Baker of the Year 2026 finalists revealed

Thanks to our category sponsor

The hotly contested category of Baker of the Year 2026 celebrates people with a passion for baking, exceptional technical skills, and a deep understanding of industry trends.

Sponsored by Brook Food & Bakery Equipment, the category aims to find the best bakers the industry has to offer with judges looking for individuals who have made a positive impact on their respective businesses over the past year.

Meet the three bakers in the running for this top accolade at the Baking Industry Awards 2026:

Daniel Stirling, Bread Source

As bakery manager at the Norfolk-based bakery, Stirling has responsibility for overseeing the daily operations and ensuring high standards in product quality, customer service, food safety, and team performance. His role includes managing staff, organising production schedules and ensuring the bakery runs efficiently.

In addition to selling bread, the Norwich site also produces pastries, buns and sandwiches alongside coffee and a specialist range of teas sold direct to customers.

Bread Source was also a winner at Britain’s Best Loaf 2026, taking home the Wholegrain category trophy with a Wholegrain Fruit Loaf made with roasted fennel seeds.

The bakery has extended into the pizzeria business with Stirling directly involved, from working on site to producing the recipe for the pizza dough.

Judges appreciated Stirling’s hands on approach to the business and his focus on maintaining the high standards set by the owner. “He has driven innovation and quality,” commented a judge, while another praised the time he spends with his team, in terms of team building and creating opportunities to learn.

Gary Kadas, Seven Seeded

Kadas is back as a finalist for the third year in this category. This year he is bakery director, overseeing the entire production operation across the 24-hour bakery business, which supplies thousands of handcrafted products daily to a discerning clientele of chefs, restaurants, and hotels.

He also works closely alongside 12 managers and oversees the supporting structure of 110 employees across bread, pastry, ovens, packing, logistics, hygiene, warehouse, technical and operations.

Kadas still leads from the bakery floor shaping sourdoughs or cutting croissants alongside the team as well as driving the business. 

Judges saw how Kadas had helped steer Seven Seeeded through a “huge transformation”, and noted his ability to keep to the core values and quality of an artisan bakery whilst upgrading to modern practices. ”He continues to impress his customer base including Michelin-star restaurants,” said a judge.

Matt Townley, Most Bakery

Townley is a former teacher who founded Most Bakery in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, along with his wife Suze in 2022. His skills were already recognised in 2025, when he was named as a finalist in this Baker of the Year category. 

The independent, family-run, artisan bakery has been a popular addition to the historic market town serving bread, viennoiserie, patisserie, sweet treats, bagels and sandwiches. It recently won the Seeded Sourdough category at Britain’s Best Loaf 2026 with a Multiseed Sourdough made from a blend of organic flours and via a three-day fermentation process.

Townley remains hands-on within the business heading up the bread team. Staff development is central to his role, and he dedicates time to mentoring bakers as well as tasting product, refining recipes, and sharing techniques. He also runs bakery classes for consumers and has further plans to support younger people interested in a baking career.

The baker impressed the judges again this year. They remarked how he has maintained his high standard in the quality of products in addition to opening a venue at the local leisure centre. They were also impressed with Townley’s commitment to training and focus on young people, as well as his influence on the products, creativity and delivery of the business.