Iqaluit (May 03/04) - The best bannock cooked during the beloved Toonik Tyme contest in Iqaluit was eaten up quickly, right from the pans.

But not all the bannock made that day was perfect.

Far from it.

Tucked away in one of the steam-filled tents, Tristan Webster, inspired by all the bannock making, attempted his own for the first time in his life.

The results were disastrous. Too runny in the middle, a little too crispy on the outside, Webster's bannock was more or less a disgrace to bannock everywhere.

But that doesn't mean Webster and all the people who came by to visit and help him out did not have a really good time in the process.

Meeleah Akpalialuk, a tent visitor, could tell right away trouble was brewing with Webster's bannock just by looking at the dough he was making.

"Use your hands!" she said as Webster tried to work a wooden spoon through it.

The concoction was way too doughy, so Akpalialuk grabbed the bag of flour, and began trying to save the bannock.

"If it's too runny, it won't stay together," Akpalialuk said.

By this time the laughter had started, and people were coming by just to see what the fuss was about.

Next, there was the propane stove issue. It was raging too hot, and there was not enough oil in the pan, then too much was added too late. The dough was cooked in a cast-iron pan in one large slab, so thick it never cooked all the way through.

Placed on a piece of cardboard in the tent once done, many people poked their heads in the tent and pulled pieces of bannock off and tried it out.

The first response most Northerners had was laughter. But it still tasted pretty good, many said.