HUNDREDS of people tucked into a selection of tasty treats from around the world at an event celebrating international diversity in Poole.

Great British Bake Off star Martha Collison was the guest of honour at Taste the Nations, which was organised by the Gateway Church.

The event aims to celebrate the increasing diversity in Dorset, as well as promote an introductory course on Christianity offered by the church.

Gateway Church leader Matthew Hosier said: “This event was all about having fun together – and there is no better way to do it than through food. It’s also about celebrating diversity. In our church, and in Dorset, we have people from loads of different nations and we wanted to come together and celebrate that.”

He added: “It was great to have Martha from Bake Off with us too to judge all our bakes.”

Almost 300 people supported the event sampling food from across the globe, such as South African milk tarts, Bulgarian sweets, Scottish haggis and Honduran spicy beans.

Ferndown Middle School teacher Dan Lawford, who baked cinnamon and cranberry hot cross buns, and healthcare assistant Hannah Painter, who whipped up strawberry milkshake cupcakes, were crowned Dorset’s best bakers on the night.

The GBBO star said she was delighted to be at the event and judge the baking contest.

She said: “I did a bit of a Q&A about Bake Off and about my faith and how important my faith is to me, as well as what I’m going to be up to in the future. It’s been a really nice evening, judging lots of cakes and tasting lots of really nice food.”

And when asked whether Dorset’s baking skills were up to scratch, she said: “Dorset’s cooking is good. I’ve been to Southampton and their cooking was quite good too, but not as good as Dorset’s, which is definitely among the best.”

The Alpha Course is an intro-duction to Christianity, held at the Gateway Church, Alder Road.

To register email info@gatewaychurch.me