Media release: The icing will be on the cake in Thurso as young people come together to launch the search for the Scottish Baker of the Year 2018

Venue: Reids of Caithness, Unit 17, Ormlie Industrial Estate, Henderson Street, Thurso, KW14 7QU

Date: Wednesday 21^st February 2018

Press are invited from 10.00am for interviews and a photo call.

SCOTTISH Bakers, the organisation which supports bakers up and down the land, is calling on the nation’s bread, pie and pastry lovers to vote for their favourite local baker to help them win the Scottish Baker of the Year crown for 2018.

To mark the start of the competition, young people from Pennyland Primary School, Miller Academy, Mount Pleasant Primary School, Thurso High School and North Highland College are coming together to take part in a ‘Generation Game’ style bake-off.

Current champs, Reids of Caithness, will host the official launch of the competition with reigning champ, Gary Reid, and couture cake queen, Mich Turner MBE, Scottish Bakers ambassador, setting the tasks.

Our two experts will pass on their well-honed skills and they will be on hand to assess the contestant’s efforts and determine if they look good enough to eat.

Our contestants will be attempting to:

Jam and ice Empire Biscuits

Cream and jam a strawberry tart

Apply cream filling to Cream Yum Yums/Donuts

And the ‘icing on the cake’, the Mich Turner technical challenge will be to buttercream a cupcake to her exacting standards!

The face of the Scottish Baker of the Year competition, Michelle McManus, said: “I myself have won in past years having put forward the best yum yums on the planet, in my opinion, so I am really keen to see what our guests make of this years’ challenge and the results had better be good!”

The Scottish Baker of the Year Awards is the brainchild of Scottish Bakers, the trade association for bakers in Scotland who decided to search for the best baker in the land in 2012.

Now in its seventh year, the competition celebrates our love of a tasty treat from our local baker and aims to crown just one hard-working bakery Scottish Baker of the Year.

“With thousands upon thousands of pies, scones, loaves, savoury items, morning rolls, individual cakes and biscuits sold in Scotland every day, our artisan bakers work hard to keep us all going,” says Scottish Bakers’ Alasdair Smith.

“This competition is based on real votes from real customers so we urge customers to vote for their best bites, every vote really does count – your local baker could take the title!”

Voting opens on 21^st February 2018 and runs until 9^th March so there is not much time to vote by logging on to www.scottishbakers.org/vote2018 – voting automatically enters you into a draw to win one of 7 Apple Watches.

Judging day will be 28^th March at Carnegie Conference Centre, Halbeath Road, Dunfermline, KY11 8DY.

And the winner will be announced at a glittering Gala dinner at the Crowne Plaza in Glasgow on Saturday 5^th May 2018.

A word from our 2017 winner: Gary Reid of Reids of Caithness:

“Back in May 2017, when Mich Turner announced REIDS OF CAITHNESS as ‘Scottish Baker of the Year 2017′, I simply could not contain my emotions at the huge sense of pride I felt.

“Not just for me, but for my whole family. My father sadly passed away the day after the win but he would have been so proud. Winning this title means everything to the entire Reids team and the accolade was a real team effort. Since winning our business has gone from strength to strength and we have travelled far and wide showcasing our skills and our success. This has been a great year for Reids of Caithness and I am proud to be handing the baton on in May to another worthy winner.”

Gary Reid, Reids of Caithness

Notes for editors:

Scottish Bakers was established in 1891 and since then we have represented and promoted the interests of the bakery trade in Scotland.

We aim to be an integral part of each member’s business by providing support for bakers of all sizes.

We provide a valuable source of help, advice, information, assistance and skills development for bakers throughout Scotland.

Scottish Bakers manages both the World championships Scotch Pie Awards each year and The Scottish Baker of the Year Awards to recognise and celebrate excellence in the sector.

But most importantly, Scottish Bakers belongs to its members; we are all there for their benefit and are proud of our motto, ‘for the good of all’.

www.scottishbakers.org

Partner sponsor

With thanks to our sponsor Bako North Western Group

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