13 minute read
Events & awards
OUR COMPETITIONS SHINE A SPOTLIGHT ON SOME OF THE BEST BAKERY PRODUCTS AND BUSINESSES SCOTLAND HAS TO OFFER.
EVENTS & AWARDS ANNUAL REPORT & YEARBOOK 2018/2019
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SCOTCH PIE AWARDS
OVER 450 PIES AND SAVOURIES DESCENDED ON DUNFERMLINE AS BUTCHERS AND BAKERS FROM FAR AND WIDE VIED FOR A PLACE AT THE 20TH WORLD SCOTCH PIE CHAMPIONSHIP. American Kevin Haggard popped across the pond for the third year running to deliver his pies in person, while Ian Nelson returned as Head Judge, ready to cast his expert eye over proceedings. As ever, November’s judging was anonymous, and Ian’s team of 50 industry-savvy judges set about carefully examining the entries. Marks were given for appearance (both external and internal), smell, texture, and taste. The top-ranked butchers and bakers were then subject to mystery shop judging to make sure the products available to the public were just as good. Fast-forward to January 15th, when 200 plus hopefuls assembled to enjoy a spot of lunch and, more importantly, hear the results. TV host Carol Smillie took up the mic for the fourth year in a row, and she did a wonderful job of keeping the audience on tenterhooks throughout. Bronze, Silver, Gold and Diamond awards were handed out for each category, but the best was saved for last. The room collectively held its breath as the 20th World Scotch Pie Champion was revealed, before erupting into applause as a speechless Kerr Little of The Little Bakery, Dumfries, rose to accept the accolade. Thanks again to our awards partner BAKO North Western Group, and to all individual category sponsors.
SCOTTISH BAKER OF THE YEAR LAUNCH EVENT
2019’S SEARCH FOR SCOTTISH BAKER OF THE YEAR GOT UNDERWAY IN MARCH. REIGNING CHAMPIONS, BROWNINGS THE BAKERS OF KILMARNOCK, PLAYED HOST. Following a dinner for the awards sponsors the night before, the official launch got off to a “sticky” start. Pupils from Onthank and Galston Primary Schools were tasked by competition Ambassador Mich Turner MBE and Head Judge Robert Ross to jam and ice Empire Biscuits, apply fondant to Pineapple Cups, and add a cream filling to Yum Yums and Donuts. The icing on the cake came with the fantastically fun Mich Turner technical challenge: to buttercream a cupcake to her exacting standards! “Our bakery has never seen the like,” said John Gall of Brownings the Bakers. “Since winning, our business has gone from strength to strength and we have been able to share our success with all of our customers by continuing to provide the best baked goods day in and day out.” Thanks to our competition sponsors for their continued support, and to John Gall, and the Brownings team for their hospitality.
EVENTS & AWARDS ANNUAL REPORT & YEARBOOK 2018/2019
SINCE WINNING, OUR BUSINESS HAS GONE FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH...” John Gall, Brownings the Bakers
EVENTS & AWARDS ANNUAL REPORT & YEARBOOK 2018/2019
SCOTTISH BAKER OF THE YEAR PRODUCT JUDGING
8,000 CUSTOMER VOTES, AND A WHOPPING 30,000 INDIVIDUAL PRODUCT VOTES LATER, THE MOST POPULAR PRODUCTS PROGRESSED TO JUDGING DAY. The date: 17th April 2019. The venue: Carnegie Conference Centre, Dunfermline. The mission: Select the best of the best bakery products Scotland has to offer. Head Judge Robert Ross and his panel of 50 expert judges set about assessing the most popular 850 products, with each company and product given a unique code to ensure anonymity.
The products were judged regionally - Highlands, Islands & Grampian, Central Belt & Tayside, and Borders & Lowlands - with those receiving a bronze award or above moving forward to be judged for the national prizes. In the end, the judges awarded 83 regional and 37 national individual product awards.
Choosing Scottish Baker of the Year 2019/20 Claiming the title of Scotland’s best baker, however, requires more than a good bake. It takes real business acumen.
And when bronze award winners and above were invited to submit a paper-based business entry, and undertake a telephone interview with the business judging panel, it meant we got one step closer to discovering this year’s winner. Final tallies were taken from the combined paper and phone scores, plus a weighting for their product awards. All that was left was the big reveal.
SCOTTISH BAKER OF THE YEAR AWARDS
EVENTS & AWARDS ANNUAL REPORT & YEARBOOK 2018/2019
HARRY GOW DOES THE DOUBLE! The Scottish Baker of the Year’s first ever winner back in 2012 became the first to win it twice as Harry Gow Bakery was announced as the pick of the bunch for 2019. A packed Crowne Plaza in Glasgow rose to its feet to applaud an obviously delighted Gow family, led by Managing Director David. “We work hard every day to create products that our customers think are worthy of a vote in this competition. Year after year we take home prizes for the quality of our products; but this title reflects on us as a business, so we are beyond pleased to be taking the title back to Inverness one more time.” - David Gow, Managing Director at Harry Gow Bakery
WINNERS Scottish Baker of the Year 2019/20: Harry Gow Bakery Bakery Café of the Year: Mimi’s Bakehouse Craft Baker of the Year: Irvines Bakery Retail Craft Baker of the Year: Harry Gow Bakery Wholesale Baker of the Year: Stag Bakeries Ltd Manufacturer of the Year: Carr’s Flour Scotland Best Biscuit in Scotland: Maclean’s Highland Bakery
Best Bread in Scotland: Stag Bakeries Ltd Best Celebration Cake in Scotland: The Butterscotch Bakery Best Individual Cake in Scotland: Harry Gow Bakery Best Morning Roll in Scotland: Ashers Bakery Best Savoury in Scotland: Harry Gow Bakery Best Scone in Scotland: G H Barnett & Son Special Award: Best Buttery in Scotland: Bruce of the Broch Special Award: Best Potato Scone in Scotland: The Kandy Bar Bakery
WE WORK HARD EVERY DAY TO CREATE PRODUCTS THAT OUR CUSTOMERS THINK ARE WORTHY OF A VOTE IN THIS COMPETITION. - David Gow, Managing Director at Harry Gow Bakery
EVENTS & AWARDS ANNUAL REPORT & YEARBOOK 2018/2019
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
THE JUNE 2019 SCOTTISH BAKERS ANNUAL CONFERENCE & AWARDS WEEKEND WAS AS JAM-PACKED AS EVER. BAKERS, INDUSTRY SUPPLIERS, AND BAKERY STUDENTS GATHERED TO HEAR FROM ENGAGING SPEAKERS, RECEIVE AWARDS, AND ENJOY A DIVERSE PROGRAMME OF ENTERTAINMENT AND ACTIVITIES. The conference kicked off on Friday afternoon with a supplier showcase. We welcomed over 30 industry suppliers, with some exhibiting for the very first time. Bailie Malcolm Balfour (Glasgow City Council) then officially welcomed us to Glasgow on behalf of the Lord Provost, who kindly supported a civic drinks reception.
Friday night saw the room all abuzz for the Regional Scottish Baker of the Year. Two-piece pop band Sara ‘N’ Junbug charmed us with their vibrant performance during the reception and, following the awards presentation, folk-rock Highlanders Torridon had everyone up on their feet. After an early morning start on Saturday, where Mich Turner MBE set a challenging cake decorating task (and Lady President Amy Miles emerged victorious), it was down to business. The programme focused on the key themes of Brand, Service, and Trends. Our insightful supplier and member panels discussed many upcoming market trends and standing out from the crowd, and keynote speaker Geoff Ramm took a captivated audience through the subject of customer service and going the extra mile. Finally, David Shanks of D8 Design expertly covered the topic of branding, and demonstrated its importance with a fascinating look at the development of a new brand for Harry Gow Bakery. The curtain came down on an excellent weekend with A Play, A Pie & A Pint. Pies were supplied courtesy of World Scotch Pie Champion The Little Bakery, while the pints were generously poured by the Crowne Plaza. And, rather fittingly, the play - The Pieman Cometh - was a laugh-a-minute performance based on a true story involving one of our very own members, Brian Sarafilovic. This was perhaps our most popular and positively received conference to date, and plans are already underway to make 2020 even better.
CENTENARY CLUB
EVENTS & AWARDS ANNUAL REPORT & YEARBOOK 2018/2019
THE HISTORY OF THE SCOTTISH BAKERS CENTENARY CLUB Set up in 1991 to celebrate the Centenary Year of the Scottish Association of Master Bakers, the Scottish Bakers Centenary Club allows retired members to keep in touch with the industry and one another. They get together regularly throughout the year in their respective sectors for lunch and to swap stories, and they also organise visits to places of interest across Scotland.
SECTOR 1 (NORTH) Report by Clive Sangster, Convenor We meet on a regular basis, usually every 3 months, and our turnout varies between 10 and 12. This year has been another enjoyable one, with encouraging numbers. A Change of Venue For a number of years, we have held our lunch meetings at the Strathburn Hotel in Inverurie. However, since last Christmas, we took the decision to change the venue to the Atholl Hotel in Aberdeen. We collectively agreed that it was more accessible to members travelling from further afield. The Strathburn has over many years provided excellent food and service, and we’d like to place on record our thanks to the staff.
All-sector Visit to Scone Palace The all-sector meeting at Scone Palace, arranged by Jim Brown and Robert Ross, was a great success. Clive and Stanley Smith, along with their wives, were able to join friends from Sectors 2 and 3. Lyn Brown gave an excellent guided tour and this was followed by a lovely afternoon tea. Looking Ahead We continue to encourage more members to attend, but our area is large and many feel it is a long way to come for lunch. Past Presidents John Young and Margaret Maclean have been great supporters of our Sector in the past but, owing to the distance they have to travel, they are having difficulty in attending. This year we are looking forward to having our Christmas Lunch at the Atholl Hotel on Tuesday 10th December, and we hope to have a good attendance.
SECTORS 2 (EAST) & 3 (WEST) Report by Robert Ross, Convenor, Sector 2 and Jim Brown, Convenor, Sector 3 2018 Christmas Lunch Members and guests returned to Haggs Castle Golf Club on the 13th December for the 2018 Christmas Lunch. Scottish Bakers President Ronnie Miles and Chief Executive Alasdair
Smith were in attendance. We were also delighted to welcome Past President Peter Ford, who attended the lunch for the first time. We enjoyed pre-lunch drinks and three delicious courses and after lunch, we retired to the junior’s room at Haggs Castle for tea, coffee, and mince pies. This was followed by short talks from Alasdair on the history of Scottish Bakers, and from Ronnie on the Bells Group. Jim Brown closed proceedings with a vote of thanks to Ronnie and Alasdair for attending the lunch, and for the support the Centenary Club receives from Scottish Bakers. 27th Anniversary Centenary Club Lunch Huntingtower Hotel, Perth was once again selected for our Anniversary Lunch, held on the 23rd May 2019. The lunch was thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended, with good food and wine, and plenty of discussion and reflection. We were thrilled to welcome Chief Executive Alasdair Smith and Vice President Linda Hill. We were also delighted to have Angela and Sandy McKinnon of the Tower Bakery in attendance for the first time. A Guided Tour of Scone Palace As Clive highlighted in his report, members from all three sectors came together to enjoy a most interesting tour of Scone Palace in Perthshire, and a mouthwatering afternoon tea. This was one of the most successful events we have organised in recent years in terms of the number of attendees and the wide area of Scotland from which they travelled. Thanks to all who attended. The Centenary Club always welcomes new members. Contact one of the convenors or Scottish Bakers to learn more.
EVENTS & AWARDS ANNUAL REPORT & YEARBOOK 2018/2019
40 GROUP TOUR OF NORTHERN IRELAND HOSTED BY ANDREW INGREDIENTS
ON TUESDAY 17TH SEPTEMBER, THE SCOTTISH BAKERS 40 GROUP EMBARKED UPON A MEMORABLE FEW DAYS IN NORTHERN IRELAND, HOSTED BY ANDREW INGREDIENTS. A group of 14 made the short journey across the water to Belfast, with a few 40 Group newcomers in tow. And while there, we were treated to some excellent bakery tours, product demonstrations, and traditional Irish hospitality. The first day of a three-day trip began with a stop at Irwin’s Bakery in Portadown, where the group were given an eye-opening tour of the plant bakery. A bus back to Belfast then followed, and a visit to the French Village Bakery saw us browse their exquisite range of bespoke celebration cakes. Day two saw the group travel to our host’s HQ in Lisburn. There we got an insight into Andrew Ingredients and the history of the company, before being treated to some fantastic supplier demonstrations from Macphie, Sonneveld, IREKS, and Braun. And with some time before dinner that evening, the bakers took their chance to see the sites, with some visiting the incredible Titanic Museum, while others boarded an open-top bus to explore Belfast.
The warm hospitality continued on Wednesday evening with dinner at the casual and contemporary James St. Good food and wine were made all the more enjoyable by the great company as we got to know our hosts and the suppliers a little bit better. On our last day, we took the opportunity to visit some independent bakeries in Newtownards and a couple of speciality doughnut shops in Belfast city centre to round off a superb tour. To the incredible Andrew Ingredients team – Tim, Mairead, John, Gerry, Claire, Leah and Finbar – thank you for looking after us all so well. It was a trip we won’t soon forget!
EVENTS & AWARDS ANNUAL REPORT & YEARBOOK 2018/2019
