Is your fougasse fabulous? Does your brioche bowl over your customers? Perhaps your white bread mops up the competition? If so, then enter Britain’s Best Loaf 2026.
Sponsored by ADM Milling, Fritsch, L&M Parnaby, Matthews Cotswold Flour, and Rademaker, the competition takes place on Tuesday 14 April at the UK Food & Drink Shows at the Birmingham NEC.
Here, bakery experts with combined centuries of experience will carefully examine the entries in eight categories – Flavoured Sourdough, Gluten Free, Innovation, International, Plain Sourdough, Seeded Sourdough, White, and Wholegrain – to determine the loaves which are a crust above the rest. Category champions will be crowned before battling it out to determine which product is worthy of the coveted title of Britain’s Best Loaf 2026.
The esteemed line-up of judges includes bakery specialists at Tesco and M&S, bakery lecturers from London South Bank University and University College Birmingham, NPD technologists, and more.
Entries are open until Monday 16 February – find out more about the categories and enter your lovely loaves via our dedicated website BritainsBestLoaf.co.uk.
Here are the bread heads ready to rise to the challenge this year:
Amy North, editor, British Baker
With more than a decade of experience as a journalist, including seven years at British Baker, Amy is responsible for leading and developing all aspects of its editorial coverage, from breaking news to in-depth features covering businesses of all sizes across the industry.
Bertie Matthews, managing director, Matthews Cotswold Flour
Bertie describes Matthews Cotswold Flour as Britain’s number one artisan flour producer and a huge advocate of regenerative farming. He believes it is the duty of food producers to move to a regenerative sourcing model and play their part in putting these products into the reach of consumers.
Clare Barton, owner, Bakehouse 124
After studying an Advanced Diploma in Baking at the School of Artisan Food, Clare set up Bakehouse 124 in her hometown of Tonbridge, Kent in 2015 which she ran for 10 years. She remains in the baking industry with a new project in the works.
Cristiana Solinas, head of the National Bakery School, London South Bank University
Cristiana Solinas is the Head of the National Bakery School, the oldest bakery school in the world. In her capacity as senior lecturer she teaches different modules including patisserie and business. A native from Savona in Italy, she received her culinary training in Canada, the USA and the UK. Having run a café and bistro in British Columbia for four years, she branched into teaching. Cristiana has a deep knowledge and passion for the culinary industry together with empathetic communication skills and the ability to build caring relationships with her students, at any age.
Dan Riley, deputy editor, British Baker
With more than 15 years of professional writing experience, Dan has spent the past three years covering the UK baking industry as part of the British Baker editorial team. In addition to his news articles and long-read features, he has also helped enhance the digital content of the publication with his graphic design and video editing skills, contributing to its rise in readership and engagement across various channels.
Daryl Stephenson, bakery manager, The Pudding Compartment
Daryl has spent more than 30 years in the baking industry, building a career that spans supermarket bakeries, large industrial operations, and bakery education. Over that time, he has developed a strong, practical understanding of how bakeries really work day to day, from meeting production targets to maintaining quality and consistency. He has always had a passion for teaching and has worked with people at all stages of their careers.
Dennis Everaers, senior bakery & process technologist, Rademaker
Dennis is the son of a baker and grew up in a bakery. He has been working at Rademaker for 23 years, starting as a travelling technologist and test baker before becoming manager of the Technology Centre, eventually moving to the commercial side. In 2015, he founded the Rademaker Academy, which has since grown into a full-scale training centre. In his current role, Dennis’ speciality is bread in all its forms with his focus entirely on developing and optimising Rademaker’s bread production lines.
Gareth Edwards, head of sales – craft and speciality bakery division, ADM Milling
Gareth’s passion for the baking industry ignited at Cardiff Bakery College. His early career saw him honing his skills in artisan bakeries before transitioning to in-store bakery roles. His journey with ADM Milling began in the commercial division, and over the past 29 years, he has held various positions within the company. His current role sees him collaborate closely with his technical and marketing colleagues to bring innovative ideas to market.
Graham Duckworth, lecturer, University College Birmingham
Graham has spent his whole career in the baking industry, from craft bakery to plant bakery, product development, ingredients companies, bakery research, international consultancy, and professional training. Now, he teaches the Bakery & Patisserie Technology degree at UCB as well as moderating the bakery course at Technical University Dublin.
Harry Peak, product developer, M&S
Harry describes bakery as “his true passion”. He’s worked within the food industry for 25 years, with nearly half of this in the bakery sector working with manufacturers. He’s been at M&S for the last four years, delivering the in-store bakery transformation.
John Lamper, bakery specialist – ISB, Tesco
John started his career as a baker at Sainsbury’s when he was 17 and went on to spend 28 years at the retailer covering various bakery specialist roles both regionally and nationally. In 2018 John joined Tesco as a bakery specialist working to drive operational innovation, product quality, sustainability and efficiencies across all ISB channels. John also joined the board of the Craft Bakers Association in 2022 and continues to serve as a non-executive director supporting the craft sector.
Lee Smith, owner, Poppyseed Bakery
Lee started his baking career in 1984 working in local patisseries and bakeries. In 1997 he took a job as head baker at The Dorchester Hotel in London. Six years later he felt it was time to branch out on his own and purchased a bakery in Bexhill on Sea. Today he oversees 76 staff, five shops, and a large wholesale operation. His loaves have won Britain’s Best Loaf on four occasions, and Lee has been part of the judging panel for several years.
Lucas Fussnegger, founder & director, Fussnegger Ltd
Lucas is a second-generation German master baker and founder of bakery consultancy Fussnegger Ltd. Having grown up in his family’s bakery, he says baking has always been part his life. Lucas moved to the UK in 2015 where he discovered a strong interest in the technical side of baking, helping to develop the Collection Sourdough for M&S. Having previously served as president of the ABST, I remain passionate about supporting the baking profession, sharing knowledge, and helping develop the next generation of bakers through ongoing industry involvement.
Neil Woods, consultant
Neil is celebrating 61 years in the baking industry, entering as an apprentice aged 15. He spent the next two decades working at various levels, learning his craft within plant, craft, and in-store sectors. He spent the majority of his working life at Ireks Arkady where he remained for 33 years. He has been a long-standing member of the BCA, the BSB, and the Craft Bakers Association (of which he was a past president) and has also recently been admitted into the Worshipful Company of Bakers. In 2021, he was honoured in 2021 with the Outstanding Contribution to the Baking Industry Award.
Paul Johnson, UK sales manager, Fritsch
As UK sales manager for dough processing equipment firm Fritsch, Paul looks after existing customer accounts as well as finding new business. One of the best parts of his role is working with the firm’s master bakers to help customers develop and perfect their products at its ‘World of Bakery’ Test Centre in Germany. As a key member of the exciting and innovative company, Paul says he particularly enjoys discovering, learning about (and tasting) new products.
Sara Autton, consultant
Sara studied at the National Bakery School (part of London Southbank University) on two separate occasions, gaining a variety of bakery-related City and Guilds qualifications, her National Diploma in Bakery, and a Batchelor’s degree in Bakery Science and Product Management. She recently retired from Lesaffre UK & Ireland where she was technical manager for over 25 years. In 2023 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the London Southbank University; and the prestigious Outstanding Contribution to the Baking Industry Award from the British Baker. She continues to take an interest in the baking industry through her current role as a bakery consultant.
William Leet, bakery NPD manager, David Wood Baking
Will started his baking journey at Leicester College before going on to further his studies at UCB. He went on to study in Norway where he completed an internship at the famous Nordic Bakeriet I Lom, working there for two years as an artisan baker and supervisor. Moving back to the UK, he took the role of development baker for David Wood Baking before learning the role of technologist, before being promoted to bakery NPD manager. He’s been part of the Britain’s Best Loaf judging panel for several years, and also even won the Rising Star Award at the 2021 Baking Industry Awards.
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