A Huddersfield cake company managed to gain a £50,000 investment, thanks to its Christmas Dinner Cake, in a festive Dragons’ Den Christmas Special.
ProperMaid, run by former school dinner lady Allison Whitmarsh, successfully obtained the funding from ‘dragon’ Deborah Meaden.
Meaden, who admitted to not having cooked a meal for herself in 28 years, invested the money in return for a 25% stake. It is the 33rd investment she has made through the programme during the seven series, which total £2m.
Whitmarsh, appeared on the BBC2 show, broadcast on Sunday 23 December, with her “traditional cakes with a twist”. Her pitch managed to intrigue two dragons, who battled over the investment.
The star of her televised pitch was the highly unusual Christmas Dinner Cake, complete with all the trimmings, including carrots, parsnips, cranberries, Christmas spices, chestnuts and sprouts.
Other flavour creations included: courgette and lime, beetroot and chocolate, liquorice and chocolate chilli and fudge, made with real chillies. Its dandelion and burdock cake won a Gold Star at the 2012 Great Taste Awards.
Speaking about the investment, Meaden said: “This is the next stage in the massive revival of great British baking and Allison is a tremendous example of how entrepreneurs with great ideas, excellent products, a sound business model and the passion and drive to succeed can quickly make a difference in business, as well as in their local communities.
“Together we’ll achieve great things for ProperMaid and the team is already working on a slimming cake to help shed those post-Christmas pounds.”
Meaden said: “I couldn’t have dreamt, four years ago when I baked my first cake for a customer in my home kitchen, that in 2012 I’d have two dragons vying to invest in my business.”
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