Baking Industry Awards 2024

2022 Winners

After hundreds of entrants across the British baking industry, our finalists were judged by our industry professionals to determine the best the industry has to offer. Congratulations to all of our winners!

2022 Baker of the Year

Sponsored by Brook Food & Bakery Equipment

Peter Doughty-Cook - Peter Cooks Bread

Peter’s bakery, Peter Cooks Bread, is nestled in the Malvern Hills in Hereford and has been open for eight years, predominantly serving wholesale. In the past couple of years Peter has embedded a greater pace of innovation and product development to complement his core rye-based range and make sure customers keep coming back for more. The bakery’s Wild Hops & Barley Loaf took home the title of Britain’s Best Loaf in 2020.

New lines include an extensive vegan range, Red Pepper, Feta & Caramelised Onion Danish and Sunshine Tea Loaf made with organic ciabatta flour.

The judges tasted two of the most recent products – a Honey, Mint & Courgette Focaccia and a Chocolate Custard Cruffin. “I could have eaten that Cruffin all day,” said one of the judges.

2022 Bakery Manufacturer of the Year

Sponsored by Bako

McGhee’s Bakery

McGhee’s takes pride in delivering craft products to a mass market through low-cost, high-volume production lines running at its main Glasgow base as well as via a network of five bakery hubs. Each week it delivers three million morning rolls and over one million potato scones to its diverse customer base, from the largest UK supermarkets to schools and small corner shops.

The judges were impressed by the operational efficiencies implemented during lockdown and which remain in place, as well as McGee’s commitment to investment in all areas but most especially in customer service and retention, technology, and, top of all, its 385 staff.

2022 Bakery Retailer of the Year

Sponsored by Lantmännen Unibake

Marks & Spencer

Marks & Spencer (M&S) says its vision is to be famous for its market leading bread offer by elevating its speciality breads to rival artisan bakeries while continuing to differentiate itself with a range of special sweet treats. This is underpinned by an efficient operating model run by its 5,000-plus bakers who are equipped with the tools and processes they need.

M&S has also been busy moving its in-store bakeries to front of store to drive perceptions of product freshness in addition to developing strategic partnerships with suppliers to elevate product quality. The judges said the in-store bakery teams really knew their stuff and their passion for bakery shone through.

2022 Celebration Cake Business of the Year

Sponsored by Finsbury Food Group

Caketastic Creations

As a total royalist Johanna Moloney loved the Jubilee theme given to all this year’s finalists to interpret and create a tiered cake for final assessment. She took as inspiration the trip she made to the exhibition at Buckingham Palace of iconic royal dresses.

Johanna’s shop at Middleton, Manchester, had only been open for seven months before the pandemic hit but she kept busy cake making during the shutdown and is today back to bursting with orders, having attended wedding fairs to promote the business. “Such attention to detail in all aspects of her business,” said the judges.

2022 Craft Bakery Business Award

Sponsored by Dawn Foods

The Street Bakeshop

The Street Bakeshop is an artisan bakery based in the Hampshire village of Old Basing. The business’ vision is to create fantastic baked goods that people love to eat time and again and it is this ethos that has turned it into a destination shop. The business specialises in sourdough bread, sourdough viennoiserie, Danish pastries, buns and cake, and services both retail and wholesale. Every day the team try to create something new and the most recent is Kouign Amann – a laminated dough product containing Beurre d’Isigny Ste Mere that originates from Brittany in France. The judges said the team were highly skilled, knowledgeable, passionate, and dedicated. At the time of judging a second outlet was being planned.

2022 Customer Focus Award

CSM Ingredients

Roses the Bakers

Roses the Bakers has been in business since 1940 but does not stand still and last year invested in state-of-the-art technology to ease and speed the experience of its 220 customers who come in daily to order freshly made sandwiches. Before the installation of two kiosks with easy-to-use menus, it required two staff to manage order slips plus four to make; now, all six staff concentrate on making orders. Another plus is that customers can order ahead – be it 10 minutes or five days – as the tech links into the bakery’s online ordering system. It’s been so successful that a third Kurve kiosk has already been installed. “Great customer focus,” said the judges.

2022 Free-from Bakery Product of the Year

Sponsored by KaTech Ingredient Solutions

Gluten Free Yule Log – Baker and Baker

This Gluten-Free Yule Log is made by Baker & Baker for Marks & Spencer and comprises a gluten-free chocolate Swiss roll sponge with chocolate buttercream filling and a dusting of sugar. It sounds straightforward but to create the perfect gluten-free sponge roll required Baker & Baker to trial 40 different recipes, each with a different mix and varied bake times before they succeeded. Then came the challenge of getting the gluten-free sponge to roll once cooled and within the parameters of what the factory process could achieve. The judges said it was both delicious and moreish.

2022 New Bakery Product of the Year

Sponsored by TraceGains

We Love Cake, When Life Gives You Lemon Tart from Bells of Lazonby

This product, made by Bells of Lazonby, is gluten, wheat, and milk free as well as vegan. The sweet pastry case uses a reduced sugar recipe to deliver a crisp pastry throughout the thaw and service process and is filled with a lemon-flavoured ganache using creamy dairy-free white chocolate.

The tart is packaged as a single wrapped unit targeted at the wholesale market and the ‘grab and go’ customer as well as for serving with some extra personalisation within the dine-in sector. “The tart has a really zingy flavour, with well-baked crisp pastry,” said the judges. “It’s missing nothing against a traditional lemon tart.”

2022 Online Bakery Business of the Year

Sponsored by IFF

Project D

This online bakery business delivers luxury, hand decorated doughnuts to doorsteps cross the UK and promotes its product via occasional pop-up stands announced on its social channels. Last year it achieved a 20% year-on-year increase in turnover.

The business was set up in 2018 by three friends who are all still aged under 30 and aim their product firmly at other millennials. The judges said the brightly coloured and cheekily named products were delicious and they had had trouble selecting from among the fashionable fillings. They praised the site as easy to navigate and said product arrived swiftly in pristine condition on every order.

2022 Outstanding Contribution to the Bakery Industry

André Sarafilovic

André Sarafilovic has enjoyed a long and illustrious career, offering his services to various trade bodies and organisations as well as running a hugely successful business and creating a charity to help give back to the local community. He joined his family bakery business at the age of 16, and having gained his qualifications and some experience, he ventured east to gain further experience with Stephens Bakery.

His awards and accolades in the baking industry are numerous and include Scottish Baker of the Year and Centenary Baker of the Year. André launched the Stephens Foundation in 2018 to give back to the local communities in which his business operates. The fact his business Stephens Bakery will celebrate its 150th anniversary next year is a testament to his talent for business and passion for the industry.

2022 Rising Star Award

Sponsored by Rondo

Nishitha Kannan - Cardiff Metropolitan University

While pursuing her master’s degree in food science and technology at Cardiff Metropolitan University, Nishitha was nominated as a ‘Next Generation Baker’ for Puratos and as a part of that, created a new range of vegan bakery products and an eggless cake mix. During her degree she also created innovative products for Marks & Spencer’s premium cake range.

As Nishitha told the judges: “My passion is bakery. I love to scale up from lab to pilot level, and then into production.”

The judges commended Nishitha’s thirst for bakery knowledge and her dedication to technical and professional development.

2022 Speciality Bread Product of the Year

Sponsored by Bakels

Malted Barley Sourdough Tin from Lovingly Artisan

Made by Lovingly Artisan, this loaf blends ancient bakery methods with modern-day production. It combines wheat flour, barley, rye, semolina wheat and salt, and uses Matthews Cotswold Flour, Gilchesters Organics flours and Warminster maltings.

The result is a loaf that is both delicious and homely, said the judges, who were also full of praise for its great shape and unique, moreish taste. Lovingly Artisan says this loaf has been incredibly popular because it meets the customer need for a versatile loaf that also has a good shelf life.

2022 Sustainability Initiative of the Year

Sponsored by Macphie

Earth & Wheat

Earth & Wheat was launched by Signature Flatbreads in March 2021 as the world’s first ‘wonky’ break subscription service. Its mission is to reduce food waste at the point of production by rescuing baked goods which would otherwise be binned due to their odd shape.

The service is aimed at environmentally conscious consumers and families who subscribe from among several delivery options to receive a box on next-day delivery that contains a random mix of baked products – everything from wonky crumpets and pittas, to pancakes and naan bread. At the time of entering, the company reported over 500 tonnes of baked goods had been ‘rescued.’ “Very enterprising,” said the judges.

2022 Team of the Year

Sponsored by Unifiller

The Street Bakeshop

The knowledge share here was tangible, said the judges; everyone contributed, which resulted in an adept and highly skilled team. They added that subtle and thoughtful leadership from the senior team of owner Tim Goodwin, head of pastry Natalia Matusik, senior bread baker Jordan Turner and front of house manager Sonia Crimando was evident, helping to tease out the best of the talent of the 35 members of staff.

Within the business, which is based at Old Basing in Hampshire, the feedback loops are deliberately short so that decisions are made quickly, and everyone knows what they need to do; it’s clearly working as the business pushed turnover up by £600k last year.

View Winners Interviews »

Testimonials

“We utilise the awards in quite a few different ways, through press releases, media conversations with local and regional TV and more recently we’ve been lucky enough to have those conversations with national TV too”

Speciality Bread of the Year 2022

Catherine Connor Co-Owner Lovingly Artisan

“One benefit of entering and winning such a recognised award is it gives Earth & Wheat credibility amongst peers in the baking industry, it has also meant Earth & Wheat’s brand exposure within the sector has been strengthened.”

Sustainability Initiative of the Year 2022

James Eid Founder Earth & Wheat

“That was an incredibly proud moment not just for me but for the entire business, being able to thank our suppliers that were in the crowd and fellow people in the industry really made it.”

Online Bakery Business of the Year 2022

Matthew Bond Creative Director Project D

“This has been a huge morale boost for the entire company, after such a challenging few years. It is brilliant to be able to recognise every single person for their contribution, it brings an enhanced sense of pride to what we do day in and day out to serve our loyal customers”

Craft Bakery Business Award 2021

Sean Sarafilovic Director Stephens Bakery

"Winning a Baking Industry Award has been an amazing achievement for all of us, from owners and management, bakers and front of house. The award is very special as it appreciates the input of all of the team. It felt so good to share the process from nomination to accepting the trophy on stage with our loyal customers who genuinely felt part of it. Seeing how happy they all were for us made it incredibly gratifying for many weeks after receiving the award."

Customer Experience 2023

Ania Wadolowska Manager The Old Store Norfolk

"It was such an unreal moment to even be nominated for the award, let alone to win it. It's great to receive recognition for all the work that goes into being a baker. It has made everything feel more real on the path to achieving my dreams."

Rising Star Award 2023

Jordan Skeet Baker Bread Source

I had an incredible experience at the Baking Industry Awards 2024! It was a fantastic opportunity to connect with so many talented and passionate people from across our industry. Being recognized with the Rising Star award was truly a dream come true—I'm absolutely over the moon! A huge thank you to everyone who made the night so special.

Rising Star Award 2024

Naomi Spaven Coleg Cambria

2022 Winners

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