Skiing - French Alps

Having achieved our winter recruitment target, the team hit the slopes of Morillon in France for a weekend of skiing (and beverage consumption):

Recruitment in a Spin?

It had been on the cards for a while. Those who are gym regulars were looking forward to a private spin class. Those who aren't, weren't. 

The result? It was great fun, energetic, and the spin instructor was bonkers. Lessons learnt? Towels definitely work better after a shower than sweaty gym kit. Won't forget to take a towel next time.

Graduate Engineering & Technology Fair - University of Southampton

Graduate recruitment is busy. We are actively placing Undergraduates into 2013 Graduate jobs. 

We are looking forward to meeting the Engineering & Technology students and alumni of the University of Southampton next week and talking through careers, clients, and job vacancies.

Cake Monday 4th February

We race (electronically) and the loser has to bake a cake to feed the office. 

Why? because we like cake.
Who? everyone in the office. No one gets out of it.
When? every Monday.
The rules: you make the cake yourself, without any help. You can't 'repeat' a cake. Your cake will be judged on presentation, difficulty and taste, and marked out of 10 by each colleague.

'Lemon Curd Sponge Cake' by Jake. Jake made two cakes at the weekend. The first, never made it into the office and was described by Jake as a 'flat and greasy batter' (mmm, delicious). Despite not seeing this cake, we were impressed that he peeled and crushed almonds (especially when you can buy packets of ready chopped almonds and ground almonds). He then adapted the original recipe and made a fresh cake from scratch which was presented to us this morning. We didn't like to ask how many hours he spent baking yesterday.

The Verdict: The sponge was dense and moist, and the mascapone topping complimented the lemon curd filling. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the cake and seconds will be had. The cake was delicious and we overlooked the 'top tips' he received from a family member for the 2nd cake following his initial cake disaster. 

'Lemon Curd Sponge Cake' Average Score: 7

Next month: George, for the 3rd time. Taq can breathe a sigh of relief for another month. 

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Simple. Obvious? But it makes all the difference:

Cake Monday 14th January

We race (electronically) and the loser has to bake a cake to feed the office. 

Why? because we like cake.
Who? everyone in the office. No one gets out of it.
When? every Monday.
The rules: you make the cake yourself, without any help. You can't 'repeat' a cake. Your cake will be judged on presentation, difficulty and taste, and marked out of 10 by each colleague.

'Raspberry & White Chocolate Present' Cake by Jess. Jess has a reputation for being the hardest judge to please in Cake Monday. Whilst justifying her scoring system, she is not afraid to use the full spectrum of numbers at her disposal. Despite having only made a couple of cakes in her life, she set out to replicate a cake from 'The Great British Bake Off'. She had to use glucose to manipulate the white chocolate into malleable form to achieve the 'bow'. Beneath the raspberries is a plain sponge.

The verdict: Excellent presentation - absolutely unanimous. The technicality of achieving a symmetrical white chocolate bow was impressive. However, disappointment prevailed in its taste especially when we realised that the raspberries weren't in fact sitting on a layer of gorgeous melted dark chocolate, but a burnt crust. The Great British Bake Off would have some issues with "the bake" as the sponge was over-baked and a little dry. The white chocolate also needed more than a knife to cut into it. 

'Raspberry & White Chocolate Present' Cake Average Score: 6

Next month: Jake. You're never too new to bake a cake (Jake joined us a week ago). He has no experience in the cake-making department.