This Sunday (7 April) sees the first of this year’s Bakers’ & Butchers’ Fairs, which will take place at the Three Counties Showground in Malvern, Worcestershire.

Organised by British Baker and its sister title Meat Trades Journal, the event will welcome a host of exhibitors from the industry. This includes ingredients suppliers, packaging firms and equipment manufacturers, all of which will be on-hand to answer your questions and show you the latest innovations and products available in the market.

A new exhibitor to this year’s event is French Glacé Cherries, which will have samples of baking recipes devised by master baker Anthony Kindred, soon to be president of the NAMB, on stand 124.

Others attending the Spring Fair for the first time include point-of-sale terminal specialist C2epos (stand 142), bakery ingredients manufacturer Zeelandia (stand 108), weighing and food machinery experts South Coast Systems (stand 28), Positive ID Labelling (stand 132), equipment firm Interbake (stand 102), and Promens Packaging (stand 8).

Will Torrent, award-winning pastry chef and chocolatier, as well as past judge of British Baker’s National Cupcake Championships, will be joining the Dawn Foods team on stand 146 to demonstrate his cake-decorating skills. The bakery products firm will also be giving visitors the chance to win £100-worth of retail vouchers on the day in a prize draw.

What’s on

As part of this year’s Spring Fair, Christine Hamilton, star of ITV1’s I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! and wife of former MP Neil Hamilton, will be joining us as a special guest. She will take part in several events, including a live business masterclass on the Bakers’ and Butchers’ Fair Stage, when attendees will have the opportunity to quiz two expert retailers from the baking and butchery industries.

Other stage presentations include Sandra Monger, last year’s Celebration Cake Maker of the Year at the Baking Industry Awards, who will be hosting a practical bakery demonstration.

Monger told British Baker: “With vintage-inspired weddings continuing to be popular in 2013, I have decided to show how pretty sugarcrafted flowers can add the ‘wow’ factor to any cake and give a soft, rustic vintage style.”

Graham Dunton, chef-patissier at Dawn Foods, will also be showcasing his skills on-stage, demonstrating the flexibility of the firm’s new Scoop & Bake range of frozen batters and doughs.

Bakers’ & Butchers’ Spring Fair will also play host to the judging of the NAMB’s annual bakery competition

California contest winners

California Raisins (stand 114) will also be scoring entries at the Fair for its Bakery Competition, in which four lucky winners will have the chance to win a trip to California and Las Vegas. Attendees will have chance to rank their top three bakery products as part of a blind taste test, alongside additional scoring from professional judges on the day.

It’s not too late

If you have yet to sign up for your ticket for Bakers’ & Butchers’ Spring Fair then fear not, you can still register for free online at www.bakersandbutchersfair.co.ukYou can also find information on all the exhibitors and information on travel to the event on the dedicated website.

The event is sponsored by Norbake, and supported by the National Association of Master Bakers (NAMB) and The National Federation of Meat and Food Traders.