All British Baker articles in September 2007
View all stories from this issue.
-
News
Packaging watch
A small bakery in Winscombe, North Somerset, has refused to join in a ’green’ scheme to ban plastic bags in the village, arguing the proposed replacement reusable bags are too expensive.The new scheme has been introduced by environmental group Winscombe Zero Waste. The new bags, introduced two weeks ago, are ...
-
News
Greencore: tough six months
Food and agriculture group Greencore said its convenience foods division had a difficult second half of the year.Unseasonable weather in the UK and unrecovered raw material price inflation contributed to an expected decline in operating profits of 8% year on year.In a trading statement ahead of financial year end on ...
-
News
Face value or valuable face?
F orget ’looks aren’t everything’. Forget ’beauty is only skin deep’. And you can forget ’it’s what’s inside that counts’. In retail, looks are - almost - everything. You could have irresistible bakery products, but if no-one comes into the shop, then no one’s going to know.But it’s ...
-
News
Commodities Tracker
"Prices for raisins from Turkey are 15% higher than only three to four weeks ago and in the short term show no sign of any weakness," said Mark Setterfield RM Curtis’ trading director, in the company’s new report Edible Nuts & Dried Fruit Market Report: August, September 2007."Provided the ...
-
News
’Centre of excellence is vital’
The baking industry has been urged to support a centre of excellence to plug gaps in UK bakery skills provision.Jack Matthews, chief executive of Improve, the food and drink sector skills council, told British Baker at the launch of the National Qualifications Framework that the absence of a centre of ...
-
News
Country Style buys frozen desserts site
Bakery company Country Style Foods has acquired the former RHM frozen desserts factory, in Wales from Premier Foods in a deal that completed on Saturday.The 50,000sq ft RHM factory, in Flint, North Wales, manufactures branded and retailers’ own-label desserts, employing 200 people.Country Style director Joe Wood told British Baker that ...
-
News
Top speakers for BSB event
Bakery industry leaders are to address the British Society of Baking’s two-day Autumn Conference, from 8-9 October at Coombe Abbey Park Hotel, Coventry.Speakers at the event include Nigel Doughty, MD of bakery chain Paul UK, Tesco category manager Neil Franklin, Mathiesons Bakeries MD George Stevenson and food writer Tom Bridge, ...
-
News
Briefs
n Cakes company Elisabeth the Chef has been acquired by Senoble, a European manufacturer of fresh dairy desserts. Senoble employs 2,300 people and has five production sites in France, one in Spain and one in Slovakia. Elisabeth the Chef employs 1,200 people at three production sites in the ...
-
News
Bourne to be great
Holiday park chain Bourne Leisure had just six weeks before the start of last year’s caravanning season to reinvigorate the bakery products sold at its 34 caravan parks in the UK.The company had come to the conclusion that its existing offer was "old and tired" and failing ...
-
News
ONS figures reveal changing face of UK baking industry
New data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed a 2.3% decline in the number of bakery manufacturers over the last year, while the number of bakery retailers grew slightly.The data shows there were 2,885 bakery retail businesses (eg, Greggs counts as one business) in the UK in ...
-
News
Chris North, bakery tutor at Castle College, part of Sheffield College
Ours is a proud craft industry, that is resisting attempts to completely de-skill it in order to save money. The baker or pastry chef in Europe is a respected member of the community. In the UK, our image is poor and careers teachers at school give us 1 out of ...
-
News
Bakers’ Bolton Bonanza
Independent bakers in the north of England and as far afield as Scotland and Devon have registered to attend the latest in the Bakers’ Fair series of regional roadshows, taking place at Bolton Arena on October 14.The one-day fair brings together a host of specialised bakery exhibitors, including millers, ingredients ...
-
News
Time running out for Queen’s Awards
Bakery businesses have just over a month to apply for the 2008 Queen’s Awards for Enterprise.The awards recognise achievements in international trade, innovation and sustainable development. "It costs nothing to enter and every application is judged on its individual merits," said Steve Brice, secretary of The Queen’s Awards Office. "I ...
-
News
economics of a madhouse Greed has created a climate in the UK where people get themselves in financial trouble, but a businessman is considered exploitative if he makes money, argues Tony Phillips
W ithout doubt I am part of the most oppressed minority group in the country: I am white, male, heterosexual and in business. Now, I know that if I refer to being white, I may offend the race lobby. If I mention male, I may offend the feminist lobby, ...
-
News
Apple appeal
This apple flan, flavoured with lemon zest and cinnamon, makes a spectacular autumnal dessert. Although very simple, if care is taken with the presentation, it has great visual appeal and can command a premium price. Basic ingredientsSweetpasteCinnamon pasteFrangipane mixApple pie fillingApplesApricot glaze 1 Line eight-inch or 10-inch rings with sweetpaste ...
-
News
Morrisons adds Polish, Greek and Jewish breads
Retailer Morrisons is launching a range of ethnic breads made from scratch in-store, including Jewish and Greek loaves and a Polish bloomer."Polish bakers working in our stores provided inspiration for the bloomer," said Martin Clayton, bakery specialist at Morrisons. "Our in-store bakers are always keen to try their hand at ...
-
News
Warburtons increases presence across UK
New figures suggest that Warburtons has grown its share of the bakery market in all parts of Britain, taking sales from its rivals’ flagship brands Hovis and Kingsmill.The AC Nielsen figures (52 weeks to 14 July), which are quoted in Warburtons’ 2007 Bakery Review, also suggest that Kingsmill has seen ...
-
News
IAWS turnover swelled by Spunkmeyer acquisition
IAWS Group announced this week that group revenue is up 22.5% to €1.9bn (£1.3bn) and operating profit increased 31% to €146.4m (£1bn).Sales at the Irish company, which owns brands including Delice de France and Cuisine de France, were boosted in October last year by the purchase of US-based Otis ...
-
News
RGFC reports 8% leap in bakery turnover
Bakery and ingredients group Real Good Food Company (RGFC) said last week that sales in its bakery division were up 8% year on year, but sales at its Renshaw ingredients division had been slower than expected.Interim results for the year to 30 June 2007 showed that Renshaw’s sales were worth ...