A group of 16 promising bakery talents recently completed three days of masterclasses, hands-on training, and competitions as part of the 2026 Renshaw Cup.
The event – which returned for a second successive year following a 21-year hiatus – was hosted at the Liverpool manufacturing site of British Bakels, the owner of specialist sugarcraft brand Renshaw, as well as Liverpool City College.
Each participant was personally nominated by their tutors at colleges across the country, from Glasgow to Essex, due to their exceptional skill, creativity, and attitude demonstrated on bakery courses. They were mentored in Liverpool by a line-up of cake decoration experts, also serving as Renshaw brand ambassadors, including Andrew Fuller, the hyper-realism cake artist and star of Netflix show Is It Cake? who flew in from the US.
Fuller was joined by Suzanne Thorpe, founder of wedding cake studio The Frostery, and Renshaw applications specialist Francezka Bell, across three days of masterclasses, a factory tour, and a full day of practical work. This saw students creating two showpieces using the wider Bakels portfolio and the extensive Renshaw range, including its newly launched Big Bakes cake mixes and a new-to-market product trialled ahead of release later this year.
There wasn’t a winner per-se this time around, noted Bakels, with the format tuned towards honing skills and mentoring from the ambassadors rather than a competitive element.
“Giving young bakers the opportunity and resources to bake alongside the very best at the Renshaw Cup is something we’re immensely proud of,” commented British Bakels MD James Cawthorne. “By backing young bakers, we’re investing in the future of the industry and reinforcing our belief that baking and sugarcraft are skills well worth protecting.”
The Renshaw Cup was first launched in 1952 by John Renshaw, who recently passed away. The competition has a legacy of launching careers with past participants including Steve Fulford, now British Bakel’s lead technical manager, as well as Suzanne Thorpe.
Among the participating students were:
- Gemma Ainsworth, The City of Liverpool College
- Yasmin Chua, School of Artisan Food, Welbeck
- Elisabeth Crowley, Moulton College
- Fern Donovan, University College Birmingham
- Lili Dufley, Reaseheath College
- Evelyn Hancock, Tameside College
- Jacob Howe, National Bakery School, London
- Paige Leather, The Sheffield College
- Mea Livingstone, Leicester College
- Lea Martin, South Essex College
- Ella Muddiman, Coleg Cambria
- Rebecca Reade, Technology University Dublin
- Kennedy Rhodes, Blackpool and The Fylde College
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