Donut be surprised if staff break record

Denton's Inology IT Director Brett Casterton will be taking part in a Guinness Book World Record attempt at stacking donuts next week !

We caught up with Brett at Tameside College to find out more about the record challenge.

"I remember the day we all first swapped our once-a-month lunchtime treat for Krispy Kremes. It was like a tiny, sugary spark caught fire in the office, and before we knew it, every Friday turned into Donut Friday. Gone were the chips and gravy; in rolled the boxes of glazed sweetness. We joked that it was all downhill from there—but really, it turned out to be the start of something incredible.

A few weeks later, I visited Joanne Lees at Willow Wood Hospice to talk about partnership opportunities. On the drive back to the office, my mind buzzed with ideas on how Inology IT could really make a splash for them. The thought lingered as I  got back and saw one last doughnut sitting quietly in a box. I picked it up, and suddenly, it clicked: a donut challenge! But what kind of challenge?

Naturally, we went big, Guinness World Records big. We checked record after record until we found one that we thought we could master: stacking doughnuts: the magic number to beat was thirteen. I felt a grin spread across my face. Fourteen shouldn’t be too hard, right?

Wrong. Shop-bought doughnuts let us down every time. They were too soft, and they collapsed under each other’s weight. It was around this time I crossed paths with Pam Mistry from Tameside College at a local business event. She mentioned their baking department and that they might be able to mix up something made to measure.

A few weeks later, I found myself inside the bustling Tameside College bakery, the smell of warm dough wafting through the air. Stuart, the head of the bakery, introduced me to a team of students decked out in aprons and tall white hats. They were energised, eager to help break a world record an odd but exciting challenge. They perfected a batch of doughnuts that were light enough to stack, yet sturdy enough to hold their shape. It was everything we needed.

We’re now one week away from Friday, January 31st, our big day. The local community and businesses are excited, and the Willow Wood Hospice folks have been wonderfully supportive. Everyone’s rooting for us to break that record. Fourteen donut stacked high, not a single one tumbling down. All this from a small spark of an idea, a sweet treat, and a desire to help a hospice doing incredible work."

Fingers crossed for next Friday, it’s amazing what can happen when people come together over something as simple as a donut !