Leicestershire baker Michelle Orme has won her third national baking award within a period of 10 months after being crowned the ‘Best Vegan cakes/desserts’ category at the Vegan Awards UK in Sheffield over the weekend.

Orme, who runs her business, The Vegan Cakery from her home in Fleckney, received the award from Guinness World Record holder and vegan athlete Fiona Oakes.

The baker set up her company in June 2012, and has since won four honours – being named the ‘Best Vegan Company’ at the 2013 UK Vegan awards and winning two more awards at the 2015 Vegfest UK Awards.

Orme was delighted to have added several more awards to her collection: “I can’t express how grateful I am to all of the people who voted for TVC in the first ever Vegan Awards UK. My amazing customers are the ones who help to make the cakery what it is. This is all thanks to them.

She added: “As raising money for animal charities and sanctuaries was one of the main driving forces behind starting the business in the first place, I like to think as many votes were because of that as they were for the quality of my cakes and treats.”

The baker has been determined to show that her vegan products can be tasty alternatives to any ‘regular’ baking foods that can contain animal-derived ingredients.

She is also part of The Vegan Society, which was founded in Leicester in 1944 by Donald Watson