All British Baker articles in July 2007
View all stories from this issue.
-
News
Problem solved
New employer’s packQ. Having been a single-handed sole trader for a number of years, I feel I know the trade well enough now to expand and take on staff. My initial forays into the world of PAYE, NICs, working families’ tax credits and the like have left me wondering whether ...
-
News
Personal touch
When Newcastle-based finance director Richard Linfoot, 42, was made redundant from his accountancy job, he thought long and hard about what he would do next.Swapping his briefcase for a baker’s apron, he and wife Jane worked out a business plan, got their kitchen inspected and licensed by the local council ...
-
News
Ghoulishly good
After three months of making dainty, white, floral cakes during the peak wedding season, cake bakers must look forward to releasing their demons in August - a time when they can vent spleen via some ghoulish and gory cake creations.Halloween is moving up the league table as a seasonal earner ...
-
News
PE firms stalk Pret A Manger as flotation takes shape
Sandwich chain Pret A Manger has confirmed it is being courted by a number of private equity firms since revealing plans to float the company to fuel expansion in the USA.Simon Hargraves, commercial director, said: "The shareholders have not ruled anything out at the moment. People are putting other deals ...
-
News
An eye to the future
I decided to go into baking after I finished school, rather than go on to study A-Levels. The reason I did this was because my mum had always baked at home and I really enjoyed helping her. So I enrolled just two days before the NVQ bakery course was about ...
-
News
Don’t skimp on ingredients
I have always maintained that it is a false economy to cut corners when purchasing ingredients. And if I were to pass on any words of wisdom from my 24 years in the food trade, this would be one of my top three pointers for running a successful business."That’s ...
-
News
Millers welcome decision to suspend set-aside rules
News that 3.8 million hectares of EU farmland will be allowed back into arable production next year has been given a cautious welcome by grain traders and millers.The decision to suspend the set-aside rules that helped reduce Europe’s grain mountain to 2.5 million tonnes this year came as prices ...
-
News
Meetings leave doubt over Inter Link’s debts
There was mounting concern this week among the creditors of the now-defunct Inter Link Foods as it emerged that they might not have their debts met in full by new owner McCambridge Food Group.The Irish baker, which bought Inter Link moments after it went into administration on Friday, held a ...
-
News
Plaxtol takes top LASER day prize
The seventh LASER Golf Day took place on 10 July at Surrey National Golf Club, Caterham. Sixty gol-fers from all sectors of the baking industry took part.The winning team, with 118 points, was Plaxtol Bakery of Tonbridge, Kent (pictured) receiving the Team Prize from LASER president Anthony Kindred. Prizes were ...
-
News
Julian Hunt, communications director, Food and Drink Federation (FDF)
And lo, from the land of the batty folk came a new report calling for a fat tax on food products. Even though the report was riddled with inconsistencies, the boffins who authored this nonsense still managed to claim that as many as 3,000 lives would be saved by a ...
-
News
Bringing in the grain
With the organic vs local vs Fairtrade debate resembling some kind of ethical ’papers, scissors, stone’, organic has been somewhat usurped in the green stakes of late. The limelight has been cast instead on local sourcing. This presents a problem to organic bread bakers: the bullk of the UK’s organic ...
-
News
Floods bring chaos
The unfolding weather crisis has crippled many bakeries across England, with Gloucestershire businesses badly hit, amidst scenes of panic-buying.Janes Pantry bakery, on Lower Tuffely Lane, Gloucester, expected to be without running water for anything up to two weeks. "The flooding has drastically affected our trade," said Nevil Morse, managing director."It’s ...
-
News
Briefs
n After being open for seven years, a 200sq ft Starbucks coffee shop in Beijing’s Forbidden City has been forced to close, following an internet petition, signed by 500,000 people. It was claimed that the outlet was not in keeping with the culture of the old Imperial Palace.n TNS Worldpanel ...
-
News
Bakery Services sees pre-tax loss
Bakery Services has announced ’disappointing’ preliminary results, for the year ended 31 March 2007, showing pre-tax losses of £124,985.Bakery Services operates Don Millers’ franchise cafés and Inbake, an in-store bakeries business. Underlying sales revenues generated by Don Millers were down by approximately 8% at £2.75 million. The company ...
-
News
Northern sees bakery fall
Northern Foods held its annual general meeting last week, where it was announced that bakery profits were down due to challenging commodity prices and bad weather.Overall revenue grew in the 13 weeks to June 30, although bakery was down by 2.6%. Chairman Anthony Hobson said: "Stronger ready-meal sales offset a ...
-
News
Allied’s new web
Allied Bakeries has revamped its trade website for convenience stores in an attempt to boost returns for the sector.The interactive site at www. localkingsmill.co.uk includes point-of-sale kits and a profit calculator as well as category management tips and downloadable planograms. Details of Allied’s product range for convenience stores, developed ...
-
News
South Africa rises to the challenge
The overall size of the bread market in the UK and Europe is best described as static. However, there is one country where the industry has problems meeting the huge demand for bread products of all types. South Africa’s economy is booming and the baking industry there is rising to ...
-
News
Warburtons gets active on health
Warburtons has introduced an oat bread, said to help lower cholesterol, to its Healthy Inside range.The healthy heart claim comes from extra beta glucan in the 400g Healthy Inside Oats loaf. Warbutons’ existing Healthy Inside loaf includes inulin, derived from chicory, which encourages the formation of friendly bacteria in the ...
-
News
Shaken and stirred
With two months to go until the big event, it’s time to reveal the theme of this year’s Baking Industry Awards at the Grosvenor House Hotel...James Bond!There’s a distinctly Bond-like slant to this year’s entertainments. Race Aston Martins around a Scalextric Racing track, sponsored by Sonneveld, for the chance to ...