WELCOME BAKERS


About me/cfs & long covid

ME/CFS is a life-altering and complex multi-system disease that persists for a minimum of 6 months. People who are diagnosed usually have a very poor quality of life and can be unable to cope with even general daily activity - ie taking a shower or brushing teeth can be virtually impossible in some cases. 


The illness can fluctuate for a portion of people (moderate to mild) which means they do get some relief on odd days, but even 'mild' ME/CFS is life altering. For others it can be severe and constant. There are millions of people missing with this illness.


The cause of ME/CFS remains unknown and this is why we desperately need to help the researchers! 


Patients can be left bed-bound and house-bound for years due to physical disability and associated chronic pain. There are overlaps with other illnesses such as fibromyalgia, POTS and even multiple chronic and persistent new infections can sometimes take advantage of the person who is already unwell. 


Imagine lockdown, forever and then inject the flu plus a heavy hangover with out the partying - you might get an idea of how some days for some people with this illness can be.


For several decades, very sadly, those diagnosed have suffered in almost complete silence.


We must give people with ME/CFS a voice. This baking contest is just a light hearted way to raise awareness for an illness which is currently robbing lives. And criminally under funded.


We need your help! Baking a cake and donating some spare change will contribute to raising awareness for ME/CFS and funds.


ME/CFS can be triggered by many forms of trauma, the most common form is a viral infection. COVID-19 is a potential trigger for many more cases of ME/CFS, which we may begin to see over the coming months - this is why we need to get ahead before we get even more behind. Post-viral illness is not something to be taken lightly - as many more will unfortunately soon discover. 


This was written last year and since then, as predicted, post infectious illness and long term viral damage and debilitation is escalating.


Up to 2.5 million people in the U.S. alone suffer from ME/CFS; the COVID-19 pandemic could at least double that number. 


The COVID crisis presented a unique opportunity to understand how a viral infection — in this case COVID-19 — may develop into ME/CFS in some patients. 


#BAKE4MECFS is a fun and simple way to show those who are suffering, we hear them and we care!

previous cELEB JUDGES

Jennie Jacques & Amy Bailey

Jennie Jacques & Amy Bailey

Jennie Jacques & Amy Bailey

This Saxon Queen duo from the infamous show Vikings kicked off our first round of baking - actresses Jennie Jacques and Amy Bailey! 

Miranda Hart

Jennie Jacques & Amy Bailey

Jennie Jacques & Amy Bailey

For the 2nd Round of BAKE4MECFS we were lucky enough to have English Actress, comedian and writer Miranda Hart join the judging panel! And in collaboration with The Miranda Shop, Miranda Hart is back to judge Round 8! Such Fun!

Georgia's Cakes & Anna

Jennie Jacques & Amy Bailey

Fay Ripley & Helena Garcia

Talented cake designer and teacher Georgia Green (Georgia's Cakes) kicked off round 3 with the inspirational Anna 'M.E myself and I' who has raised £20,000 since 2013 for ME/CFS!

Fay Ripley & Helena Garcia

Fay Ripley & Helena Garcia

Fay Ripley & Helena Garcia

Round 4 - the spooky special - we were delighted to have Actress and recipe creator Fay Ripley along with GBBO Finalist Helena Garcia on our Halloween bake off judging panel...

Katheryn Winnick

Fay Ripley & Helena Garcia

Cecilia Ahern & Lorna

Round 5 - The Viking Queen herself helped us to judge the Christmas Round! Do you think she uses her sword to cut the cake? 

Cecilia Ahern & Lorna

Fay Ripley & Helena Garcia

Cecilia Ahern & Lorna

Round 6 - The Ultimate Story Book Bake Off! We were lucky enough to have Irish Novelist known for works like PS I LOVE YOU! And disabled writer and blogger Lorna @creamcrackeredblog 

THrow back to ROUND 8 - THE STORY BEHIND "THE such fun" TOP

STAR BAKER @sarahbensonxx

STAR BAKER @sarahbensonxx

STAR BAKER @sarahbensonxx

The STAR bake was entered by Sarah. We read in Sarah's bio that she is an endometriosis warrior! Endometriosis is a long term condition which affects 1 in 10 women. Similar to ME/CFS it is evident that Endometriosis is painfully under researched. We were honoured that Sarah chose to bake to raise awareness for us.


And we very much look for

The STAR bake was entered by Sarah. We read in Sarah's bio that she is an endometriosis warrior! Endometriosis is a long term condition which affects 1 in 10 women. Similar to ME/CFS it is evident that Endometriosis is painfully under researched. We were honoured that Sarah chose to bake to raise awareness for us.


And we very much look forward to sharing Sarah's story behind this 'SUCH FUN'  bake.

MINI STAR BAKER(s)

STAR BAKER @sarahbensonxx

STAR BAKER @sarahbensonxx

"My daughters Daisy (age 4) and Bella (age 2) are delighted to have won mini star baker! 

We are always keen to support ME/CFS charities as my sister Naomi has suffered from severe ME for over 30 years. She’s incredible, despite all her years of suffering, and she is a wonderful Auntie to the mini star bakers! 

Naomi has got a website here,

"My daughters Daisy (age 4) and Bella (age 2) are delighted to have won mini star baker! 

We are always keen to support ME/CFS charities as my sister Naomi has suffered from severe ME for over 30 years. She’s incredible, despite all her years of suffering, and she is a wonderful Auntie to the mini star bakers! 

Naomi has got a website here, where she shares her writing about life with severe ME. 

As well as supporting a good cause that is close to our hearts, the girls and I love baking. Despite their young age, Daisy and Bella have spent many hours baking, and the cake was all their idea. They chose the colours of the cake and loved creating the face on top. They did all the decorating and took great care in making sure the sides were evenly covered with sweets! And of course making sure there were some left to taste along the way!"

RUNNER UP @beeshivehoney

STAR BAKER @sarahbensonxx

RUNNER UP @beeshivehoney

"I heard about the competition through Miranda Hart's Instagram page. 

 I have ME/CFS myself, so I was excited to see a competition to raise awareness and funds. My Mum helped me create this cake over a few weeks of paced baking to make it more manageable for me.  I chose to make a sloth, because a lot of the time I feel like due to ME/CFS

"I heard about the competition through Miranda Hart's Instagram page. 

 I have ME/CFS myself, so I was excited to see a competition to raise awareness and funds. My Mum helped me create this cake over a few weeks of paced baking to make it more manageable for me.  I chose to make a sloth, because a lot of the time I feel like due to ME/CFS my body and mind are on a go slow, never getting far despite using all my energy. So I feel quite like a slow sloth!  Even though ME/CFS impacts my whole life, I am still me, my own unique individual, with lots to give including a sense of humour and fun. So I wanted to make this cake a bit fun with the happy sloth, and rainbow on the inside, showing that despite ME/CFS I am still here, my own self, and ME/CFS does not define me. 😁

Thanks for running this competition. It means a lot to me to see ME/CFS being recognised, and it is very uplifting to be able to be apart of it! I look forward to creating some more bakes!"

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