Mince pieces and Christmas logs are selling like the proverbial hot cakes in a fund-raiser for l-istrina being held in the courtyard of the President's Palace in Valletta

The initiative, by the Institute of Tourism Studies, saw the students and their tutors prepare 1,100 Christmas logs incorporating more than two tonnes of ingredients, and 12,000 mince pies having one tonne of ingredients.

More than 200 students and five inmates of the Young Offenders Unit Rehabilitation Scheme worked voluntarily for the past four weeks to prepare the feast of traditional Maltese Christmas food.

They are also preparing stuffed turkeys, mulled wine, cocktails, mocktails, roasted chestnuts and other goodies.

All ingredients were donated free of charge.

There was some confusion this morning when somebody set up a stall selling mince pies on the Palace Square and people mistakenly thought he formed part of the charity activity.

The activity continues until late in the evening.