Oxfordshire's Blake's Kitchen is bread winner in World bread awards

Published by

Nicky Godding

Stars of the bread-baking world gathered in London on Tuesday 15 October 2019 for the announcement of the winners of Tiptree World Bread Awards with Brook Food

And it was an Oxfordshire bakes who came out on top.

Malt Crunch Sourdough made by Nicola Cooper of Blake’s Kitchen, Clanfield, as winner in the hotly-contested Zeelandia Wholegrain category. She was presented with her trophy by Richard Hazeldene, National Sales manager, Zeelandia UK.

The awards ceremony was hosted by Stephen Hallam, Master Baker, Managing Director of Dickinson & Morris (home of the famous Melton Mowbray pork pie) and Chair of the Judges.

Blake’s is a third generation, family run shop, Post Office and microbakery on the edge of the Cotswolds. It bakes hand-crafted loaves and homemade cakes daily.

And that wasn't the only Oxfordshire baker to take a slice of the evening's action. Quinoa & Millet Loaf made by Tanya Young, of Knife & Fork Bakery, Deddington, was announced as Third in the Gluten Free category.

“The field was more competitive than ever,” said Stephen Hallam , whose fellow judges, all 100 of them, included Apollonia Poilâne of the legendary Paris bakery Poilâne and Harry Lomas, Executive Head Chef, Wembley Stadium.

Nicola and Tanya beat off competition from hundreds of loaves sent in from around the United Kingdom – delivered by courier, taxi and in person on the morning of the judging at Cathedral Hall, Westminster Cathedral, to ensure maximum freshness.

Oxfordshire had a big showing on the night, with one of its top sponsors also hailing from the county – Matthews Cotswold Flour of Chipping Norton, the sixth generation family-run flour mill.

Tiptree World Bread Awards with Brook Food, launched in January 2013, seek to celebrate the very best of British bread baking. “The choice, range and quality of bread in Britain today is immense,” said Caroline Kenyon, Director of the Awards.

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.