2022 Winners: The end of Jamie's Dynasty, but not quite a sweep for Robin

 All good things must come to an end.  And in this case, that good thing is 6 straight years of Jamie taking 1st place in the Boga Bake-Off.  Everyone loves a dynasty right?!  But it was time for a new winner to be crowned, and Robin rightfully took her spot on the Boga Bake-Off throne late on Christmas Day.  During decorating, we had a feeling that her "Viva Argentina!" cookie would take first place...the depth of the goal, the details of the soccer ball, the colorful crowd, the placement of the players...they all added up to a beautiful cookie, and the people recognized her for it!  In total we had 277 votes from the US & Puerto Rico, Ecuador, UAE, UK, Kuwait and Mexico! 

Robin won 1st place with "Viva Argentina!"

And what about the others?

"God Save the Queen" won in the beauty category and was enough clinch 2nd place for Robin as well.  The best Jamie could eek out was a 3rd place cookie with "Be Iran's Voice".  It was a beautiful and intricate cookie (did you check the accuracy of the country shape?!), but 3rd place is a far cry from six straight years of winning.  She had high hopes for the simplicity of "It's Corn!"...but knew that "Today's Wordle: BAKED" failed in execution.  It suffered from too small and illegible letters, but the people still voted it into 5th place.  And did she make the right decision submitting her Stranger Things' "Max" cookie over "Top Gun: Maverick's Flight Path"?  I guess we'll never know.

NOT Submitted: Jamie's "Top Gun: Maverick's Flight Path"

Robin's "Keep my Wife's Name out of your Mouth" won 4th place, taking top marks for humor.  And Pete Davidson's Rolodex, her last entry in the Bake-Off, took 7th place and explored a new cookie format...multiple cookies to make a single design.  Will we see that trend come back in 2023?  

And poor Nancy.  Try as she may, her best performing cookie was 9th place "Tourist Visit to the US Capitol", a pithy take on the Insurrection.  And her Boga Family Tree cookie failed to place this year.  Jamie & Robin tried to give counsel that the Boga cookie could have been improved with more of a "Tree" green design, and the Capitol cookie name may have been too "inside" and appeal only to age 65+ newsheads...but the advice fell on deaf ears, and votes told a consistent tale.

Finally, thank you to Ellen and Mia for their submissions as well.  Bode wasn't bad for a 9 year old right?!  

See below for a complete list of cookies and vote counts.  Thanks to everyone for voting, and we'll see you next year!!

1. Viva Argentina! by Robin, 147 votes

2. God Save the Queen by Robin, 117 votes

3. Be Iran's Voice by Jamie, 109 votes

4. Keep my Wife's Name out of your Mouth! by Robin, 97 votes

5. Today's Wordle: BAKED by Jamie, 61 votes

6. It's Corn! (A big lump with knobs) by Jamie, 58 votes

7. Pete Davidson's Rolodex by Robin, 40 votes

8. Max is Runnin' up that Hill by Jamie, 29 votes

9. "Tourist Visit" to the US Capitol by Nancy, 16 votes

10. Practicing my Technique by Ellen, 16 votes

11.  Bode's First Christmas, 15 votes

12. It's a Major Award by Patrick, 13 votes

13. Bogas: How do you like us now?! by Nancy, 11 votes

14. Composition II in Red, Blue and Yellow by Ellen, 5 votes

15. Follow the Lies - Lies Social by Ellen, 3 votes

Honorable Mentions:

Top Gun: Maverick's Flight Path by Jamie

Harry's Styles in a Flash Coat by Jamie

Holiday Stocking by Coco

Vote in 2022 Boga-Bake Off!

Welcome to the 2022 Boga Bake-Off!

This year, we're on location in SANTA FE for the first time since the before-COVID times...

And what a year it has been to draw inspiration from!  Whether it be war, human rights injustices, and business moguls fallen from grace...or entertaining pop culture moments and celebrity trials...there was simply TOO MUCH to choose from.  Each of the Bogas came armed with at least ten solid ideas that we had to whittle down to a highly curated selection.  So we sat at Nancy & Doug's dining table for 5 hours, with no less than 10 custom frosting colors, 17 bottles of sprinkles, 1 packet of toothpicks, 4 children, 1 beloved Couzie (Ellen), and nothing but the SHEER WILL to win.

Will Jamie win her LUCKY #7 year in a row?  Will Robin finally break her streak?  Or will Nancy or Ellen surprise us with a victory?  We turn to you, the public, to provide a fair and sound judgement.  

So gather round with your loved ones; polls are open until Christmas day Sunday, 12/25 at 10pm EST.  SHARE with your friends and family, and thanks for voting :)  

And if you somehow got here, and you're like, WTF is this?  Here is a quick history for any newbies:

The Chiribogas used to decorate Christmas cookies like any other family, but as they continued to bake, their creative juices flowed.  Santa turned sexy, snowflakes become infinitely more elaborate, and cookie shapes were seen as mere suggestions instead of strict guides for designs.  Toothpicks became the go-to tool for applying individual sprinkles and a new type of cookie decorating contest emerged...the Boga Bake-off was born - over 20 years ago!

**PLEASE NOTE - the poll is tricky to scroll through. Scroll over the thin yellow border to scroll through the images. Scroll the right blue border to get to the bottom of the page and click SUBMIT**