Ontario-based Canada Bread has announced its UK subsidiary, speciality bread and bagel manufacturer Maple Leaf Bakery UK, has seen a drop in earnings for the first quarter to 31 March, 2009.

National Craft Bakers’ Week is fast approaching and resources for teachers are now available here, for bakers to promote the role of the baker within their community.

Costa Coffee’s sales have continued to increase, but meal deals may soon be on the menu as like-for-like growth slows. The company has said it will be developing its food offering with, for example, lunchtime meal deals such as a panini and a cappuccino for £4.95.

There have been mixed reactions from business organisations following the Budget announcement last week. The Food and Drink Federaion (FDF) welcomes a number of the initiatives announced, but the Federation for Private Business (FPB) has said the government is not doing enough to help small businesses.

l The sadly departed author JG Ballard was assistant editor on The Baker in 1956, then the official publication of the Institute of British Bakers and of the Institute of Irish Bakers... tinyurl.com/dgbtpv l Deep Fried Coke is taking off in the States with a calorie count equivalent to 10 slices of bread... tinyurl.com/2jnt7u l A thief managed to steal a spiral mixer in front of craft bakery staff and whizzed it off in his sports car... tinyurl.com/dfl7v6 l There's a 'National pineapple upside-down cake day'... tinyurl.com/d62wlj

And if you've had your fill of cupcakes, meaty or otherwise, you could always try dieting with these low-cal creations made, appetisingly, of cardboard. These cakes are the work of English artist Patianne Stevenson, based in Seattle - see www.patiannestevenson.com

You are surely dying to know the answer to the question 'how do you combine the twin retro obsessions of cupcakes and knitting in one fell swoop?' Well bait your breath no longer, because the answer lies with marzipan, as witnessed at veganyumyum.com. These cupcakes were baked for - what our American cousins quaintly call - a "Knit Night". They're now more commonly known by trendy types over here as "Bitch and Stitch" evenings.

The Lister Institute has published the results of experiments with rats, carried out on its behalf by Dr Harriet Chick, who came to the conclusion that ordinary white flour is inferior to wholemeal flour even when the deficiency of protein, minerals and vitamin B1 has been made good through fortification.

It's a time-worn tradition for rock stars to stipulate indulgent treats in their contracts to perform gigs - or "riders" as they're known - and their left-field demands often come to light under headlines like "Madonna insists on 50 cupcakes arranged in shape of her star sign, Leo" (not true, but it's surely a matter of time). Now news has reached Stop the Week that this practice is filtering down to civilians, specifically one retail landlord in New York who has requested a cupcake rider from his bakery tenant.

Barely a week goes by without some tale of cupcake 'envelope pushing', and this week is no different, with US cupcake stories dominating our humble corner of BB.

Ilapak's latest packaging machines offer several energy-saving features, including greater thermal efficiency of sealing jaws and rollers and the use of energy recuperation systems in the motor drives.

An easy way of packaging shortbread fingers - one of the trickier bakery and confectionery products to wrap because they are brittle and tend to crumble during the packaging process. The system is based around the Redpack P325 flow-wrapper, which is found in many bakery and confectionery production units.

Whatever you want, if tailor-made horizontal flow-wrapping machines and automatic feeding systems are your thing.

Three Fuji Alpha 6

James Gibson of cake decorations company Sweet Sensations knows he is swimming against the tide as he speaks up in defence of synthetic food colours in icing sugar and marzipan.

Despite the fact the recession is impacting the sales of juices and smoothies, bakers can still market these products to their advantage by focusing on trends that remain strong, such as health. The Americans seem to be ahead of the UK on this one, with many bakery and juice bars dotted across the nation, balancing the treat of a sweet pastry with a nutritious juice.

Located in the heart of the Cotswold hills in the picturesque village of Shipton-under-Wychwood, specialist independent flour miller FWP Matthews has been putting its money where its mouth is.

There's nothing quite like a good, juicy dust-up between industry giants to shake things up, is there? Especially when it's between two heavyweights who are about to knock ten shades of - shall we say chocolate brownies - out of each other.

Fancy yourself as a bread artist? The non-profit Grain Foods Foundation - set up in 2004 to promote the benefits of grain-based products in the US - has teamed up with charity Feeding America to provide food for those in need. You can create a personalised piece of bread art at no cost by uploading a drawing or photo, or even design your own on the website - breadartproject.com - which also features a walk-around virtual bread art gallery. For each piece of bread art created, the Grain Foods Foundation has pledged to donate $1 to Feeding America. The impressive site also cites the health benefits of bread throughout.

Cinnamon is the dried bark of an evergreen tree that is grown in Sri Lanka, Southern India and the West Indies. It is available in small sticks or ground into a powder. The sticks are usually used to make an infusion, for example warmed in milk for custard tarts.

It can hardly have escaped any baker's notice that cupcakes are big business. One firm that could perhaps be considered a founding member of the cupcake movement is London's Hummingbird Bakery, which has just launched its own cookbook.

People off work through mental ill-health costs business millions every year, but this is the tip of the iceberg compared to the higher costs involved when people at work perform below par through a mental ill-health condition. My eyes were opened to this 'last taboo' subject recently when I was encouraged (in one of my voluntary work roles) to do a 'mental health first aid' course. No sooner had I finished it than TV's Secret Millionaire featured a Barnsley millionaire confessing to having had a 'secret' mental breakdown a few years ago. I had no idea just how much this subject affects the workplace; I just thought stress and depression were the new 'bad back' lame excuse on a sick note. How wrong I was!

Walkers' new premium crisp brand Red Sky has launched a new advertising campaign for Spring. Featuring the strapline 'From Nature's Kitchen', the TV advert consists of various creatures - for example squirrels and bees - working together to harness the ingredients in Red Sky, with the voiceover: "nature works hard so you can enjoy new Red Sky Potato Chips".

German firm Sielaff has launched a new bean-to-cup machine, the Piacere, which is Italian for 'pleasure'. It offers a menu of speciality hot drinks, including espresso, cappuccino, hot chocolate and latte macchiato at the touch of a button.

Warburtons has extended its 600g loaf range with two new products - Tasty White and Tasty Grains & Seeds.

The Drury Tea and Coffee Company, which is sharing a stand with The Coffee Machine Company at the upcoming Caffè Culture exhibition in May, is offering visitors a special rental/purchase deal. The show offer, equivalent to 0% interest, is valid on a range of Rancilio machines and ancillary equipment.

Mixer manufacturer Diosna has launched two new products for bakers. The PSPVW Spiral Mixer features special tooling, which enables it to stir, mix and beat in all pastes, batters, creams and butter for the cake-making and dessert industries.

As food-to-go consultants, we often get asked about where you should turn to as a business for new insights or strategies on how to sell more products - from bakers and café owners to independent retailers. Never has this been more important than in these harsh economic times.

Krispy Kreme UK has launched a new patisserie doughnut range, featuring three "luxurious" additions.

Savoury pastry brand Ginsters is to introduce a range of limited-edition pasties later this month. A new Roast Chicken & Bacon Pasty and Steak & Ale Pasty, both 180g, will be available from 26 April.

ISA (UK) has launched a new display cabinet range, Metro, with chilled, ambient and heated modules.

It wasn't long ago that the baking industry was at war with trans fats, spending vast amounts of time and money on new ingredients, reformulating recipes and changing production processes. The campaign was successful, with the so-called 'killer fat' more or less vanquished from bakery products. But just when bakers might have expected some respite, they are suddenly under pressure to take on another enemy of the arteries: saturated fats.

The second phase of the main EU sugar reform finishes in October. As an independent, non-refining distributor of sugar in the UK, we welcome the reform.

Almonds: The Californian almond bloom was good, but there were widespread reports of a late frost that affected a number of countries to differing degrees. This will have impacted on the final crop figure come the harvest in August/September.

As the Soil Association prepares for its processing standards review, two aspects of the relationship between food producers and consumers seem paramount: trust and transparency. The former requires the latter. Food scares in the past 20 years damaged trust in conventional producers and encouraged people to seek organic alternatives, based on honest-to-goodness principles and verified by open standards.

The British Sandwich Association (BSA) has consulted some of the largest sandwich producers and retailers to develop online training courses for improving food safety and hygiene.

Fine food retailer Lewis & Cooper's move into wholesale looks to be paying off after its fruit cakes and biscuits were listed at 11 National Trust shops and retailer Lakeland ordered 11,000 of its plum puddings.

Consumer lobby group Which? has slammed sandwiches from Asda, Marks & Spencer and Subway as containing "shocking" amounts of salt, sugar or saturated fat and is calling for nutritional information to be available at point of sale for all sandwiches.

== Big harvest on cards ==

Meat product manufacturer Parkam Food Group has acquired sandwich and chilled filling manufacturer Freshway Foods after the West Midlands-based company went into administration.

Coffee shops are missing out on sales because they are failing to emphasise the freshness and quality of their sandwiches, accor-ding to a new IGD report on consu- mer attitudes on food-to-go.

== Shortlist revealed ==

The Real Bread Campaign is planning to distribute stickers to consumers for placing on packs of plant bread, warning them against unlabelled processing aids used to make loaves. The labels will first be distributed at the Real Food Festival, at London's Earl's Court from 8-10 May, and will then be available to download.

A traditional bakery opened only last September by the owner of the renowned Hambleton Hall country hotel, in Rutland, is proving so successful that a third shop has opened this month to cope with public demand for its specialist breads.

== Cooplands' donation ==

Cornish bakery Rowe's has revealed that its new Reggae Reggae Chicken Pasty is now outselling its Traditional Steak variety - a first in its history.

West Scotland-based James Allan Bakers has expanded with the opening of two new shops in Partick and Alexandria.

BB's Coffee & Muffins plans to open up to 25 outlets in petrol station forecourts in the UK by the end of next year, after launching the first at a branch of Shell in Middlesbrough last month.

It's not long now until National Craft Bakers' Week, so make sure you get involved and promote your business.

Andrew Jones Pies' two shops have reopened and a new factory has been sourced following a tragic explosion at its factory on Good Friday, which left one man dead.

A shake-up in personnel at McCambridge, the Irish bread company that acquired Inter Link Foods in 2007, has seen CEO Gavin Cox leave the company with Andrew Coppel combining the role with his position as executive chairman.

== Illegal workers found ==

British Baker is pleased to announce another new category for the Baking Industry Awards 2009. The Artisanal Bread Award will be sponsored by Morrisons and is open to all kinds of businesses, from small artisan bakeries to larger more automated producers that manage to incorporate artisanal methods.

The first ever British Pie Awards took place at St Mary's Church, Melton Mowbray, Leicester this week.

The Food Standard Agency's (FSA's) long delay in publishing revised 2010 salt targets has left the baking industry in limbo, with companies unsure how much to invest in product reformulation as time runs out before the deadline.

Fine food retailer Lewis & Cooper’s move into wholesale looks to be paying off after its fruit cakes and biscuits were listed at 11 National Trust shops and retailer Lakeland ordered 11,000 of its plum puddings. The Northallerton-based shop, famous for its plum puddings and fruit cakes, launched its wholesale business in October, targeting delis, farm shops, restaurants and cafés.

Andrew Jones Pies’ two shops have reopened and a new factory has been sourced following a tragic explosion at its factory on Good Friday, which left one man dead.

Bakery products supplier CSM’s profits have been hit due to pressure to reduce selling prices, according to its first-quarter trading update.

Four new training providers have joined the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink Manufacturing, taking the number in the network to 32.

There is less than a month left until the start of National Doughnut Week (NDW), but there’s still time to sign up and get involved. The week, sponsored by BakeMark UK, runs from 9-16 May and gives bakers the chance to benefit from boosting its doughnut sales as well as making money for charity.

l Interview

is one delight to be found on the gloriously named website, 'This is why you're fat - where dreams become heart attacks'... thisiswhyyourefat.com l Bakery aromas are going to be pumped into NCP car parks to cover up the smells of urine and vomit...

"Things that normally would be pleasurable for rats didn't elicit the same degree of relish, which leads us to believe that a salt deficit and the craving associated with it can induce one of the key symptoms associated with depression"

Some of our readers inform us that they have been doing a good trade during the very hot weather with their American soda fountains. We are glad to learn this, for a year or two ago, we devoted a good deal of space to up-to-date formulae for American drinks, and we strongly urged confectioners to install fountains in their shops. We pointed out that there was a danger of allowing this branch of the business to go almost exclusively into the hands of chemists.

Making a bid to become bakers' public enemy number one is ageing ex-supermodel (miaow) Cindy Crawford, whose baker-baiting bread abuse was snapped for a photoshoot in the April issue of US women's magazine Allure. The image of 43-year-old Crawford tearing up a loaf in the mag's 'anti-ageing issue' was captioned with: 'White bread may be slang for innocuous, but not for your diet'.

Bread must have been on the minds of staff writers on publications up and down the country as a bakery theme emerged during a predic-table spate of 'hilarious' April Fools' Day spoofs.

A cheaper 2-group traditional espresso machine and grinder will cost you about £2,500-£3,500, with more premium models going up to about £6,000. This is quite an investment for a bakery wanting to add coffee to its offer, but it would allow you to sell the most popular drinks, such as cappuccino and latte. However, there are cheaper ways into the coffee market and filter machines start from as low as £190.

With a glut of food-to-go and sandwich outlets offering special coffee deals, such as recessionary £1 coffees linked to meal deal promotions, as seen in the likes of Pret, Upper Crust and Coffee Republic, focus is shifting from pushing premium coffees to just making sure consumers stay hooked on their daily coffee fix. This poses the question: if you are about to buy coffee equipment, should you go for cheaper filter or instant options or stay true to the premium ground espresso machines?

The economic winds of change seem to be blowing people's cookie-buying habits within in-store bakery (ISB) in strangely different directions at the moment. Buffeted by the storms of recession, shoppers have latched on to trusted brands, buying more licensed cookies, while at the same time jumping ship from 'premium' products to better-value 'standard' ranges.

Athree-year research project, subjecting wheat to a battery of routine and newly devised tests, has identified accurate and rapid methods for bakers and millers to quantify flour's quality and usability.

In-store bakeries (ISBs) are perfectly placed to meet today's consumer demands for freshly made food and retail theatre. This is why the In-store Bakery Award is such an important category at this year's Baking Industry Awards.

== baker of the year Sponsored by Vandemoortele ==

When observing Jane Hatton in teacher mode with her 'team' of students at Brooklands College, it's not hard to see why she's suited to the job. Despite having a somewhat winding career path herself, the lecturer now steers students at the college in Weybridge, Surrey, towards their future, and her successful results are just part of what won her The Achievement in Bakery Training Award at the Baking Industry Awards last year.

TasteTech: you could assume the name stands for taste technology and you'd be spot on. But aren't tastes, or 'flavourings' as they are called, those artificial things that we really don't need?

There are few people in the industry more passionate about training than self-styled Geordie Baker Ian Thomson. You'd also be hard pressed to find a baker more single-minded about getting booze into bread, but more of that later.

Cleaning schedules and food safety management systems are hardly the most exciting of subjects. But thanks to the controversial Scores on the Doors scheme, a lot of people have become surprisingly hot under the collar about hygiene standards - and bakers, supermarkets and cafés are no exception.

Following on from the cupcake wedding cake craze, the latest (and unlikely) trend we've picked up on from the US is, er... pie wedding cakes! In fact, we've already spotted one UK company specialising in them, offering sweet and savoury options: www.pieand.co.uk. "Why not go for small stands of 13 pies, and use them as a centrepiece for each table?" it says. Why not, indeed?

The nutmeg tree is native to the Moluccas (The Spice Islands), although it is now also grown widely in the West Indies. Nutmeg is not a nut and, as such, is not a danger to people with nut allergies although, rarely, some people can be allergic to it.

£6.99 Published by Egmont

Jo Fairley is co-owner of Judges organic bakery and grocery shop in Hastings and co-founder of Green & Black's chocolate firm with hubby Craig Sams

Russell Wheeler, S Black Ltd, Technical sales manager - food ingredients

The Pack201 horizontal wrapper is suitable for tray-packaged bakery items, such as biscuit stacks, crackers, chocolate candies, as well as frozen confectionery. The mid-range speed machine from Tevopharm, part of Bosch Packaging, is easy to maintain and designed for delicate product handling.

Droppa & Droppa Specialist Foods has added a new range of breakfast muffins to its gluten-, wheat- and dairy-free products.

Aulds Delicious Desserts has put two puddings together to create its newest product, Fruit Fusion.

Unifine has focused on fruits rich in antioxidants as well as flavour for its new Flavouring Paste, made from concentrated superfruit juices, fruit pulp, flavours and pieces. It contains cranberries, elderberries, pomegranate, strawberries and apple concentrate. Its new Superfruit Compound can be used to flavour products such as mousses, ganaches, ice-cream and baked cakes. It can also add a hint of pink colouring to glazes, fondants and toppings, for example.

By Georgina Wild, marketing manager for him! which analyses consumer behaviour and develops action plans for over 100 retail clients

Warburtons has teamed up with NetApp to help manage and store data from its 14 bakeries, producing over a million products a day. As the business has expanded, the organisation of the data has been of critical importance and Warburtons needed an efficient, secure and easy way to manage it. NetApp specialises in providing solutions for the storage, delivery, and management of network data and content.

The new 'chameleon cup' from Tri-Star Packaging will change colour when filled with a hot drink.

Gloucester bakery, Janes Pantry has installed a two-terminal Recipe Formulation System from Dataprocess Stevens in Blackburn. The system has been designed to provide recipe traceability, as well as product consistency and the elimination of scrap batches caused by formulation errors.

The National Skills Academy for Bakery (NSA) is soon to reveal plans for an industry-wide vocational bakery skills foundation course. As such, British Baker was invited to gauge reaction from the craft industry on their training needs and received a mixed response.

Most craft bakers' bread and cakes prices have risen in the last 12 months, although some branded products are even cheaper than a year ago, according to British Baker's Shopping Basket.

== Barbara Gallani ==

Vandemoortele is to receive a E75m (£68m) investment from Belgian private equity firm Gimv. The additional share capital will allow the firm to continue its growth in the bakery and lipids market, following its decision in January to sell off its soya foods division, Alpro.

High street bakery chains have welcomed the decision to reduce a planned 5% rise in business rates, but say the government should have scrapped the increase altogether.

According to Key Note's latest Bread & Bakery Products report, household expenditure on bread is expected to see a steady rise from 2009 to 2013.

== Waitrose motors on ==

Warburtons is on the hunt for Britain's best picnic area, as part of its National Bread Week celebrations from 4-10 May.

Devon-based company Peck & Strong is defying the current climate by moving to a new production site, four times the size of its existing one.

== Corn Exchange event ==

The Scottish Association of Master Bakers' (SAMB) annual conference is to take place from 16-17 May, 2009 with a new venue and format.

National Craft Bakers' Week is fast approaching, so make sure you get involved and promote your business. Running from 8-13 June, the aim of the week is to raise the profile of independent craft bakers - 'The Shop That Never Sleeps' - and, in doing so, capture increased spend from consumers.

The baking industry is opposed to an expected plan to introduce salt-style reduction targets for saturated fats, arguing that such a scheme would be technically problematic and expensive.

== Sweeteners debated ==

Value sales of organic bread and bakery products dropped by 18.2% last year, as high prices due to soaring wheat costs deterred cost-conscious shoppers.

Supermarket campaigns to encourage cash-strapped shoppers to abandon brands in favour of own-label products are failing in the packaged bakery category. Branded products are outstripping retailer ranges.

Student and trainee bakers up and down the country are gearing up for the annual Alliance for Bakery Students and Trainees (ABST) conference, which takes place from 1-3 May 2009.

Canada-based Maple Leaf Foods has announced the appointment of Peter Baker as the new head of its UK operations, Maple Leaf Bakery UK. He will take over the role of MD, effective 6 April, after Maple Leaf's parent firm Canada Bread announced the departure of former MD Peter Maycock last month.

The National Association of Master Bakers (NAMB) has a raft of activities planned for its 122nd annual conference, taking place from 8-11 May at The Highcliff Marriott, Bournemouth.

The national bakers buying group Bako has decided on a radical restructure of its group purchasing division, following a strategic review by its directors.

== Calorie clarity ==

Canada-based Maple Leaf Foods has announced the appointment of Peter Baker as the new head of its UK operations, Maple Leaf Bakery UK. He will take over the role of MD, effective 6 April, after Maple Leaf's parent firm Canada Bread announced the departure of former MD Peter Maycock last month.

The National Association of Master Bakers (NAMB) has a raft of activities planned for its 122nd annual conference, taking place from 8-11 May at The Highcliff Marriott, Bournemouth.

The national bakers buying group Bako has decided on a radical restructure of its group purchasing division, following a strategic review by its directors.

== Calorie clarity ==

Supermarket campaigns to encourage cash-strapped shoppers to abandon brands in favour of own-label products are failing in the packaged bakery category. Branded products are outstripping retailer ranges.

Student and trainee bakers up and down the country are gearing up for the annual Alliance for Bakery Students and Trainees (ABST) conference, which takes place from 1-3 May 2009.

Canada-based Maple Leaf Foods has announced the appointment of Peter Baker as the new head of its UK operations, Maple Leaf Bakery UK. He will take over the role of MD, effective 6 April, after Maple Leaf's parent firm Canada Bread announced the departure of former MD Peter Maycock last month.

== Calorie clarity ==

The national bakers buying group Bako has decided on a radical restructure of its group purchasing division, following a strategic review by its directors.

== Calorie clarity ==

According to Key Note's latest Bread & Bakery Products report, household expenditure on bread is expected to see a steady rise from 2009 to 2013.

== Waitrose motors on ==

Warburtons is on the hunt for Britain's best picnic area, as part of its National Bread Week celebrations from 4-10 May.

Devon-based company Peck & Strong is defying the current climate by moving to a new production site, four times the size of its existing one.

== Corn Exchange event ==

The Scottish Association of Master Bakers' (SAMB) annual conference is to take place from 16-17 May, 2009 with a new venue and format.

National Craft Bakers' Week is fast approaching, so make sure you get involved and promote your business. Running from 8-13 June, the aim of the week is to raise the profile of independent craft bakers - 'The Shop That Never Sleeps' - and, in doing so, capture increased spend from consumers.

The baking industry is opposed to an expected plan to introduce salt-style reduction targets for saturated fats, arguing that such a scheme would be technically problematic and expensive.

== Sweeteners debated ==

Value sales of organic bread and bakery products dropped by 18.2% last year, as high prices due to soaring wheat costs deterred cost-conscious shoppers.

Supermarket campaigns to encourage cash-strapped shoppers to abandon brands in favour of own-label products are failing in the packaged bakery category. Branded products are outstripping retailer ranges.

Student and trainee bakers up and down the country are gearing up for the annual Alliance for Bakery Students and Trainees (ABST) conference, which takes place from 1-3 May 2009.

Canada-based Maple Leaf Foods has announced the appointment of Peter Baker as the new head of its UK operations, Maple Leaf Bakery UK. He will take over the role of MD, effective 6 April, after Maple Leaf's parent firm Canada Bread announced the departure of former MD Peter Maycock last month.

The National Association of Master Bakers (NAMB) has a raft of activities planned for its 122nd annual conference, taking place from 8-11 May at The Highcliff Marriott, Bournemouth.

The national bakers buying group Bako has decided on a radical restructure of its group purchasing division, following a strategic review by its directors.

== Calorie clarity ==

Canada-based Maple Leaf Foods has announced the appointment of Peter Baker as the new head of bakery at its UK operations, Maple Leaf Bakery UK. He will take over the role of managing director, effective 6 April, after Maple Leaf’s parent company Canada Bread announced the departure of previous MD Peter Maycock last month.

Chester based-bakers craft bakery P&A Davies teamed up with California Raisins at a local Chester radio station, DEE 106.3, to help publicise California Raisins’ £1,000 prize trip to the USA.