Sweet Success: Medway Cultural Council holds inaugural Cookie Contest
May 29, 2026 10:42AM ● By Theresa Knapp
From left: Judges Wilfredo Gonzalez, Krista Mahoney, and Shannon Galvin; 1st place winner Keri Mockler; 2nd place winner Sydney Smith, Medway Cultural Council co-chair; Gail Hachenburg, MCC member and event volunteer; 3rd place winner and MCC member Barbie Rice; and Sibbi Maruthu, MCC co-chair and Cookie Contest founder. Courtesy photo
Keri Mockler named ‘Medway’s Best Cookie Baker’
In May, the Medway Cultural Council (MCC) held its first annual Cookie Contest.
The public was invited to attend and more than 30 people stopped by to sample cookies baked by 10 entrants.
“There were many chocolate chip cookies and one entry was made to perfection and won first place - Keri Mockler,” said event co-chair and Cookie Contest founder Sibbi Maruthu. “Other Interesting entries were mini-Oreo® cookies and an Indian (dream butter) cookie.”
Maruthu said the MCC wanted to host another family event (in addition to its popular Pixie Festival), and said his 10-year-old son Thravin helped him cook up this latest contest after recently learning how to use the oven to bake. Maruthu said his son “is crazy about cookies.”
“Thravin did not win this year but was so excited to bake and participate along with his friends,” said Maruthu.
Participants ranged in age from 10 years old to adult. The contest was open to Medway residents, and cookies had to be homemade.
Entries were judged on presentation, taste, and creative use of ingredients. The judges were Krista Mahoney, a graduate of Johnson & Wales and owner of Sweet Peas Catering in Medway; Wilfredo Gonzalez, a culinary student at Johnson & Wales; and Shannon Galvin, a student at Le Cordon Bleu, plus a baker and cake decorator at Muffin House Café in Medway.
The winners for Medway’s Best Cookie Baker were:
1st place: Keri Mockler
2nd place: Sydney Smith
3rd place: Barbie Rice
Maruthu serves as the MCC videographer and documents each Council event. For this event, he said, “I recorded a two-minute ‘cookie story’ with every participant so they felt special; they spoke to the camera for two minutes about themselves, which is very significant and encouraging, especially for the kids.”
He said the MCC will hold the contest again next year, hopefully on a larger scale – in a park with kid- and pet-friendly activities - if they can secure funding.
To see a one-minute synopsis of the event, visit MCC on Facebook at www.facebook.com/share//1LVtBiw2qj/?mibextid=wwXIfr; a full-length video will be available soon.
