Ian Storey

President, National Association of Master Bakers

It’s already over three months since I became president of the National Association of Master Bakers (NAMB). The one thing everybody kept telling me was how quickly my year would go and so it is proving.

Following the installation at the NAMB conference in Blackpool, we had the fun night and what a great night it was. I now just have to think of a theme for next year any ideas anybody?

The following weekend, I travelled up to the Scottish conference in Dunblane to the fabulous Hydro hotel, another great weekend. I had been told the Scottish conference would be one of the highlights of my year and so it proved. The people were so welcoming and there seemed to be a great bond between most of the Scottish bakers there. I would like to wish Alan Stuart the best of luck in his year of office as Scottish Bakers president.

We had then had a couple of free weekends before the Alliance of Bakery Students and Trainees’ (ABST)conference at Alton Towers. It was good to see so many bakery students attending this event and it received great support from the baking industry. And with John Renshaw at the helm this year, the ABST couldn’t have a better guardian to ensure its success.

The next event on the calender is the Baking Industry Awards, which my wife Rachel and I have been invited to attend as guests of British Baker. It is a night when we are really looking forward to celebrating all that is good about our industry. As you can see, being NAMB president is a really tough job, but someone has to do it!