All British Baker articles in April 2010 – Page 5

  • News

    Grab a gizmo

    2010-04-09T00:00:00Z

    Hygienic gloves (A)Until such time as humanoids are genetically modified to have enough limbs to handle baked products and money, without the latter contaminating the former, we have Clean Hands by Easy Glove. Shop staff slip the glove on, serve the customer, slip the glove off and take the money. ...

  • News

    Trade snapshot: Ghost signs

    2010-04-09T00:00:00Z

    We’ve all seen them, clinging to the sides of buildings like fading relics of a bygone age. Many of these hand-painted ads still survive, but are quickly disappearing, as weathering and property development overtake them. For the last year a nationwide effort has been under way to archive these ’ghost ...

  • News

    FSA sets out stall for sat fat reduction

    2010-04-09T00:00:00Z

    The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has unveiled the first raft of its recommendations for reducing saturated fat and added sugar in bakery pro-ducts, following its consultation last summer.It is encouraging the baking industry to reduce saturated fat in biscuits, cakes and buns, as well as increase the availability of smaller ...

  • News

    Krispy Kreme reveals plan to double UK stores

    2010-04-09T00:00:00Z

    By Patrick McGuigan Iconic US doughnut brand Krispy Kreme plans to double its number of stores in the UK in the next five years and increase sales through Tesco, as part of a massive £12m expansion plan.

  • News

    Fit for purpose: DIY or the middle man?

    2010-04-09T00:00:00Z

    Richard Hamilton of Hamilton BIG, a creative retail and brand consultancy, considers whether going solo is worth it in shop-fit project managementProject management, in all honesty, is a thankless task. It really does take a special breed of person to want to run a job, whether their own or on ...

  • News

    Express delivery

    2010-04-09T00:00:00Z

    Three years ago, sandwich chain Baguette Express would not have even featured on British Baker’s definitive list of Britain’s top 75 bakery retailers. But today the East Lothian-based company is the fastest grower at number 20, with 62 outlets across the country, and is eyeing a top-10 place; it has ...

  • News

    Firms unfazed by country of origin labelling plans

    2010-04-09T00:00:00Z

    Meat pie and pasty producers are unconcerned that they could be forced to disclose ingredients’ origins if European legislation gets the go-ahead.The European Parliament’s environment and consumer protection committee has voted to require clear country-of-origin labelling on processed foods that use meat, poultry and fish as ingredients. This will be ...

  • News

    Love Coffee fills the gap

    2010-04-09T00:00:00Z

    New coffee chain Love Coffee is stepping into the gap left by BB’s Coffee & Muffins, with a goal for 25 outlets by the end of the year. Former BB’s Coffee & Muffins franchisee Shashi Patel, of DJ & C Foods, is planning to roll out the new chain in ...

  • News

    Recession hits US sandwich chain

    2010-04-09T00:00:00Z

    US franchise sandwich chain Quiznos has seen its retail estate in the UK shrink by nearly two-thirds in the past two years, with its store in Crawley, West Sussex, the latest to close down.The number of Quiznos stores in the UK has reduced to just 11, from a high of ...

  • News

    Traditionals with a Twist Carrot Cake by Fiona Burrell

    2010-04-09T00:00:00Z

    Carrots have been included in cakesfor many centuries because of their sweetness. During the Second World War, carrots were used to add sweetness to dishes because of the shortage of sugar and rationing, which made everyone become inventive with their food.The carrot cake we are used to seeing in cafés ...

  • News

    Bakery veteran sets up nut-free cake company

    2010-04-09T00:00:00Z

    Former Avana Bakeries and Memory Lane Cakes MD Mike Woods has set up a new firm making nut-free celebration cakes.

  • News

    Minimum wage rise stirs bakers’ ire

    2010-04-09T00:00:00Z

    The 2.2% rise in the national minimum wage, due to come into force in October 2010, has been slammed by bakers, who argue that it could hamper economic recovery and put jobs at risk.The Low Pay Commission (LPC) announced that national minimum wage rates will increase from £5.80 to ...

  • News

    Cupcake backlash

    2010-04-09T00:00:00Z

    It has been a long time coming. As part of its tireless efforts to tell us what fashions are going up and what are going down, The Sunday Times’ Style magazine last weekend belatedly? led the anti-cupcake backlash.A feature-length article written by one Laura Atkinson a journalist ...

  • News

    Backing the boulanger

    2010-04-09T00:00:00Z

    French bakers or ’boulangers’ number around 33,000 in France, says Jean-Pierre Crouzet, president of UIB, the French craft bakers and confectioners association. This does not mirror the decline seen in some other countries, but is still fewer than a decade ago.However, given current economic problems the French body has leapt ...

  • News

    Sleeping giant awakes

    2010-04-09T00:00:00Z

    Bakery giant Delice de France’s MD Ian Toal appears remarkably upbeat on the morning that we meet especially given the fact that Delice’s parent group, Aryzta, announced downbeat trading results that were more a Déplaisir de France the same day. Performance in the UK and Ireland was cited as ...

  • News

    Europain sees dip in French attendance

    2010-04-09T00:00:00Z

    The Europain exhibition, which took place on 6-10 March in Paris, has not issued a final figure for visitors. However, while very busy, the organisers state that, with industry turnover down 30% in France in 2009, it was not surprising French visitors declined by 11% and international by 15% .The ...

  • News

    Artful April Fool

    2010-04-09T00:00:00Z

    Bakery-based April Fool of the week goes to Sayers The Bakers for its mock left-handed sandwich, with "the ingredients rotated 180 degrees, redistributing the weight of the sandwich, so that the bulk of them skew to the left". On the packaging, "the door opens to the left". Hats off to ...

  • News

    Worshipful Co seeks awards applicants

    2010-04-09T00:00:00Z

    The Worshipful Company of Bakers is asking employers to urgently put forward candidates for three awards for expenses-paid trips to the renowned Richemont School in Switzerland.

  • News

    EAT a suitable fit for Waitrose says analyst

    2010-04-09T00:00:00Z

    Rumours that Waitrose is in talks to acquire 102-shop sandwich chain EAT fits well with the retai-ler’s strategy of moving from being a conventional supermarket to becoming a fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brand.That’s the view of Planet Retail analyst Natalie Berg, who says the acquisition of EAT would enable Waitrose ...

  • News

    Dean’s pursues ambitious targets

    2010-04-09T00:00:00Z

    Aberdeenshire shortbread and biscuit producer Dean’s is seeking to increase its turnover by £3m to £10m by 2012, following a re-launch of its core biscuit range this spring.The firm, based in Huntly, is hoping to grow its customer base both within the UK and internationally, and has a number of ...