Here at Artisan Recruitment, we have an annual tradition called 'The Five Cakes Of Christmas'. It is essentially a competitive bake-off between teams of staff that ensures that the final week of work for the year is full of cakes. Genius!

Mid-morning each day during the week of the Five Cakes Of Christmas, a town crier climbs to the highest point in the village of Artisan and loudly rings a bell, thunderously bellowing out the words, "Hear ye, hear ye! Tis time for the Cakes of Christmas! Come gather ye staff round the olde boardroom table and bring ye appetites!"

The Artisan team quickly assembles around the large table near the kitchen, and the day's cake team brings out their creation for hasty consumption by their peers.

While it is true that most of the Artisan employees sitting around gorging on baked delights are simply thrilled to have morning tea provided for them that day, for one particular Artisan team member it's fair to say that the Five Cakes Of Christmas is a time of deep thought and serious decision making. His name is Whitmore, and he alone stands in judgement of the Five Cakes Of Christmas competition.

WHITMORE'S TASTY SCALE

Contenders are rated on the following:

- Taste

- Homemade-y ness

- Presentation

- Meeting all office dietary requirements

- Does Whitmore go back for seconds?

While talking to this reporter, he also added that the final judgment is likely to be influenced by two more factors, namely, "What kind of mood I'm in," and "the fact that Jenna (Lewis, Artisan business manager) can't win". So there you go.

Today was the first day of the 2016 Five Cakes Of Christmas, and the team of Jenna, Sana and Mia offered up some pretty impressive wares: delicious chocolate brownies, strawberry-and-cream Santas, and a gingerbread cheesecake with salted caramel sauce.

WILL THIS BE THE WINNER OF THE FIVE CAKES OF CHRISTMAS COMPETITION FOR 2016? CAN THE GINGERBREAD CHEESECAKE'S "HOMEMADE-Y NESS" APPEAL SOMEHOW OVERPOWER THE FACT IT WAS MADE BY JENNA IN WHITMORE'S MIND? Stay tuned!