London’s Brickhouse Bakery and E5 Bakehouse are among the UK talent joining a host of international bakers at the first ever PX+ festival next weekend (24-27 August).

Taking place at Duchess Farm near Harlow, Essex, the festival is a celebration and collaboration of the hospitality industry, with discussions, workshops and experiences across a range of specialities in which over 150 bakers, chefs and producers will be showcasing their skills.

The bakery is a focal point of the festival and includes a fully operational grain store and stone mill. Guests will be able to wander through and watch the bakers in action, as well as getting hands-on experience in a number of skills, including shaping loaves, making sourdough brioche doughnuts and baking with freshly milled flour.

The raw ingredients, particularly grain, will also be explored at length as the bakers seek to demonstrate the benefits of understanding grain as a flavour component in its own right.

“Everyone involved in the festival will be challenging the norms of what has become an established practice in the industry, and the Bakery will be looking specifically at how the baking industry can adopt better practices by considering how grain is grown and processed, the impact on soil, nutrition, environment, health and flavour,” a PX+ spokesperson said.

Here’s a handful of the bakers and bakeries that will be at the festival:

  • Paul Rhodes – A former Michelin-starred chef, Rhodes has been shortlisted for Baker of the Year at this year’s Baking Industry Awards. He will be sharing his experience of challenging the norms of the London wholesale bakery scene;
  • Graison Gill (pictured right) – Owner of Bellegarde Bakery in New Orleans, Gill will be hosting milling workshops and baking with freshly milled flour every day;
  • Kimberley Bell – Founder of Nottingham’s Small Food Bakery, she will be baking with a whole farm ethos and sharing stories and learnings from her ongoing project ‘Shorten the Food Chain’, a socio-economic study looking at the impact a food manufacturing business has on its supply chain;
  • Em Hart – She is currently baking with the team at Brick House Bakery in Dulwich, London having gained experience as head baker at Melbourne’s Tivoli Road Bakery;
  • Matteo Serpi – Working as a baker at Scotland’s Wild Hearth Bakery, Serpi will be sharing his expertise in wood fired baking with live demonstrations.

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