The 21st Baking Industry Awards (2008)

Piero Scacco, Montana Bakery, Slough

Scacco worked as a patissier across the Continent, before coming to England and opening a business to develop part-baked baguettes.

Having grown it to a spectacular £55 million turnover, he sold it – and started all over again.

Montana Bakery produces ambient, chilled and frozen speciality breads and pizzas for clients including Marks & Spencer, British Airways and Caffè Nero. The company has 350 staff and a £16 million turnover. It recently took possession of a wood-fired pizza base oven, possibly the first of its kind in the UK.

The bakery is nut-free, but a new site will produce biscuits and biscotti next year.

The judges described Scacco as an icon and agreed that his passion and enthusiasm for baking, the industry and the people within it singled him out as the winner.

The Village Bakery (Coedpoeth), Wrexham

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Village Bakery (Coedpoeth) was established in

1964 and is still owned and run by the Jones family. It produces premium breads, morning goods, savouries and bespoke products, which are sold through its five shops and to a number of wholesale customers, including Marks & Spencer, sandwich producers and local independents.

Joint managing director Tim Jones says the firm  strives for excellence in everything it does. “Local sourcing has become all the rage,” he adds, “but we have been doing it for many years, as we understand how important provenance is to our customers.”

The judges picked up on this and also cited the firm’s “passion for products” and the quality of its entire operation as primary reasons for selecting the company as winner in this category.

WC Rowe, Falmouth, Cornwall
W C Rowe has two bakeries and 17 retails outlets in Devon and Cornwall and serves the major multiples with breads, cakes, confectionery and savouries. It is one of the largest employers in the area, with 450 staff, and turns over £20 million per annum.

The judges were impressed by the company’s “clear passion for delivering great-tasting products”, and its great service to customers.

When Sainsbury’s looked for solutions to boost its flagging scone sales, W C Rowe produced three premium varieties – including Cornish Clotted Cream and Davidstow Cheddar – all featuring locally-sourced ingredients. This commitment to regional sourcing, as well as to traditional baking methods, was also praised.

The company’s managing director Alan Pearce believes the success of the range lies mainly in the strong working relationship with Sainsbury’s.

Jane Hatton, Lecturer, Brooklands College, Weybridge, Surrey

Hatton says she has always enjoyed sharing her skills as a baker and confectioner and her move into teaching from working full-time in various bakery businesses was a natural progression.

She has now been teaching for 26 years, the last eight at Brooklands College.

Hatton was chosen as the winner because of her passion for training and the industry as a whole. She says: “I love baking and I like to keep industry contacts to ensure I’m providing the right courses for what companies need. We must promote this industry and persuade young people that it offers a good career path.”

The judges also cited Hatton’s “perseverance and willingness to go the extra mile for the industry” as making her an inspirational and worthy winner.

Eurobuns – Skinny Baked Donuts,
Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire

Eurobuns produces frozen American fast-food breads, part-baked French breads and scones and doughnuts for foodservice and retail clients across the UK. The bakery has seven high-tech lines and employs more than 400 staff.

Its Americana Skinny Baked Donuts are described as having a light, fluffy texture and a generous jam filling, but have less than 5% fat and fewer than 150 calories per serving. They were launched, says Eurobuns operations and technical director Graham Wright, to meet the consumer need for healthier products and were described by the judges as “an innovative product”.

The donuts are distributed through 10 major frozen food retailers and are supplied in a display box – the judges noted that this packaging gave the product excellent shelf presence.

The Village Bakery, Melmerby, Cumbria

The Village Bakery, Melmerby was a pioneer organic brand. Founded, says marketing manager Lindsay Kilifin, out of a “true passion” for organics in 1976, it still maintains its original principles and brand values – sustainability, corporate responsibility and respect for people and the planet.

She describes the breads, cakes and biscuits as having “natural good taste”, created using juices, fruits, nuts, seeds and grains and cooked in wood-fired ovens. While the food inside is traditional, its recently-revised packaging is vibrant and uses strong colours – deep chocolate browns, buttery yellows and vibrant oranges to reflect the taste.

This innovative branding was noted by the judges, who also commented: “Village Bakery’s commitment to craft baking, together with quality standards, has set a high standard for the rest of the industry.”

Leanne Tang, Terry Tang Designer Cakes, Wavertree, Liverpool

Showgirls were the theme of Tang’s Las Vegas cake, which included intricately painted eyeshadow and lashes on the girls’ faces, as well as poker chips and playing cards.

Detail is important to Tang, who says she takes great care to create authenticity in her preferred medium of sugarpaste. The judges commended her exceptional modelling skills and described her as possessing “a natural talent and an excellent ?eye for detail”.

The shop produces an average of 12 wedding and 40 celebration cakes a week, offering a range of flavours, including banoffee, and all disciplines. Tang says she is equally happy watching a customer choose a cake from one of the 200 on display, or from a choice of 600 photographs.

Jacksons the Bakers - Traditional Steak Pie, Chesterfield
Jacksons has come a long way since 1944, when it was a single shop, producing mainly large white loaves and the odd celebration cake. Although the company still has one shop, it is about to move into a new factory from which its 58 staff will turn out around 500 lines, from breads to cakes and sausage rolls.

The factory will give owners Trevor and Jane Jackson a chance to expand further their wholesale customer base, which includes schools, cafés and restaurants. Jane says they take pride in researching customer requirements and developing quality, traditionally craft-baked products for them. Their hand-raised steak pie, which looks similar to a pork pie and is made with finest steak was described as of “excellent quality” by the judges.

Crantock Bakery, Indian Queens, near Newquay, Cornwall

“You can’t stand still,” says Nick Ringer, chairman and managing director of Crantock Bakery. “You have to develop new products, new ways of selling and explore new markets.”

It was this spirit of innovation, together with an emphasis on product quality and superb customer service, which singled out Crantock for the judges. Six years ago a management buy-out put the pasty bakery into new hands and on to a path of expansion. The company now employs around 150 staff and turns over approximately £10 million per annum.

Now the traditional pasties, sausage rolls and pork pies (mainly sold to pasty chains for bake-off) and sweet goods like scones and Cornish ‘heavy cake’ are also available in Europe and on long-haul flights. Constant NPD work ensures new lines – 42 last year alone – and Ringer says close working relationships with customers lead to new markets, such as universities.

Tesco, Meltham Lane, Chesterfield

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tesco, Meltham Lane bakery manager Ian Cain’s 15-strong department, which includes eight fully-trained bakers, makes around 80% of the in-store bakery’s products from scratch.

Cain has been a baker with Tesco for 16 years and many of his staff have been with the department for over 10 years. This wealth of experience was noted by the judges, who cited “overall product knowledge and product quality” as two of the reasons for picking Chesterfield as the winner.

“We take pride in what we do,” says Cain. “We’ll even customise our products – we’ve got one customer who likes his bread burnt, so we leave a couple of loaves in a little longer when we know he’s coming in!”

BB’s Coffee & Muffins, Isleworth, Middlesex

BB’s 180 food-focused franchised cafés are found predominantly in shopping centres from “Plymouth to Perth”. Each site adds extra ingredients to the company’s signature muffin mix, typically baking around 14 flavours a day.

Last year, BB’s introduced a segmented range of muffins, following research which showed its franchisees required more flexibility to meet regional demands, says BB’s retail and brands director Michele Young. New products include the luxury Muffin Royale for the high end of the market and low-fat and children’s ranges. Corn Savoury Muffins were also introduced, to meet the increasing demand at breakfast and tea times for a ‘healthier’ product. 

The judges were impressed with the different methods used to research customer requirements, and the way in which the findings were used to adapt BB’s product range.

This year’s winner of the British Baker Award for Special Achievement, John Slattery, is in good company, with names such as baker Charles Geary, cereals scientist Stan Cauvain and bakery tutor Jean Grieves.

John Slattery, too, stands in a class of his own. A renowned patissier, confectioner and son of highly popular Mancunian baker Bernard Slattery and wife Margaret, John was first handed a piece of pastry and a rolling pin at the age of seven. His father made wedding cakes at home to supplement his income and then bought his own bakery when John was 14. John immediately volunteered to work Saturdays and after school.

At age 16, he chose to attend Salford College of Technology and, during three years study, won the coveted Renshaw Cup, as well as the Top Student award.

Starting work in his father’s bakery he took over the business and confectionery side.

In 1988, his younger sister Ann, with her husband Steve, joined the business. John had married Marilyn so with three families to support and small businesses struggling against the popularity of supermarkets, he decided to set up his own company in Whitefields, Manchester. It was to be a patisserie with celebration cakes, handmade chocolates and fancies so he could practise the arts he truly loved.

Slattery’s soon became affectionately known as ‘that wicked shop in Whitefields’ – and grew fast. In just two years, he was already employing eight people. It was time to move to bigger premises. This time the tables and chairs used for customers wanting to talk about their fantasy wedding cakes grew into a coffee shop with 12 seats, then 24, then 40, then 60!

John’s bespoke wedding cake creations were becoming local legends. He was also tutoring students, demonstrating at exhibitions and giving up time to judge competitions nationwide. He often combined his skills as a master chocolatier and celebration cake-maker to create the most incredible cakes. Sales went up and staff grew to 30, including daughters Kate and Laura, who had joined the business.

 

Shared Information
Eleven years ago John was invited to become a member of the prestigious British Confectioners’ Association –“a wonderful group where we share information”.

He was already a member of the British Richemont Club, begun in Manchester 52 years ago, and affiliated to the Swiss-based International Richemont Club of top patissiers and chocolatiers worldwide. John was invited to become British president.

But business-wise, in 2003, Slattery’s needed to move again and, this time, it was a massive gamble. Acquiring a large, utterly derelict Victorian pub, John’s vision was to turn it into a working patisserie – and much more.

In 2004, it became a world-class patisserie, a renowned teaching school, a dining room, conference room and wedding venue. The Slattery School now attracts students – both amateur and professionals – from Great Britain and overseas.

Slattery Pattissier and Chocolatier has become a ‘destination’. Customers call in for breakfast or business meetings, to choose the cake for the most important day of their lives, or that of a loved one. They may buy a copy of his book on chocolate cakes for weddings and celebrations, or just ingredients for their cakes – also available on the web.

Call in at Christmas, Valentine’s or Easter and it’s impossible to leave empty-handed. Manchester United footballer Wayne Rooney and wife Colleen are among celebrities who chose Slattery’s for their elaborate wedding cake.

But he hasn’t just worked for his own business. Importantly, John has also mentored and helped other businesses. And he considers it a compliment when a staff member leaves, inspired to start up on their own. He pays tribute to wife Marilyn: “It’s a very good partnership; I couldn’t do it without her. She looks after things such as wages and banking; I only need to look after my work here.”

Daughter Kate works in the bakery and the other daughter Laura makes the most of her business degree in the company. Meanwhile Ann, and Steve, provide the breads and savouries.

At the end of September 2008, John will co-host a three-day gala meeting of the International Richemont Club, when over 60 top confectioners worldwide will converge on Manchester’s top bakeries, including Slattery’s, to enjoy demonstrations.

As well as mentoring other businesses, demonstrating at exhibitions and judging competitions, John Slattery has set up a business that is truly inspirational.

Asked what gives him the most job satisfaction, he reflects: “I have implicit trust that I’m here on this earth doing what I’m meant to be doing.” There are many who would agree.