 Just a quick blog about the Rising Star Award which is one of the categories within the Baking Industry Awards, one of the major highlights in the UK baking industry calendar. The event is run by British Baker. The Baking Industry Awards are an unrivalled opportunity to celebrate with the most innovative people in the baking industry. Held at Royal Lancaster, London on Wednesday 4th September 2019, this is an evening not to be missed.
Reasons to enter and attend these awards:
Rondo are sponsoring the "Rising Star Award" again this year. A number of bakery students and trainees in the past have entered and won this award. To enter, visit the British Baker website www.bakeryawards.co.ukwww.bakeryawards.co.uk/enter/ and follow the instructions to register. To give you an idea of what Rondo are looking for, here is what they say about what the successful applicant might look like: "The Rising Star Award is open to all ages, but is aimed at those in work, training or Bakery College who can demonstrate their achievements over the past three years since entering college or the bakery industry. Entrants may be from a college, or craft, supermarket, plant, ingredient or equipment companies. Judges are looking for a individual who will contribute to shaping the future of the baking industry. If you believe you, or someone you teach or employ, is that person, enter now." ~ Source British Baker Website Good luck to all of you that are entering, or have already entered, and we look forward to hearing who the finalists and winner is in September!
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 what is your favourite pancake topping?Pancakes, typically made up of Flour, Eggs and Milk are now much bigger than we thought! Everyone enjoys adding their own creation of toppings but now the actual pancake flavours are changing too...
It seems that this years ongoing trend is to add alcohol in anyway or form, yes that's right people have created gin&tonic pancakes. The question is, at what time would would you eat these pancakes? They're usually a breakfast feast but it seems the public devour pancakes morning, noon and night! Though, another ongoing trend is trying to make pancakes as healthy as possible! Substituting white flour for wholemeal or even coconut flour to cater for those that are gluten free. Personally I just prefer a drizzle of maple syrup and a mixture of fruit :). Let us know what your favourite pancake topping is and share your creations!  Hugh Weeks was well known in the industry as a baker of outstanding skill and talent; and he was Past President of the Alliance for Bakery Students and Trainees. After his retirement from a long and successful career as a demonstrator for Renshaw, Hugh spent a great deal of time as a highly respected judge of bakery goods in all manner of different competitions. He had a genuine desire to pass on to young bakers as much knowledge and advice as he could, and never failed to take the opportunity to talk to students whenever they happened to cross his path. He was always especially keen to encourage young people who worked hard to challenge themselves not only in their drive for education, but also for the good of society.
The Executive Committee is pleased to announce the inauguration of a special award to be presented in Hugh’s name, and in the presence of his family, for the first time at the ABST Conference at Alton Towers from June 7-9th 2019. The criteria for the successful recipient reflect Hugh Weeks’ own drive for excellence in all things and are as follows:
In summary, we wish to reward the student who shows a real passion for, and dedication to, the industry whilst showing special consideration for other people. Tutors and trainers may nominate one candidate to go forward to the final selection panel. The finalists will be interviewed by the panel either by Skype or conference call during May 2019, with the three finalists being announced on Saturday June 1st. The overall winner will be announced at the Black-Tie Dinner on Saturday June 8th, and the award will be presented by members of Hugh Weeks’ family. The award will include the following prizes: • A cup, to be retained for one year £250 cash • A selection of bakery books • A bakery internship (details dependant on award winner) Nominations should be directed to the Sara Autton s.autton@lesaffre.com and must be received before Wednesday 1st May 2019. Nominations should be accompanied by a short statement detailing the achievements of the candidate according to the criteria stated above.  University College Birmingham Level 6 BSc students visited AB Mauri Centre of Excellence in Corby yesterday. UCB BSc student, Leandra Molina explains a bit more about the experience and how it will benefit her and fellow Level 6 students in the future: "UCB provides trips to Bakery students throughout the length of the course (at least one every year) including Fine Lady bakery, Heygates Flour Millers and Delifrance. This time was a visit to AB Mauri, and it has been the best experience I’ve ever had. AB Mauri was very welcoming by preparing a complete whole-day introduction. Activities ranged from a tour of their NPD department, to meeting room talks about ingredient functionality and the importance of enzymes within the baking industry. I had the opportunity to meet many members of the AB Mauri family and was thrilled by how knowledgeable and passionate they are. Product development director Jim Hawkridge and research development manager Matt Green talked about bread production and what kind of products they use in bread manufacturing, including bread improvers and sourdough cultures. Kevin Clark development manager on the sweet baked goods and Steve, with more than 14 years working at AB Mauri, focused on the essential ingredients and its functionality within sweet baked goods. We also met the HR manager, who gave a really motivational presentation on how important it is to discover ourselves and how we can work to improve our potential. Not only will this help us to stand out of the crowd when looking for a job, but will also benefit the industry by bringing our unique talents. It was amazing to go around and look at all the equipment AB Mauri have to develop and test their products. It was a pleasant surprise to realise how UCB labs are equipped with industry standard equipment and how as a student, I have already used most of them, from the bakery’s bread mixer to the lab’s texture analyser. AB Mauri also prepared a dynamic game, where we tasted and examined loaves of bread and cakes to highlight the importance of certain ingredients. We also met the entire R&D team, including UCB graduates Hannah Parry and Laura Underwood and Senior R&D Technologist Hanna Conneely. They talked about the importance of their role and how we, as students, can aim for that type of Job. Overall, it was an amazing experience to go to AB Mauri. I met lovely passionate people and saw that the baking industry is starting to open the doors to students that will soon become its future! Thank you, AB Mauri, for this motivational experience." UCB BSc student, Leandra Molina Fellow UCB Level 6 BSc student Megan Roberts also said: "We are always asked as students how the industry can engage more with students and our trip to AB Mauri was a perfect example. A learning experience for all, through a day of theory and practicals, we embraced who AB Mauri are as a company. For me it was a fantastic interactive learning experience that was fully engaged by both staff at AB Mauri and students from UCB. One of my favourite things was a career segment on how set yourself personal values and build your career, a very insightful piece for all students starting our career within the baking industry. I think we all owe a massive thanks to the organisers from UCB who set this up and all of the staff at AB Mauri for an unforgettable day." UCB BSc student, Megan Roberts Students were also given goody bags to take away with them which included a USB stick with all of the presentations from the day, to support them further with their studies. Images of Bread and Cake Fault activities in the ACE test bakery:
  Innovative Burger Bun Competition kindly sponsored by Guenther Bakeries On Saturday 16th February two representatives from Guenther Bakeries came to University College Birmingham to judge the competition we've all been waiting for. The array of entries from colleges all over the UK were amazing, shining with innovation and flair. Stephanie Nicole one of the Guenther Bakeries judges commented "the standard of products displayed today are impressive, it's clear that the students have worked hard to create these interesting concepts. The winner had managed to include all the flavours typically in the burger into the bread dough, amazing!" 1st - Ronnie Galway (UCB) 2nd - Christine Cooke (DIT) 3rd - Abby Lee (Sheffield) Very Highly Commended - Liz Brynes (Limerick) Well done to all those who had entered and we can't wait to see the entries at this years conference!
   The Burger Bun Innovation Competition kindly sponsored by Guenther Bakeries UK is just around the corner and we can't 'wheat' to see all the entries...sorry I 'kneaded' to get that pun out.
Anyway...we thought it would be good to explain the competition, just incase anyone is unsure on the concept. The overall rules / details are provided in the document attached but read on for the break down. Produce TWO Innovative Burger Buns suitable two samples of each. One suitable for a beef burger filling and the other for a chicken burger filling. Tip number one, read the rules carefully, they're very specific and products will be penalised or in worse cases disqualified if they're not in compliance with the specification. Tip number two, research trends!! The revelation of the black burger bun really changed the game because you're visually intrigued on how it could possibly taste of anything good when they simply look burnt, right? Exactly, the point here is think outside the box, you eat with your eyes after all! Best of luck to everyone entering! |
