We have a winner….
So here we are - technically in the height of summer with Wimbledon, Tour de France, and the Ashes, gracing our screens, the end of the school term is imminent and the wedding season in full swing, all of which mean bakers are busy baking everything from event themed bakes to celebration cakes!
Is there ever a quiet period in the baking calendar… the answer (as we all know) is no! Not only is seasonality so important for the Baking Industry but so are events and these last couple of months have been super busy with some excellent events that Bakery Business has been lucky enough to attend.
The inaugural CBA Business Day was a resounding success for both sponsors and attendees alike with some fabulous presentations and great networking opportunities.
In the same week the annual ABST (Alliance of Bakery Students and Trainees) annual conference was held at Alton Towers. Once again, almost at capacity – the four-day conference and awards saw nearly 300 attendees through the doors. The standard of competition entries from the students was one of the best we have seen, and the awards were very well deserved. We also had the pleasure of watching Molly Robbins – Extreme Cake Decorating, Channel 5, demonstrate her incredible paint spraying skills and answer questions from a very engaged student audience. See pages 36 and 37.
And at long last the much-anticipated National Bakery Awards returned for the first time since COVID stopped the world from spinning! On Wednesday 12th July we welcomed all the County Winners, sponsors, students, and industry bodies to 30 Euston Square to celebrate being the Best Bakeries in County, the Best Bakeries regionally and an overall National Bakery of the Year. Hosted by Mark Durden-Smith, the awards were presented to some of the very best bakeries in the industry by our sponsors, without whom, this event would not have been possible, so a very big thank you to you all. Check out pages 12 -15 to find out more about the Regional and National winners. Congratulations to you all!
Now on to this issue… we have all our regular insight pages including - Inside the Industry on pages 6 - 9, Ingredients Index on page 11, Legal on page 16 and Health & Safety on page 44.
Our features this month are Sustainability & Product Versatility on pages 18 -21, Halloween on pages 26 – 29, Free From & Plant Based Alternatives on pages 32 – 35, Packaging & Labelling on pages 38 -40 and Chocolate on page 42.
On pages 24 & 25, is our Regional Focus and for this issue, Sophie Carey takes a look at Tough Mary’s Bakehouse in Nottingham.
Please get stuck in and have a read, as always, we love hearing from you all – so please keep those pics, posts and press releases coming and don’t forget to keep any eye out for the National Bakery Awards 2024 “Entries Open” announcement over the next few weeks. Next year it could be you!