took home the trophy for the best junior bonnag baker, with Green’s Cafe, St John’s being named as having the best commercial bonnag and Vanessa Callin wining the prize for the best gluten-free variety.

‘People definitely seem to have missed the competition last year,’ said Margy Killey, community events manager at St James’ church.

‘We have had an awful lot of people phoning us up to find out more about the competition and how to enter and to find out more about making bonnags.

‘We hope that we have a lot of entries on the night, but we never know until we get started how many entries we have.

‘The competition is open to absolutely anyone to enter, without having to pre-enter or fill out a form, or anything like that. Just turn up and enter your bonnag into the right class, any time between 4pm and 7pm at the Dalby Schoolrooms, at St James’ Church.’

There has been a bit of growth in interest into the idea of the humble bonnag as a part of the Manx national identity recently.

Not quite a cake, and equally not necessarily a bread, the traditional dish, made with soda flour and buttermilk, would have been typically found cooking on the hearth of most kitchens at one point in time, and would have featured as a part of most meals.

Recently, officials from the Department of the Environment, Food and Agriculture have looked into whether they can obtain the same status for the bonnag as that afforded to the Cornish pasty and have it officially recognised as a national dish, firmly welded to the Manx identity.

‘We started the world bonnag championships after seeing that many places, including cafes at many local heritage sites, were selling fruit cake under the name of a bonnag.

‘As nice as it was, it just wasn’t right, and we didn’t want the traditional bonnag to be forgotten about.’

Tickets for tomorrow evening’s event have sold out.

More information about entering is available by contacting Margy Killey on 843768 .