The search is on to find scotland’s best local baker – and we need your help.

Voting is now open for this year’s scottish Baker of the Year competition, launched by couture cake maker Mich Turner, and it’s up to you who will walk away with the crown.

We’re looking for the rising stars of bread baking, the kings and queens of savoury pies, the cream of scone makers and more as we scour the country for the very best in the business.

The competition will see thousands of customers vote for their favourite bakers across scotland with an expert judging panel munching their way through hundreds of products to whittle the search down to the winning few.

There are six award categories to choose from, so don’t waste any time.

Get voting for your winner and you could win one of six iPad mini’s simply by completing the form on the back page.

eNTer NOW FOr YOUr chaNce TO WIN aN iPaD MINI – see PaGe 4

Get on a roll, use your loaf and help us find the best

Who will rise to the

challenge?

scOTTIsh BaKerOF The Year 2014

DaIlY recOrD Wednesday, February 26, 2014

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Page 2 Daily RecoRD Wednesday, February 26, 2014

It’s tIme to let your baker rise and shine by casting your vote for your favourite produce.

the scottish Baker of the Year 2014 competition is run by scottish Bakers, the association who represent the baking trade, and covers three separate regions: Highland and Islands and Grampian, Central scotland and the Borders.

You can use the form on the back page of this supplement, pick a form up at your local bakers, or vote online.

Craft bakers as well as bakery chains stand an equal chance of taking home the top prize, but they need

your support. Once voting closes on march 17, a specialist judging panel will select the top three bakers in each region before choosing the overall winner of scottish Baker of the Year.

the competition was launched by the queen of cakes and

judge on ItV show Britain’s Best Bakery, mich turner, who has called on people to back their local baker.

scottish Bakers have promoted the interests of bakers for more than 120 years, and chief executive Alan Clarke believes customers should have their say on their favourite products.

He said: “Baking businesses are thriving in scotland where they have a lot of support from the community, and we believe we have some of the best bakers in the world here.

“this competition is a fantastic opportunity for people to have their say on the baking they love to eat and a great way of recognising the talented people who spend each day lovingly preparing the food we enjoy eating so much.

“If you value your local baker, I encourage you to give them your vote. You don’t have to be an expert to judge the best loaves, rolls, scones, pies, biscuits and cakes in the land – our customers know best.”

Family-owned craft bakery Stephens have seen customer numbers soar since being crowned Scottish Baker of the year 2013.

Stephens of Dunfermline are renowned for their steak bridies and sell 4000 a day using a traditional recipe.

They’re also known for their morning rolls – selling 30,000 a day across their branches.

The business is now in its 141st year and has been in the same family for three generations.

And the recipe for its steak bridies can be traced back through the company history.

Managing Director Andre Sarafilovic said: “We still use the same recipe today, it’s a top-selling line and we’re known locally for it.

“The secret is with the slow cooking of the filling – it’s about a four-hour cook. Then that’s put into the bridie, filled and cooked again.

“Our morning rolls are also very popular. We use a slow fermentation process which gives the rolls their unique flavour.

“We’re baking seven days a week – with fresh products on Sundays as well.”

The company prides itself on using skilled craft bakers who are trained in-house.

Andre said: “Some of our bakers have been with us 40 years. We have a very low staff turnover. Staff development is important to us.”

Stephens employ 180 staff and have 14 shops and 90 franchise stores. Winning Scottish Baker of the Year has helped raise the bakery’s profile.

“We like to believe we give a top

quality product,” added Andre. “But to be recognised by our customers then our industry peers is great. For me, the best part was the recognition we could give our staff.

“Winning the title was a fantastic experience – I think everyone in the company was very proud of the recognition that we received.

“The award helped us raise our profile in the community and allowed us to explain the hard work and process that goes into the products our customers enjoy.”

Andre says hard-working bakers value the support of their customers, and need their votes.

“To get through the first stages of the competition your customers need to vote for you.

“The baking industry is not easy, it takes a lot of hard work and a lot of people to make that product arrive on the counter.”

Andre believes the secret to Stephens’ success is the freshness of produce and value for money the offer customers.

He said: “I think our industry is unique. We manufacture, deliver and sell. There’s no tomorrow in our industry, you can’t put things off. It all starts again the next day.

“Freshness is what differentiates us. We start manufacturing at 11 or 12 at night and into the early hours of the morning, with products leaving at 4.30am. Now you’ve got shops opening at 6am, so many people are leaving the house without breakfast.

“It’s very important that the customer gets value for money, it doesn’t mean a cheap price, it’s the customer feeling rewarded for what they’ve spent their hard-

earned money on. And we give them freshness and quality of the product.”

With a resurgence in the popularity of baking, Andre says more and more people are treating themselves to an indulgent cake.

He said: “Maybe they don’t have the money to go to the cinema, but they’ll treat themselves to a box of fresh cream cakes on a Friday for instance.”

No one understands better than Andre and his bakers just how important winning an award of this kind can be – and what it can mean for business.

He said: “Since the award we’ve seen an increase in customer numbers in our shops.

“The award has helped attract some new customers and we’ve managed to retain those customers.

“We’ve had over a 10 per cent increase in customers since the award. And those customers have stayed with us. Once we’ve got them to come in, we’ve turned into their local baker.”

Page 3Daily RecoRD Wednesday, February 26, 2014

sInCe becoming the scotch Pie World Champions, staff at the Kandy Bar bakery in north Ayrshire have been high-fived in the street and had a customer travel hundreds of miles to buy from them.

the business is run by stephen mcAllister and wife Rona who now have a shop and a coffee shop in saltcoats and shops in West Kilbride and Kilwinning and employ 82 people from the local area.

“now we’re selling a world champion pie,” explained stephen. “Customers are giving us high fives in the street – it’s great news for the community. You can’t do it without your staff and the customers.

“If you produce quality bakery products and give good service in nice surroundings you can’t go far wrong, so quality in all aspects of the bakery business is what we look for.

“It’s been the recipe for our success over the years baked with

love from us to you.“It means so much

to me and my staff and we hope people will start coming back into the high street and support all the local businesses.”

since they’ve won, one customer drove four-and-a-half hours from Warrington in Cheshire to buy 60 world champion scotch pies and 30 cakes, and a man got the bus from Glasgow to buy pies to give out to his neighbours.

Another man travelled from Bishopton to buy 30 pies for a group of friends who have kept a league table of

winners of the scotch Pie Championships for the past five years – and declared the Kandy Bar bakery the best yet.

stephen added: “I love the history of the bakery trade, it’s a fantastic trade to be in. We’re traditional craft bakers so it’s skilled work as we make things by hand.

“I just love that we can take the best quality raw ingredients and make them into special bakery products. it’s an absolutely fabulous job. every bakery product is genuinely a labour of love, you can’t produce quality without that aspect.

“We make what we consider to be a very good quality scotch pie, with a good firm pie shell, using top quality ingredients including the minced beef that goes into the pie.

“We’ve stuck to the same ingredients and recipe since my father’s day. We’ve stuck to what we know and what’s worked for me and our customers.”

scottish Baker of the Year 2014

Baker of the Year Award 2014 Categories

Queen of cakes mich needs your vote in our great cookery contest

Win meant success on a plate for family firm

the pies have it say happy customers of the Kandy Bar Bakery

MorningRoll

Savoury Scone Individual Cake

Bread BiscuitWhether your prefer yours plain or wholemeal, with butter or marg, help create a roll of honour and vote for your favourite.

The pie’s the limit in this category, so whether you love a savoury snack for lunch or dinner, we need to know who makes your favourite.

Not just for the ladies of Morningside, you can enjoy them savoury or sweet – but who bakes the best scone?

It’s those little treats that get us through the day. From cup cakes and muffins to jam tarts and chocolate eclairs, here’s your chance to pick your favourite.

Gourmet or farmer’s loaf, give us a view of your daily bread and vote for the baker who deserves a slice of success.

Crunchy or crumbly, you can’t beat a sweet treat with your cup of tea, but who will take the biscuit crown?

they flock from many miles away just to savour tempting goodies from scotch Pie World Champs

CHEERS Andre sarafilovic is delighted with accolade

IndulgEnCE Firm makes fabulous family favourites

WHAt A MoutHful stephen says top award has gone down a treat with staff

Britain’s Best Bakery judge backs hunt for top makers of the tasty treats we love to eat

Page 4 Daily RecoRD Wednesday, February 26, 2014

WIN AN iPAD MINI

Vote for your favourite baker’s products and you could win a fantastic iPad Mini. Simply complete this form, hand it back to your baker and your entry will be included in our prize draw. You can also vote on-line at:

www.dailyrecord.co.uk/scottishbaker2014

ENTRY FORM

To enter the competition by post, complete the form below and send to: SBY14 Competition, Daily Record, One Central Quay, Glasgow G3 8DA and your entry will be included in the prize draw

Closing date for competition entries is Monday March 17th 2014. For full terms and conditions or to enter the competition on-line visit www.dailyrecord.co.uk/scottishbaker2014

BAKER’S NAME TOWN

THIS IS MY FAVOURITE BAKER BECAUSE

Your Favourite Baker’s Details

NAME EMAIL ADDRESS

TELEPHONE NUMBER

Your Details

You can vote for one or more products. Please write the name of the product your are voting for. If in doubt, ask the shop assistant the product’s name. Please vote by rating your favourite baker’s products out of a possible 4. Write the name of your favourite product then tick ONE number, 4 being your favourite, 1 being least favourite.

Morning Roll

TASTE

VALUE FOR MONEY

1 2 3 4

1 2 3 4

Type of roll – e.g. morning rollProduct name:

Savoury

1 2 3 4

1 2 3 4

Product name:

TASTE

VALUE FOR MONEY

Type of savoury – e.g. sausage roll

Scone

1 2 3 4

1 2 3 4

Product name:

TASTE

VALUE FOR MONEY

Type of scone – e.g. treacle sconeIndividual Cake

1 2 3 4

1 2 3 4

Product name:

TASTE

VALUE FOR MONEY

Type of cake – e.g. strawberry tart

Bread

1 2 3 4

1 2 3 4

Product name:

TASTE

VALUE FOR MONEY

Type of bread – e.g. white, granary

Biscuit

1 2 3 4

1 2 3 4

Product name:

TASTE

VALUE FOR MONEY

Type of biscuit – e.g. shortbread

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