Newsletter aug sept 2016

August/September 2016

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Brexit & Bakers

MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE The political landscape has changed in recent weeks and there lies uncertainty, challenges and opportunities in the years ahead and as you will see in this edition we are taking things in our stride.

It was an absolute pleasure to join our President Craig McPhie on our tour of Inverness, Caithness and Orkney. I would like to say a personal thank you to every business for allowing us to visit and for being so open with us. We are planning to visit many more of our members during the next two years.

President’s Welcome I would personally like to thank everyone for your kind wishes and support since being installed as President. It’s a privilege for Lesley and I to represent the Association. As you will see in this current issue, I have been extremely active and busy as President. It started with attending and presenting to the joint Centenary Club lunch in Perth, it was great to see so many there and a big thank you to Fay Somerville for organising it so well.

Alan and I have attended a number of events and been involved in a range of activities. This has included: attending the Annual Conference of the Federation of Bakers at Edgbaston Stadium in Birmingham; a meeting at the National Gallery in Edinburgh on the potential effects of Brexit on the Scottish Food & Drink sector; a presentation to the bakery students of City of Glasgow College; attendance at the Scotland Food and Drink Awards at Edinburgh International Conference Centre where we sponsored the Bakery and Cereal category and it was great to see our members entering.

It was then time for my first official engagement outside of Scotland at the Craft Bakers Association Conference in Manchester and Lesley and I were proud to represent our Association and to congratulate Janet Carr on being installed as their President and we look forward to welcoming members of the CBA Board and London & South East Region to our 125th Anniversary Ball.

We then spent a week meeting our members in Inverness, Caithness and Orkney and I hope you see from the pictures inside that we were welcomed with open arms. Baking in the Highlands & Islands is alive and well!! We highlighted all of our activities at a meeting with British Baker in London where we are exploring ways that we can work more closely together. So as you will see inside it’s been busy and I look forward to seeing everyone at our 125 celebration and meeting other bakery members around the country over the coming months.

Craig McPhie President, Scottish Bakers

We have just finalised our online James Allan Bakery Academy and are doing the final testing of it currently. We are embracing the work that colleges do in Scotland and are currently developing a strategic partnership with the City of Glasgow College and participating in a group to review the qualifications at the National Bakery School. We are also working closely with SDS and raising issues around the changes in funding and the challenges that go with it.

We will be launching the World Champion Scotch Pie Awards soon and are aiming to build on this fantastic competition with a few new innovations. We are also finalising arrangements for our 125th Anniversary Ball and at the time of writing we are completely full although as usual we are trying to be creative!! We are also reconstituting a new Industrial Relations Committee so please contact me if you would like to be part of this, as part of our new agreement.

Thank you again for your continued support and please don’t hesitate to contact me at any time.

Alan Clarke Chief Executive, Scottish Bakers

contents 2 3 4 5

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9 10 11 13 14 15 16 17

Brexit and Bakers! Folic Acid update BAKO’s Mark Tomlinson shares his experiences Carr’s Flour Mills The Kandy Bar of Saltcoats reveals how it feels to be the Champion!

Craft Bakers Association Annual Conference SF&D- Excellence Awards Category Sponsor Scottish Baker of the Year Apple Watch winners Past President Tributes Welcome New Members Bakers Scoop Member Benefits National Food and Drink Training Update Regional Roadshows Scottish Bakers Export Group Update Presidential Highland Tour - Bakers Dozen

If you would like to place an article in the October/November newsletter please contact angie@scottishbakers.org

Question Time with Alan Clarke, Chief Executive of Scottish Bakers In our 125th anniversary year, the UK has voted to leave the European Union, by a majority of 52% to 48% with 72% of the U.K population taking the time to vote. Prior to the vote President Craig McPhie and myself attended an evening debate hosted by Johnston Carmichael at the National Gallery, Edinburgh. The debate argued the potential effects of Brexit on the Scottish Food & Drink sector. Three panellists for each side debated. They were: REMAIN - John Edward Chief Campaign Spokesman for the Stronger In Campaign, Pete Ritchie Founding Director of Nourish Scotland and Gordon McIntyre Kemp Founder and Chief Executive of Business for Scotland.

LEAVE - Malcolm Offord Founder and Chairman of Badenoch, Ross Thomson MSP Conservative List MSP for North East Scotland and William Frame Founder of Braemore Estates.

It was interesting to hear what the six panellists had to say, but what now for our industry now that the result has been determined?

What are the concerns facing the industry both in the short term and the longer term?

At this stage it is simply too early to tell what the real implications will be. The uncertainty is clearly having an effect on currency markets and confidence, but at this stage Article 50 has not been triggered and we are told that no negotiations will take place until this is done. But bakers in Scotland are a hardy bunch and have weathered many a storm. During the last two weeks our new President Craig McPhie and I have been touring bakeries in the Highlands, about as geographically far from Brussels as you can get and I must say, it’s very much a “heads down and get on with it” attitude to baking our daily bread and delighting customers. Our sector has faced uncertainty before and will do so again unfortunately the only constant in business today is change!

What needs to be done to ensure the industry in Scotland is protected?

Again it is too soon to know as no negotiations have taken place but it is clear in Scotland that we have a strong Parliament fighting for our interests as a nation. The bakery sector in Scotland employs many people from the EU and in recent years has seen a significant increase in exports which are effected by currency fluctuations, these are just some of the issues that will

need to be addressed over the next couple of years.

Regardless of our personal opinions, there is now much work to be done to ensure that the voice of the bakery sector is heard and listened to by government. Scottish Bakers is committed to working with our key private and public sector partners to influence the development and implementation of the food and drink strategy for Scotland and ensuring that issues directly affecting bakers are raised at the highest level in Scotland.

If any baker has any concerns or issues they would like to raise, please do not hesitate to contact us at any time.

Tel: 01383 661 555

Folic Acid Update The recent European referendum result has once again raised the issue of Scottish independence and we certainly do live in interesting times! This has raised the question as to how we deal with issues that affect the bakery sector as a whole.

The announcement prior to the Brexit vote by the Scottish Minister for Public Health, that Scotland would consider introducing folic acid into flour and / or bread if the UK Government didn’t make an announcement of their intentions on this issue. This has now happened and whilst there are no immediate plans to introduce folic acid into flour or bread in the UK, the Scottish Government has tasked Food Standards Scotland (FSS) to determine the way ahead if this was to be done in Scotland only.

We have stressed to the Scottish Government that this is a medical issue, not a bakery issue but if the decision is made to introduce it into bread or flour of products sold in Scotland this will have major impact on the sector.

We recently held a meeting with the Chief Executive, Geoff Ogle and two Directors of the FSS to ensure that the UK wide implications of this were fully taken into account. We invited Gordon Polson of the Federation of Bakers, Alex Waugh of NABIM and David Thomson of the Scotland Food & Drink Federation to this meeting. We are at the start of this process but we have agreed a way forward on behalf of the industry to make sure there is engagement with bakers and the public.

Whatever the political landscape looks like, it is essential that bakers and bakery trade associations work together, the geography might be different but the issues are just the same!

The Scottish Baker

Raising Champions within the Bakery Sector

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bako’s MARK TOMLINSON shares his experience of scottish baker’s to date!

Following the BAKO North Western Group’s acquisition of BAKO Northern & Scotland in the autumn of 2015, we have been delighted to build on the relationship with Scottish Bakers.

Being invited to the Scottish Bakers Board strategic away-days event was, I now know, a huge privilege as we were the very first supplier EVER to present at such an internal meeting.

Our first ‘public’ gathering was at the World Championship Scotch Pie Awards and it was in Cumbernauld where I first experienced the drive and passion that exists within the Scottish bakery industry - I was absolutely ‘blown away’!

L-R: BAKO Bake Off Mark Tomlinson, Robert Ross & Mich Turner MBE

Personally, I believe that, whatever one does in life, it should be done with enthusiasm, heart and diligence - many people feel the same way; and many don’t!

Managed extremely professionally by Scottish Bakers, the judging processes were transparent and resilient and sought out the products which delivered across all benchmarks. Andy Hodgson and I were lucky enough to be seated with Rona and Stephen from The Kandy Bar who were crowned World Scotch Pie Champions and the energy emitted when the result was announced was electrifying - Proud owners celebrating the fruits of their passionate work - priceless!!

Over the following months, we began to understand how the Scottish baking industry ‘works’. Hugely competitive on the High Street and in wholesale areas, the bakers and confectioners fight daily for their share of the customer spend ‘discounting’ and ‘premium building’, rife in equal measure. And then the support, camaraderie and respect for fellow competitors coming through in times of crisis (floods, machine breakdowns and illness).

Somewhat ‘rose-tinted’ view from a new ‘outsider’?

- possibly, but hard evidenced nonetheless.

And then there is the social side!! !!! !!!!

Myself and my colleagues from the ‘South’ have been welcomed with open arms at each and every social function in 2016 and we have had a whale of a time - and isn’t paracetamol good for you as part of a healthy, balanced diet?!

The conference weekend in May provided me with a real insight into the professionalism and dedication of the Scottish Bakers team in Dunfermline - Scottish Bakers is a wonderful ambassadorial body and will lead our industry from strength to strength in terms of recognition at the ‘highest tables’ and providing embedded support for Bakers large and small. The Conference of the Year award was truly deserved.

Standing on the main stage, listening to the pipes and watching the crowning of The Kandy Bar as Scottish Baker of the Year 2016 was something that I will never forget - I am honoured to be associated with such a strong and passionate industry.

I would like to thank our loyal customers for their continued support and assure you that we will work tirelessly to ensure that you enjoy ‘best-in-class’ customer service - on every order we receive, each event we host and every problem we are posed.

Recent events in the bakery wholesale sector have generated a challenging and sometimes stressful environment and I am proud of the BAKO teams around the country who have gone above and beyond in their efforts to maintain service levels - we have often failed but never for the want of trying. We expect ‘normal service’ to be resumed very soon.

Very best wishes, Mark Tomlinson

L-R: Carol Smillie, Audrey Dick, Umbarto Gilardi & Mark Tomlinson

L-R: Carol Smillie, Stephen & Rona McAllister

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The Scottish Baker

Raising Champions within the Bakery Sector

Absolutely Fantastic!!!

Stephen McAllister’s story

It’s 2016 and Scottish Bakers is celebrating 125 Years so yes it’s a very special year among all Craft Bakers who are members of Scottish Bakers. The two main accolades that every single baker in the country want so passionately to win are “The Scotch Pie World Championships” and “Scottish Baker Of The Year”, and guess what...

The Kandy Bar Bakery, Saltcoats has won both of these absolutely phenomenal accolades in this, the 125th Anniversary of Scottish Bakers.

On the 13th January 2016 when Carol Smillie announced The Kandy Bar as “Scotch Pie World Champion 2016” I simply could not contain the emotions of immense jubilation, excitement and total euphoria that flowed through my whole body. Rona my wife was exactly the same. I remember jumping up and down on the stage and then having a wee dance with Carol who whispered in my ear “I think you should go and give Rona a great big hug”, everyone in the room was cheering and clapping, it just felt great.

Well we didn’t think it could get any better BUT IT DID! On the 7th May 2016 at the Scottish Bakers Conference Dinner the pipe band had been told to stop half way through playing “Scotland The Brave” so that Mich Turner could announce the overall winner of “The Scottish Baker of the Year 2016/17”.

The Kandy Bar were in the final three as winners of our category along with Reids of Caithness and Mimi`s Bakehouse

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who had been winners of their category. The band stopped playing half way through, the room was full of tension and anticipation and then, the moment we were all waiting for....

Mich announced that.... “The Kandy Bar” is “Scottish Baker of the Year 2016/17”. Well I thought I was going to explode, Rona was exactly the same. The band started playing again, and once again the pride and passion that was flowing through my body was a feeling so amazingly incredible.

I genuinely felt I was on top of the world, like no feeling I have ever experienced in my whole life. Rona and I were jumping about the dance floor surrounded by The Pipe Band, our hearts were pounding out of our chests and the feeling was just quite simply “Fantastic”. Once again everyone was cheering and clapping and trying to congratulate us.

The reaction from the local community, all at Team Kandy Bar, our loyal customers old and new, our family, friends, colleagues within the bakery industry and the national and local press has been overwhelming. Champagne, cards, letters and emails of congratulations have been pouring in (special thanks to everyone who has taken the time, it’s very much appreciated), I made it my mission to walk up and down the towns of Saltcoats, West Kilbride and Kilwinning, where we have our shops, showing off our awards, which went down very well. The amount of people who shook my hand, patted me on the back, gave me high 5`s was tremendous, even people in cars were tooting their horns and putting their windows down shouting out “congratulations”. Everyone within the local community are saying that The Kandy Bar winning these amazing accolades has been great news for all the towns and local areas we have shops in.

Business has been great since winning these amazing accolades. We have gained lots of new customers who are coming from far and wide, our turnover has gone up quite

The Scottish Baker

Raising Champions within the Bakery Sector

substantially. The week after winning Scottish Baker of the Year 2016/17 our turnover went up a staggering 20% and the profitability of the business is very good. What has been very clear to see is that myself, along with Rona and every one within Team Kandy Bar has gained so much confidence from winning.

It has had a massively positive effect on team spirit, it`s having an amazing impact on all round performance from every department within the business.

Apart from the business side of things there has also been some unexpected outcomes as a result of winning these fantastic accolades. Rona and I have made a couple of appearances on STV`s Live at 5 show. Our celebration after being crowned “Scotch Pie World Champions 2016” received over 140,000 views, on social media. We have received through social media, messages from people from all over the world saying how much they enjoyed our celebrations after being crowned “Scottish Baker of The Year 2016/17 and how everyone looked great in their kilts. I also had a live radio interview on Radio Scotland, and the most unexpected outcome of all was when Jamie Green the MSP for The West Of Scotland wrote a letter stating that he lodged a motion in The Scottish Parliament “Congratulating The Kandy Bar Saltcoats, North Ayrshire, on its achievement in winning the prestigious title of Scottish Baker Of The Year 2016/17 and notes it has also become the first bakery to win both the Scottish Baker of the Year Awards and also hold the title of Scotch Pie World Champion in the same year.”

To all bakery businesses across Scotland “Large and Small”, please, please do not hesitate to enter these two competitions.

THE KANDY BAR waited 15 years to be crowned “Scotch Pie World Champions 2014 and yes again two years later in 2016. Also we have had five years of a wait to be crowned “Scottish Baker of the Year 2016/17, but please believe me winning either one of these prestigious accolades is absolutely worth the wait.

What now for myself, Rona, all at Team Kandy Bar and the business I hear you ask?

L-R: Rona & Stephen McAllister

Well it’s the most amazing honour and privilege to win these great accolades and something we do not take for granted.

For just now we will continue to always keep our standards in all areas of the business exceptionally high so that everyone who has worked so very hard to pioneer both these competitions - Alan Stuart, Alan Clarke, all at Scottish Bakers, BAKO Northern and Scotland, Robert Ross and all the judges, Carol Smillie, Mich Turner, Julie Fourcade and all involved in the media coverage and everyone else who helps with anything to do with these two very prestigious competitions can feel totally reassured that The Kandy Bar Bakery are worthy winners of both “Scotch Pie World Champions 2016” and “Scottish Baker Of The Year 2016/17”.

Also there are so many absolutely fantastic bakeries all over the country who are all worthy winners, we need to be seen as The Best of the Best.

I would like to finish by saying to all Bakers throughout the whole of Scotland “All the best to you all in striving to become Scotch Pie Award Champion 2017 and Scottish Baker of the Year 2017/18”. Please be patient “Your Day Will Come” and as I said it’s worth the wait.

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The Scottish Baker

Raising Champions within the Bakery Sector

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CRAFT BAKERS ASSOCIATION, ANNUAL CONFERENCE BUSINESS TO BUSINESS MANCHESTER 2016

Scottish Bakers was proud to sponsor the Bakery and Cereal-Based Category at this year’s Food and Drink Excellence Awards 2016. Chief Executive Alan Clarke said “the quality of entrants never fails to impress me, Scotland Food & Drink raise the bar every year, showcasing Scotland’s rich larder of quality produce and provenance. This is Scottish Bakers first year of sponsoring the Bakery and Cereal-Based Category and after our fantastic experience we aim to continue this support.”

I promised that by the end of the day, they would have at least five ideas that could be taken away and be of benefit. These would include ideas from:

Sophie Fraser from Scotland Food and Drink said, “This year’s awards were the most successful to date, receiving a record number of entries and 800 industry

Audrey Dean took us through points of health and safety and the upcoming changes in labelling regulations later this year. Mark McCullough totally blew our minds in the perceptions within the arena of “Social Media” and how it can be of benefit for our businesses. Karl De Smedt enthused and inspired us to make sour dough breads and pastries common place products, with a brief look behind the scenes at his sour dough library. Claire Nuttall took us through the finer concepts of branding our products and businesses to ensure the correct exposure within the market place meeting today’s consumers. Lastly our keynote speakers Beth Fahey (Creative Cakes Bakery) Chicago, and John Unrein (BakeMag) Kansas showed us what was coming our way, in regards to product and its future market.

scottish bakers members attend cba conference

Raising Champions within the Bakery Sector

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scottish bakers proud category sponsors!

After almost two years in the planning, in examining every detail of who should be invited to speak, where should the conference be held and the quality of the evening’s entertainment, all which had to have an impact. The time had come to put on the show which would tempt bakers to leave their businesses for the day, come to conference and leave with something that was worth their while, to take back and use.

Craft Bakers Association, Immediate Past President, David Smart

The Scottish Baker

professionals attended the sell-out awards ceremony and dinner to celebrate the sector. 2016 saw Scottish Bakers support the Bakery & Cereal-Based product category for the first time, highlighting their collaborative relationship with Scotland Food & Drink.”

It was a huge honour and pleasure to present the winners, Stoats with their award for their Hedgerow Muesli.

Congratulations to the other category finalists: Border Biscuits for their Border Biscuits Classic Sharing Selection and Duncan’s of Deeside for their Raspberry and White Chocolate All Butter Shortbread.

voters strike IT lucky!

L-R: Craig McPhie, Janet Carr & Brian Irwin

Jim brown receives CBA Life time award

More than 15,000 customers voted for their local bakery’s products in the hope that they would win the Scottish Baker of the Year Competition 2016/17. By casting a vote each customer automatically had a chance to win a state of the art Apple Watch. Six lucky winners were chosen at random, each delighted by their win.

Biggar Flavour (Biggar)

GH Barnett & Sons (Cellardyke)

Stephens Bakery (Rosyth)

Nevis Bakery (Fort William)

Cobbs (Inverness)

Keptie Bakery (Letham)

L-R: NFDT Training Advisor, Steve Fleming, Winner Angela Murray, Jane Brown & Ranald Brown Biggar Flavour

L-R: Lesley & Craig McPhie

L-R: Winner Lindsey Stewart, Stewart Barnett of GH Barnett & Son

L-R: Caroline Cunningham of Stephens Bakery & Winner Nicola Mitchell

L-R: Jim & Lyn Brown

“On behalf of Scottish Bakers, I would like to offer our sincere congratulations on receiving a Life Time Award from the Craft Bakers Association.

This is such a prestigious and honourable award that highlights your years of commitment and dedication to the industry.”

L-R: Past President Andre Sarafilovic, President Craig McPhie, Lesley McPhie, Jim & Lyn Brown, David Hall, David Smart & Alan Clarke

Scottish Bakers Chief Executive, Alan Clarke

L-R: NFDT Training Advisor, Joseph O’Connor, Winner David Harkins and Iona Bergins from Nevis Bakery

L-R: NFDT Training Advisor Kyle Rodgers, Winner Marjory Blackley, Rory Cameron of Cobbs Bakery

L-R: Angie Foreman from Scottish Bakers, Winner Lynn Maxwell & Allan Eaton of Keptie Bakery

The Scottish Baker

Raising Champions within the Bakery Sector

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Tributes to...

The Scottish Baker

Raising Champions within the Bakery Sector

WELCOME TO NEW MEMBERS Facebook/badgirlbakery Tel 01463 870887

Past President Norman James Stuart

Past President John Smith

(1930-2016)

A Father Remembered (1939-2016)

Norman (Norrie) James Stuart, past president of SAMB (1991-1992) passed away on Monday 23rd May. 2016.

Throughout his long life Norrie had more than his share of health issues and I am sure that these episodes made him determined to cram as much as he could into his allotted span. He had great determination, high levels of concentration and a commitment to perfection. These assets enabled him to excel in so many areas of his life.

My father, John Smith, passed away at Aberdeen Royal infirmary on 29th June 2016. He was born to Dillon and Grace Smith on 28 March 1939 in the Aberdeenshire village of New Pitsligo. He often used to tell me that baking was in his blood, having been delivered in his parent’s house, which latterly formed part of the office at the bakery. Dad spent his entire working life in the family business, John Smith and Sons, which was started in New Pitsligo by his grandfather in 1903. He worked extremely hard, and only retired in 2014 at the age of 75.

Norrie was born in Buckhaven, the third child of Jim & Nan Stuart, after brother Robert & sister Isobel. It was through his hands that Norrie was able to demonstrate his early skills.

He excelled as a confectioner and cake decorator and much more interestingly to his young nephew as a model maker & kit builder.

A major part of his life was the SAMB or Scottish Bakers. After many years of service to our trade association, particularly in the area of training, there was really only one person who was going to be the centenary president in 1991. With Dorothy at his side, they carried out an onerous list of duties in an exemplary manner, travelling all over Scotland and culminating in the wonderful banquet in the Sheraton hotel.

In amongst all the prestigious events of that centenary year my own personal favourite memories were when the BBC’s Bill Torrance asked Norrie to move to one side because he was blocking out the combine harvester and watching his unflappability on entering the pulpit in St Giles to find that someone had closed the bible which he had carefully left open at the right page. However, not even God could have saved the culprit from the wrath of Norrie had he ever been discovered.

A closer and more devoted couple would be hard to find.

Dorothy was his anchor. She created a warm, loving home for Norrie to return to every night, escaping the blood sweat and tears of the business. Whilst Dorothy, their sons Brian and Alistair, myself and all of our family will miss Norrie immensely, remembering him in a hundred different ways, please give thanks that he met his true love more than 60 years ago and that he was able to share his long, exciting, successful and triumphant journey with such a lovely lady.

Past President Alan Stuart, Nephew to Norrie Stuart

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Dad’s formative years were spent in the village, where he learnt his trade working (and playing) alongside his older brother Morgan and younger sister Margaret in the family business. Tragedy struck the family when in relatively quick succession Morgan, who had joined the merchant navy, was lost at sea in his late teens and his father Dillon also passed away suddenly. Memories of his father and brother remained cherished to Dad for his entire life and they encouraged his avid interest in the Boys Brigade and his strong desire to support the Fraserburgh Lifeboat in whatever way he could.

Dad ran the biscuit factory for many years and developed the moniker “Biscuit John!”. Without doubt, one of the highlights of Dad’s working career was when he was awarded the Presidency of the Scottish Bakers in 1999-2000. Dad felt honored to have this accolade bestowed on him. His only regret being that mum had passed away some two years previous so never got to see him being honored in this way.

Dad was an active member of the Aberdeen Bakers Incorporation, where he was ex-Deacon. He would regularly attend functions of the Seven Incorporated Trades at Trinity Hall, and he developed lifelong friendships with many of the Aberdeen bakers.

Dad was a great friend to many and also a fantastic father, brother, grandfather and uncle.

Rest in Peace.

Dan Smith

With only 1.5 employees Bad Girl Bakery is probably one of the smallest businesses to join Scottish Bakers! Based in the Highlands, We started in 2014 as a small, part time home based business but less than two years the business has grown, moved to purpose built premises and is set for further expansion this year. We sell at community and farmers markets and large scale events all across the highlands and north of Scotland. We also supply local cafés and farm shops and have our own weekly delivery service called Cake Friday as well as successful pop up shops, events and private orders.

We also use social media successfully to develop the business with a strong online following with over 3000 active followers on Facebook. We make a range of cakes, biscuits and tray bakes using the best ingredients and are all about indulgence. Our cakes are generously sized, filled, flavoured and topped with a focus on a changing seasonal menu and interesting flavour combinations.

@ HMP Low Moss The Freedom Bakery is a social enterprise based at HMP Low Moss, near Glasgow, training people in prison in artisan baking with the intention of finding an industry-related career post-release.

Our philosophy is that learning within a full operational and self-sustaining enterprise-model is the most pragmatic approach to create employability prospects for people in prison, because it allows them to hold responsibility and feel that they are a part of a respected and productive team. Sustainable employment has been shown to decrease reoffending dramatically. For every person with a conviction who can stay in employment, the Scottish taxpayer is saved £940,000 per individual. Freedom Bakery is a non-profit community interest company, which was registered in April 2015. It is the first social enterprise to establish itself within a prison in Scotland, after successfully lobbying the Cabinet Secretary.

www.geniusglutenfree.com The day we set out to bake a gluten-free loaf that tasted every bit as good as traditional bread, we knew we’d set ourselves quite a challenge. But our inherent love of food meant we left no loaf tin unturned until we hit on the winning recipe - and so ‘Genius’ seemed like the perfect name to reward all our hard work.

Our motivation was quite simple: we felt everybody deserved to enjoy the pleasure of a delicious bacon sarnie or a hot buttery piece of toast. There are just three simple rules to make it into our ever-growing range: it has to taste great, it has to be the best quality and of course, it has to be gluten-free. Our beloved bread was our first creation but we’ve gone on to make everything from bagels and crumpets to pies, pancakes and pain au chocolat. Our wide range of products are now enjoyed in a number of countries across the globe including in Europe, Australia, the Netherlands, United Arab Emirates and North Africa.

www.kingdombakeries.co.uk enquiries@kingdombakeries.co.uk Kingdom Bakeries is based in Kirkcaldy in Fife and is a leading supplier of wholesale products to a broad customer base. This includes major supermarket chains, such as, Aldi, Lidl, Tesco and Morrisons. Our bakers use only the finest ingredients and traditional Scottish recipes, meaning you can taste the quality and heritage in all of our products. We consistently meet the volumes and high quality standards our diverse customer base has come to expect.

We continue to grow the business, whilst maintaining our unwavering focus on quality and customer service.

www.thebreadwinner.co.uk The Breadwinner is an Artisan bakery, supplying the foodservice industry and over 30 retail concessions within Scotmid Co-operative stores. At The Breadwinner we’re passionate about baking. Since 1973 our master craftsmen bakers have been baking in Edinburgh - kneading and shaping dough by hand. We prefer to use traditional, simple methods and allow time to naturally enhance our products, rather than adding anything that would change the quality or flavour of our breads. We’re proud of our heritage - and work hard to supply breads, cakes and pastries that are locally made, freshly baked and full of flavour.

ASSOCIATE MEMBERS Merit Technology continues to expand throughout Scotland, providing business software solutions for many bakers and food manufacturers. FoodLogik is function rich, cost effective, offering direct interfaces to many partners e.g. C2Epos, Epos Group & Stevens Scales. Having one of our most successful periods of late, we’d like to welcome R T Stuart, Goodfellow & Steven, Harry Gow & Thomas Auld to the ever expanding user group.

Taxing most bakers currently is the need to generate Nutritional and Allergen data before the Government deadline of December 2016.

Merit’s FoodLogik suite is fully integrated including Order Processing, Stock Control, Purchase Invoice Matching, Works Orders and importantly the Product Technical Specification module work seamlessly, with no requirement for third-party applications such as Nutricalc or Web based systems which require individual attention to keep recipes and suppliers’ technical specifications updated. Foodlogik stores all the data in one central repository for quick and easy access.

For more information visit www.foodlogik.co.uk

Rademaker is specialised in the development and supply of innovative solutions for the bakery industry. Taking the process or product requirement as the start of each development we excel at transforming an artisan method into a more automated process, while maintaining the characteristics that have made the product so successful.

We are proud to be one of the front runners in the bakery industry, with a service that goes well beyond the delivery and installation of bakery production lines. Our latest technology provides customers with solutions resulting in flexible production lines and turn-key solutions and 24/7 service support is offered all over the world.

The development process starts in the Rademaker Technology Centre, where production processes and recipes are tested and developed together with our customers. Rademaker is an expert in stress-free dough handling and our portfolio contains a wide range of dough processing machines.

A unique combination of proven and new technology plus attention for detail, all based on customer requirements, guarantee Rademaker to be the perfect partner in the bakery industry.

For more information visit www.rademaker.com

The Scottish Baker

Raising Champions within the Bakery Sector

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The Scottish Baker

Raising Champions within the Bakery Sector

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‘Paul the Baker’

Fuelled by Bread and Cakes

The BAker’s Scoop

NFDT Trainer Paul White is set to cycle 100 miles for the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation as part of a team of 16 on Sunday 31st July.

Paul said “In January, I decided it was time to get a bit fitter, but my dilemma was I am a baker and I love bread and cakes and all things bakery, in fact the only running I have done is when the alarm went off saying the bread was ready! So I decided to start cycling since running was out of the question!

Glasgow Circular Economy President Craig McPhie was recently involved in the launch of a new study into the potential of Glasgow to be a global leader in the circular economy. The study commissioned through a partnership with Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, Zero Waste Scotland and Glasgow City Council, looks at how to make the region’s urban economy more circular and create opportunities for the business community.

After successfully completing a few ‘smallish’ charity bike rides, I was really chuffed to be asked to ride at Ride London which is around 100 miles for the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation.

I’m really looking forward to the challenge and raising as much money as possible.“

L-R: President Craig McPhie and West Brewery Founder Petra Wetzel

Incorporation of Glasgow Bakers Student Evening

L-R: Student David Curston is recognised at the Incorporation of Glasgow Bakers Student Evening

L-R: Student Shannon Smillie is recognised at the Incorporation of Glasgow Bakers Student Evening

President Craig McPhie and Chief Executive Alan Clarke were invited by the Incorporation of Glasgow Bakers to speak at their student evening at the end of May. Other speakers included former Deacon Bruce Reidford, Company Secretary at Tunnocks and Professor Maurice Taylor MBE. Two students , David Curston and Shannon Smillie were recognised on the night for excellence.

It was really heartening to hear the passion that they have for baking. Scottish Bakers now has a strategic partnership agreement in place with Glasgow College. Bakers in Glasgow will host bakery induction visits and enable students to apply for any part time vacancies that they have and both organisations will share learning resources.

Please donate: www.justgiving.com/Paul-White54

Good Luck Paul from all the Scottish Bakers Team!!

Paul White Gets Ready for his 100 mile cycle

Federation of Bakers Conference Edgbaston The conference was attended by more than 200 people and was hosted by award winning broadcaster Gavin Esler, covering a wide range of topics. The keynote presentation was ‘From Front Line to Finish Line’ by ex-Royal Marine Joe Townsend. He had suffered life changing injuries losing both legs in an IED explosion in Afghanistan.

Through an amazing feat of personal courage and determination Joe managed to overcome his injuries and is now an accomplished world class para-athlete training for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

Joe shared his remarkable journey which was an inspirational end to the conference.

Joe Townsend presents at The FOB Conference

Thain’s to Supply the New Pittodrie Pie

The Breadwinner Bakery & Scotmid Initiative at Sciennes Primary School

Aberdeen Football Club has announced a new partnership with Thain’s Bakery to supply the new Pittodrie Pie. The partnership comes after a survey of supporters stated that they would like to see local suppliers involved with the club and Thain’s mince pie was unanimously selected by a panel of Dons supporters.

The Breadwinner Bakery and Scotmid have been involved in an initiative that involved visiting Sciennes Primary School in Marchmont in June. The class was given a lesson from Sean McVey on how to bake and make breads and muffins. The children were then split up into different working parties, where they chose the name of their bakery and then designed a loaf and a muffin, these were then made and judged by the school, Sean and Stephen Brown of Scotmid. The two winning products were then made up and sold that weekend in three of Scotmid stores with the funds going directly to the school.

Scottish Bakers meeting with British Baker Scottish Bakers President Craig McPhie and Chief Executive Alan Clarke recently met with Lorraine Hendle and Sonia Young from British Baker to explore better ways of working together.

Stacy Byrne of Border Biscuits announces the Strawberry Patch donation

Sean McVey of The Breadwinner with children from Sciennes Primary School

Border Biscuits Donates Strawberry Patch

Mortons Rolls Sponsor 2016 Our Heroes Awards Dinner

Border Biscuits has donated a strawberry patch to Lanark Community Development Trust to support its regeneration of Castlebank Park. The community strawberry patch is set to inspire budding young gardeners and encourage the local community to get involved with the many local initiatives organised by the volunteers at the Development Trust.

Mortons Rolls were one of the sponsors of the 2016 Our Heroes Awards Dinner held in Glasgow this year. Around 500 people watched as many deserving community Heroes picked up their awards. Awards included Community Hero, Emergency Services Hero, and Caring hero. Fred McAuley hosted the event with performances from KT Tunstall, Nicholas McDonald and Simple Minds. Mortons Rolls as part of their sponsorship hosted the ‘Mortons Midnight Breakfast’.

David Tanner of Sky Sports sampling a Mortons Roll

The Scottish Baker

Raising Champions within the Bakery Sector

Page Page 13 14

The Scottish Baker

Raising Champions within the Bakery Sector

Utilities

Since the last newsletter, 95 candidates from 48 businesses all over the UK have successfully achieved their Apprenticeship Training though the support and guidance of National Food and Drink Training (NFDT) Here’s what Cobb’s of Inverness had to say...

Scottish Baker Utilities has supported over 50 Scottish Baker members to get the best deal from their utilities, saving anything between £250 - £20,000 per business! We specialise in securing the very best price and products in the commercial gas, electric, water and telecoms markets.

We are a small bakery beside Loch Ness which makes cakes and traybakes from scratch. Our philosophy is that we would not use any ingredient that would not be in our store cupboard at home.

Hamilton Bakers from Hamilton was the first member to use Scottish Bakers Utilities, saving £4,000 over the next three years. Home Bakery Buckie signed up both of their sites with a new Electricity supplier for 1 Year, saving approximately £4,500.

The bakery wanted to undertake the training as we felt our employees would benefit from a structured training course with a reputable training body. Cobbs chose NFDT as they are recognised within the industry and the qualification attained by our employees would benefit the company and their own personal development. The fact that there is no cost to the business other than the time that is provided to allow our employees to carry out their course work is a fantastic benefit.

Scottish Bakers Utilities Manager - Mark Livingstone added: “We constantly compare live prices and analyse performance to ensure members get the best deal” “We monitor the wholesale energy market to avoid negotiating in periods of inflated prices” “We consolidate group contracts to maximise your purchasing power” “We advise on contract lengths, allowing members to renew contracts when prices are lower” “We provide free smart meters to help cut down on estimated billing and control costs” “We provide a simple and efficient service for installation of new Gas and Electric meters” “We provide the option of flexible contracts” “We work closely with our suppliers to enable members to take advantage of market dips” “We provide a “no win no fee” service for supplier/customer disputes”

“We provide a free energy walk around to help cut costs” If you would like to find out how your business can ‘save’ please contact, Email: Mark@direct-energy.net, Mob: 07762945281 quoting your Scottish Bakers Membership Number or Business Name.

Discounted rates available for Scottish Bakers Members

Kate and her team were the sole occupational health providers to the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and to the well-known Scottish project - the Queensferry Crossing.

As a member of Scottish Bakers you can access the following services within your premises or within their city centre clinics:

We value all of our staff and want to develop their potential.

The business hoped to achieve a higher level of understanding from their employees, plus develop their self-confidence and skill level. The training has definitely benefited our business in the fact that it is recognised by outside auditors who can see that we are committed to staff development and training.

One of our staff members said to me “It is the best course he has done and he feels he can relate what he is doing on a day to day basis to what he is being asked on his course work, which makes the learning process enjoyable for him”.

Menu: • Lung function and skin assessment • Audiometry (hearing tests) • Face Mask fitting • Drivers Medicals (from delivery vans to fork lift trucks) • Safety Critical Medical assessments Other Services: • First Aid at Work training • Fit for Work/Sickness absence medicals • Pre-placement health assessments • Health screening including cholesterol Meet Kate in person at our Regional Seminars - more on Pg 15 For more information and/or to receive your discount code, contact: angie@scottishbakers.org or call 01383 661 555

Developing Skills in the Food & Drink Industry

What Apprenticeships do NFDT Offer?

Scotland Modern Apprenticeships in Food & Drink Operations

SCQF

Automated Plant Bakery Skills

Level 5

Craft Bakery Skills

Level 5

Dairy Industry Skills

Level 5

Distribution Skills

Level 5

Food Sales and Service Skills

Level 5

Production and Processing Skills

Level 5

Bakery Skills

Level 6

Food and Drink Operations

Level 6

Supply Chain Skills

Level 6

Food Manufacturing Excellence

Levels 5&6

England & Northern Ireland Certificate for Proficiency in Baking Industry Skills

Level

Craft Bakery Skills

Level 2

Retail & Service Support Skills

Level 2

Our staff have gained in confidence and work knowledge and feel valued by their company.

Process Bakery Skills

Level 2

Production Control Skills

Level 2

Rory Cameron, Managing Director, Cobb’s

Distribution Skills

Level 2

Facilities Support Skills

Level 2

Specialist Management Skills

Level 3

Specialist Supply Chain Skills

Level 3

Specialist Technical Skills

Level 3

Specialist Improvement Skills

Level 3

Specialist Craft Bakery Skills

Level 3

Certificate for Proficiency in Food Manufacturing Excellence

Levels

Food Manufacturing Excellence

Levels 2&3

I would most definitely recommend NFDT to other companies because I found our advisor very easy to work with.

He immediately made people feel at ease and was very encouraging and patient with his attitude.

WHAT IS AN APPRENTICESHIP?

occupational health service

Since 2001, Kate Sweeney, Nurse Director, heads up a team of professional Nurses, Doctors and First Aid instructors.

National Food & Drink Training

A THIRST FOR KNOWLEDGE!

Are you getting the most from your Scottish Bakers Membership Benefits?

Scottish Bakers is working in partnership with a well-established Glasgow based Occupational health service who specialise in offering the required legislative health care needs for all employees.

Page 14

An apprenticeship is a work based learning programme which gives employers the opportunity to train new or existing staff in a variety of topics. It can often be seen as a fresh and exciting opportunity for staff to enhance and/or update their skills set, which more than often leads to a more productive, motivated and confident workplace/force.

HS1

Accredited: Food Hygiene & Health and Safety

If you would like to find out more about NFDT Apprenticeship programme or our bite-size learning courses and Online training, please contact: Scott Anderson scott@nfdt.org 07702 520 524 Turn the page to book your place on our Autumn Scottish Bakers and NFDT regional roadshows.

The Scottish Baker

Raising Champions within the Bakery Sector

Page 15

National Food & Drink Training

REGIONAL SEMINARS 2016

Developing Skills in the Food & Drink Industry

Kindly supported by

KEY TOPICS • NEW NUTRITIONAL LABELLING REGULATIONS • OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & FLOUR DUST • EMPLOYMENT LAW UPDATE • JAMES ALLAN BAKERY ACADEMY

To book your free place contact Lucy Carpenter Tel. 01383 661555 Email lucy@scottishbakers.org

Raising Champions within the Bakery Sector

- 3.30pm 09.30am inverness ober 25th oct n aberdee th october 26 w glasgo th november 8

The last few months have been a busy time for the Scottish Bakers Export Group, starting off with the Global Insights annual event closely followed by New York’s Summer Fancy Food Show.

On the 8th and 9th of June, many of the Scottish Bakers Export Group members made their way to beautiful Stirlingshire to attend the Scotland Food and Drink Global Market Insight Event. Following on from last year’s successful event, Scotland Development International put on a full and eventful programme of international learning opportunities for export focused businesses in the food and drink sector.

Food and Drink Specialists from France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Benelux, Nordics, Russia, Middle East, Canada, USA, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Thailand provided insightful masterclasses and one to one surgeries. Networking and discussion groups took place throughout the course of the event which provided many businesses with a unique opportunity to ask their own personal questions and learn many of the common themes and trends.

A breakfast meeting was organised exclusively for Scottish Bakers Export Group members. All the Food and Drink specialists were invited to critique the Bakers products and hear their story.

It was an educational and worthwhile experience for all involved.

“I feel us Bakers are so privileged to get all these guys to ourselves for this informal meeting. I hope I can speak for all those showing their products that the specialists’ feedback and advice is so good. It gives me a great insight on how I have to tweak my own strategy/products to make maximum impact in these markets.“ Lewis Maclean, Maclean’s Highland Bakery

2 / 8 Cross Wynd, Dunfermline, Fife KY12 7AP

“I would like to also echo the comments to a well organised event. I’m not surprised though as it shows the quality of our Scottish Bakers organisation and also SDI who did a great job.”

Gary Reid, Reids of Caithness

FOR SALE

“A special thanks to the bakers who came along to the briefing and participated with such positive enthusiasm.”

Dawn Lamarra, International Senior Executive/Food & Drink Team

• • • • •

Long established Family Run Bakery / Café Business Located in the heart of Scotland’s ancient capital Substantial property with underlying redevelopment potential Offers invited for the freehold & business as a single entity Consideration may be given to a long leasehold interest

CONFIDENTIALITY Please note that the staff are unaware of the impending sale and therefore no approach should be made direct with all enquiries strictly via the selling agents, Messrs Graham + Sibbald, 11 Manor Place, Edinburgh.

VIEWING & FURTHER INFORMATION Ross Wilson MRICS Associate Tel. 0131 240 5318 Email ross.wilson@g-s.co.uk

Joe Helps Surveyor Tel. 0131 240 5291 Email joe.helps@g-s.co.uk

Page 16

SCOTTISH BAKERS EXPORT GROUP UPDATE SF&D Global market insights event, 8th & 9th June

FUTURE PROOFING THE INDUSTRY

• FOOD MANUFACTURING EXCELLENCE TECHNIQUES

The Scottish Baker

Scottish Bakers Export Group Breakfast Meeting at the SF&D Global Market Insights Event

SUMMER FANCY FOODS SHOW The Summer Fancy Food Show (SFFS) 26-28 June 2016 is one of North America’s largest food shows. Over the three days of the show, 180,000 products were showcased by 2,500 exhibitors from over 100 countries. SFFS is the largest speciality premium grocery, dairy, bakery, deli and craft spirit products show in North America for food service, retail and catering, as well as being a global trade event for buyers, importers, distributors, retailers, food service and cruise ship operators, which are key targets for Scottish food and drink companies.

The focus of Scotland at SFFS was the provision of a national Scottish pavilion and learning journey which brought together a group of Scottish companies under a powerfully branded Scotland – Land of Food and Drink stand. The event and learning journey (LJ) also tied in with a major launch of the Scottish Dairy brand, held in conjunction with Atlanta, one of Americas leading food importers and distributors. This event featured two Scottish Bakery companies, McGhee’s and Lazy Day Foods.

The Scottish exhibition stand showcased 19 companies and formed part of the wider UK group at the show which was organised by UKTI. Scottish Bakers partners, SDI organised and project managed the Scottish stand with SDI in-market specialists arranging the two day LJ programme involving store visits and 1-2-1 meetings throughout the show. Each company had opportunities to attend the UKTI Buyers Networking Reception as well as feature their products at the Atlanta reception.

Two Scottish Bakers companies were featured at the show: McGhee’s & Reids of Caithness.

If you are interesting in joining the Scottish Bakers Export Group, contact: Angie@scottishbakers.org

The Scottish Baker

Raising Champions within the Bakery Sector

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The Scottish Baker

Raising Champions within the Bakery Sector

Page 18

Ashers Bakery, Nairn Ashers Bakery was established in 1877 and in 2014 was awarded the title of Scottish Baker of the Year. They produce & wholesale quality bakery products throughout the UK & have fourteen of their own shops and cafes around the Moray Firth area. They have a GM Free bakery with over 150 employees. The business is owned & managed by brothers Alister & George Asher. It was a pleasure to visit Ashers Bakery and it is easy to see why they are a previous winner of Scottish Baker of the Year. They are continuing to expand their presence in Scot-mid and again it was incredible to see the innovation in product, packaging and promotion.

Inverness Dinner at Café 1 It was great to see that many bakers took the time to join us for dinner and we were pleased to see one of our newest members Bad Girl Bakery attend. It gave bakers the opportunity to catch up and informally discuss issues that they are currently facing particularly in light of the Brexit vote, the recent introduction of the National Living Wage, changes in the bakery wholesale market and changes in the funding rates of apprentices.

L-R Aliste r Asher

Tuesday

President Craig McPhie and Chief Executive Alan Clarke spent a week visiting our members in the Highlands and Islands. They visited a baker’s dozen - Thirteen bakeries and hosted dinners with bakers on each of the evenings. President Craig McPhie said “I have been absolutely amazed and impressed by the quality of baking in the Highlands. To see first-hand the innovation that is going on, it is no surprise that we have two previous winners of Scottish Baker of the Year and the current Wholesale Baker of the Year in the area.”

As well as meeting the needs of local customers, many are supplying other islands and other areas in Scotland and the UK with many now selling internationally as well. This has brought major innovations and attention to detail to differentiate products from competitors and also to meet the needs of customers who are seeking more healthy products or wheat free products etc.

Monday

Monday

Maclean’s Highland Bakery, Forres Maclean’s Highland Bakery is a family owned business and has been trading from its headquarters in Forres since 1978. The company produces high quality bakery products, which are supplied to a range of customers through their five retail bakery shops, also to supermarkets including Tesco and the Co-Op and internationally including exports to the USA, China, Canada, Denmark, and France.

Lewis, his family and senior team put on a great lunch when we arrived at the bakery. As well as touring the bakery we had the opportunity to visit two of their shops in Forres, which have recently undergone make overs. It is fantastic to see the amount of innovation that is going on particularly in relation to exports.

an wis Macle ig with Le ra C d n a n L-R Ala

L-R Carol Shewan with Craig

4 th Ju

ly 2016 9.41am Craig to meet Ala n Station.

Both tra at Perth Train vel to Inve rness 12.30pm Maclea ns High land Ba kery 3.00pm Ashers Bakery 7.30pm Dinner with Inve rness Ba kers at C afé 1

Harry Gow’s Bakery, Inverness Harry Gow’s first opened its doors in July 1979, with just four employees, nowadays it is a flourishing family business with more than 100 employees. It was fantastic to see the new equipment, expansion plans and exciting days ahead for Harry Gow. Their expansion into the Co-Op has seen a dramatic rise in business and the product range is top quality with new lines of confectionery also being introduced. It was incredible to see at first hand, the techniques that they use and they have shared these with us for use in the James Allan Bakery Academy. A lot of the videos in the new online academy were filmed in their bakery and the passion for our trade runs through the whole family.

and Ala n

016

ly 2 5 Ju y a d s e Tu th

Presidential Highland Tour

with Cra ig

m 9.00a ow G y Harr m 11.30a ke a tb o c S m 2.00p akers B Cobbs

h the m 7.30p in Thurso wit r Dinne mily a Reid F

L-R The Gow Fam ily

Cobbs Bakery, Drumnadrochit Cobbs Bakery was established in 2002 when they purchased a farmhouse bakery and inherited a lovely range of traditional home-baked cakes and a baker! Situated on the shores of Loch Ness at Drumnadrochit, it originally supplied its own coffee shops and is currently supplying major visitor attractions and other coffee shops throughout the UK. The business is certainly flourishing and there are ambitious plans to build a purpose made bakery close to the existing site. The business started when the new owners inherited a baker when purchasing the original café business and they haven’t looked back and the bakery is now the main stay of the business which is currently employing 30 employees and growing!

with Cra ig and A lan

yle g Advisor K FDT Trainin N h it w bbs Team L-R The Co raig and Alan hC it w r Rodge

Scotbake, Inverness Scotbake was established in Inverness in 1994, the company daily supplies a broad customer base including independent stores, the convenience sector, multiple customers, food service customers and school supply. As well as being a large bakery, they are also a major distributor of bakery and food products across the Highlands & Islands including brands such as Hovis, Kingsmill and Warburtons. Their delivery area is bigger than the size of Belgium and they produce a large range of traditional Scottish products.

L-R Alan, Craig and David Skeoch of Scotbake

The Scottish Baker

Raising Champions within the Bakery Sector

WEDNESDAY

Reids of Caithness, Thurso Reids is based in the historic town of Thurso at the uppermost region of Scotland. The business was established by the Reid family in 1966 and they take pride in their commitment to time-honoured, handcrafted baking methods.

Although their roots are firmly steeped in tradition, a refreshingly innovative approach also lies at the heart of their success. It was breathtaking to see the range of products, the number of countries to which they export and the range of packaging in a variety of different languages. Their commitment to training is paramount, which is testament to the quality of the products being produced.

It was just fantastic to see the passion for the business in husband and wife, Gary & Tracy Reid.

It was also lovely to meet up with the team including their daughter Mia and Gary’s dad Donnie.

Page 19

Wednesday 6 th

9.00am Annie’s Bak

July 2016

ery 11.30am Reids of Caith ness 3.00pm Arrive in Str omness 7.30pm Dinner at Th e Str with Orkney ba omness Hotel kers

Raising Champions within the Bakery Sector

THURSDAY

Rendalls Bakery, Kirkwall Rendall’s Bakery began in 1979 when George Rendall’s father John, who lived in Westray and worked at WFM Brown, moved into Kirkwall and started up his own bakery. When he retired, the running of the business was taken over by George and his wife Ruth who are now joined in the business by their own children Katie and Greg. The bakery supplies a wide range of traditional Scottish products both through their own shops and to wholesale markets. They are very proud of the consistent quality of their products and the business continues to flourish.

Argo’s Bakery, Stromness

Annie’s Bakery, Upper Gills Annie’s Bakery is at Bridle Way, Upper Gills, six miles from John O’ Groats and two minutes from the ferry at Gills Bay which sails to Orkney.

It is owned and run by Annie Body. The bakery has six rooms; two Bakery rooms, the Cake Studio, a Gluten Free room, a storage room and an office.

The bakery supplies a range of wholesale customers and specialises in celebration cakes and their products can be bought in John O’Groats, Thurso, Castletown and Wick. Annie is in her early 20’s and has had the business for two years and her next milestone is to open a retail shop. The passion from the whole family was evident and we are confident that Annie is a rising star of the future.

The Scottish Baker

eir Reid and th y and Tracy ar G t si vi ig d Cra Caithness L-R Alan an ia at Reids of daughter M

Argo’s Bakery is situated in Stromness, which is the second largest town on the Orkney Islands. As well as bread, cakes and biscuits they also make Orkney Fudge. They have three shops, one in the capital Kirkwall and two in Stromness offering bakery products, hot and cold food and a comprehensive range of groceries including the best food that Orkney has to offer, from Orkney Whisky and Ales to locally-produced farmhouse cheeses. Ewan & Jenna McDill were really enthusiastic and it was just great to see the bakery in production especially the hand skills used. We also had the opportunity to witness fudge making and you could see the skilled crafts people really enjoying their work. There are challenges being on an island but the commitment to quality and consistency was evident to see throughout the business.

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016

y2 7 Jul y a d s r Thu th

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bster,

cra 4.45pm omness to S tr S Ferry el to Wick av then tr

am

the te 7.45pm in Wick with r y e r n Din Bake nnie’s from A

Stockan’s, Stromness Stockan’s has been producing high quality oatcakes in Stromness for more than 100 years. Every oatcake that they sell has been made in Orkney and then shipped from the islands to customers all over the world. They supply all of the major multiples in Scotland and also provide oatcakes for a wide variety retailers including farm shops, delis and the catering industry. Oatcakes are gaining in popularity within the health food sector, with consumers recognising oatcakes as a product low on the Glycemic Index. Oatcakes are also high in fibre, full of the goodness of oats - with no hydrogenated fats. It was amazing seeing the manufacturing process and the precision and care taken with every oatcake with many of the processes still being undertaken by hand. It was a privilege to visit and we wish them well for the next 100 years.

L-R Alan, C raig, Georg e Rendall an d Greg

Rendall

n Bakery in actio The Harry Gow

Meganne Shearer hard at work at Annie’s Baker y

Bakery Annie’s t a n d Ala aig an L-R Cr

Cafe 1 inner at red for d e th a g Bakers Inverness

L-R Craig and Alan stop off to see Susan Marwick at Stockan’s

visit Craig n and L-R Ala

Bakery Argo’s

The Scottish Baker

Raising Champions within the Bakery Sector

FRIDAY

RG MacDonald, Wick Based in Wick, RG MacDonald is a family business. The owner Brian Anderson has been a baker all of his life and bought it from the previous owner on their retirement. They stock a full range of traditional Scottish products and as well as their own shop they have an extensive wholesale market. As he was showing us around you could see that Brian takes enormous pride in his business. For the size of the business the bakery is compact and all of the team were used to working around each other and although at times there were very busy, the standards required never dropped once. There are many issues being so far north of Scotland’s most northerly city yet the bakery continues to thrive, although this can bring challenges.

Page 21

Friday 8 th

7.00am RG Ma cd

July 20

16

onald 8.30am Depart Wick fo r Croma rty Ferry Visiting Cromart yB & The Th akery ree Little Bakers en route Return To Edinb urgh & Glasgow

Cromarty Bakery, Cromarty Following a short boat ride on the Cromarty Ferry we arrived in Cromarty where Cromarty Bakery has its bakery and a retail shop.

We then paid a visit to the small neighbouring village of Fortrose where Cromarty Bakery has recently opened its second shop.

We met with Donna and were amazed how busy the bakery was.

She fed us a super lunch of filled rolls and beautiful pastries, the quality of the products was outstanding and she was so enthusiastic that her son also worked in the business, in the Cromarty shop. She mentioned that she used to attend the conferences in Peebles many years ago and we obviously tried to encourage her to attend future events. Although she does think a bakers conference to a far flung place like Jamaica for a week would be popular in February each year!

Three Little Bakers, Inverness Three Little Bakers is owned and run by Patrick and Jane Murphy.

They are a small family run bakery with one shop and also have wholesale customers in the area. They make a range of high quality bread, rolls, cakes and hot and cold savouries.

The business has been going since 1996 and they are very proud of having won best morning roll in their region for the last two years at the Scottish Baker of the Year Awards. They were so enthusiastic and we were very impressed with their use of the Scottish Baker of the Year logo with large posters in their window and decals on their delivery vans. They also have their next generation coming through with their son, Aaron working in the bakery as well. Again it was just fantastic to listen to how enthusiastic they are about their business and the pride they take in how they make it, display it and sell it! It’s great to see the entrepreneurial spirit that exists and the pride that they have in all that they have achieved.

Anderson of RG Macdonald L-R Craig and Alan with Brian

L-R Craig

rs ree Little Bake team at The Th e th sit vi n la A L-R Craig and

and Alan visit Don na Hend at Crom erson arty Bak ery

The Scottish Baker

Raising Champions within the Bakery Sector

President Craig McPhie was very enthusiastic at the end of the week, “I would like to say a personal thank you to every one of the bakers who took the time to meet with us and who opened their doors and talked so openly about their business. I want to reiterate that my door is always open to any baker in Scotland who would like to visit me in Glasgow. It has been a long and tiring week but there is no doubt baking is alive and well in the highlands and islands.”

Chief Executive Alan Clarke added: “The welcome we received in every bakery was second to none, the openness and generosity of bakers never fails to impress me. The innovation that is happening in the bakery sector is most definitely world-class. It was great to see our training and services being utilised and valued by our members.

We look forward to our next visit.”

Page 22

SCOTTISH BAKER EVENTS 2016/17 Scottish Bakers 125th Anniversary Dinner

3rd September 2016

Sheraton Hotel, Edinburgh

Baking Industry Awards

7th September 2016

London Hilton, Park Lane, London

Scottish Bakers Board Meeting

14 September 2016

Bakers House, Dunfermline

IAMB Biennial Conference

23rd & 24th September 2016

Lyrath Estate Hotel, Kilkenny

BSB Autumn Conference

11 & 12 October 2016

Woodland Grange Hotel and Conference Centre, Leamington Spa

Scottish Bakers/NFDT Regional Seminar

25th October 2016

Inverness

Scottish Bakers/NFDT Regional Seminar

26th October 2016

Aberdeen

Scottish Bakers AGM & Strategy Away Days

1st & 2nd November 2016

Westerwood Hotel, Cumbernauld

Scottish Bakers/NFDT Regional Seminar

8th November 2016

Glasgow

Scotch Pie Awards Judging

9th November 2016

Carnegie Conference Centre, Dunfermline

Scottish Bakers Northern Dance

12th November 2016

Skyway Hotel (formerly the Airport Thistle), Aberdeen

Irish Bakers Benevolent Society Ball

18th November 2016

Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin

Worshipful Company of Bakers Election Dinner

28 November 2016

London

Scotch Pie Awards Lunch

11th January 2017

Westerwood Hotel, Cumbernauld

th

th

th

th

Applications invited for STF Awards 2016 Applications are now being welcomed for the Scottish Federation of Training (STF) Awards 2016.

Eleven categories are being contested in the popular competition which received over 70 applications last year.

• • • • • • • • • • •

Modern Apprentice of the Year Employability Candidate of the Year Success in Partnership Provider of Quality Training Innovation in Training Most Innovative and Creative Employability Provider of the Year Large Employer of the Year Medium Employer of the Year Small Employer of the Year Employability Provider of the Year STF Provider of the Year

The closing date for completed applications is Monday 1 August 2016.

The winners will be announced at the STF Annual Conference on Tuesday 27 September at a ceremony hosted by Kaye Adams and Judith Ralston.

Sunny outlook! BBC weather presenter, Judith Ralston, launches the STF Awards 2016. (L-R): Judith Ralston; Lindsay McLelland, learndirect; Brian Carmichael, Tigers; Pauline Scott, Lullaby Nursery; Stuart Leitch, Chair, STF

The Judging Panel for this year’s competition is: Denise Monteith, Scottish Qualifications Authority; Denise Smith, Institute of Leadership and Management; Laura Peacock, Investors in People Scotland; and Pauline Sutton, Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework Partnership. For more info: www.stf.org.uk/stf-awards-2016/

SCOTTISH BAKERS BAKERS HOUSE, UNIT 2 HALBEATH INTERCHANGE BUSINESS PARK, KINGSEAT ROAD, HALBEATH, DUNFERMLINE, KY11 8RY TEL 01383 661555 WWW.SCOTTISHBAKERS.ORG