"It’s just like French bread – and besides, potatoes have iron" – Luis Ramirez, a baker in Lima, Peru, where the military has begun eating bread made from potatoes – potato baguettes, braided potato loaves and mini-potato croissants – to combat rocketing wheat prices

Here's something to get the drill sergeant bakery production managers among you excited. This is the Exmocare BT2 watch, designed to measure workers' physiological data, such as heart rate, location, body temperature, skin temperature and moisture levels. A central database then picks up the transmitted info for analysis, and alerts the employer to any slacking. We've been wearing them on BB for weeks now and the alarm hasn't gone off once...

What's the most unappetising ingredient you could possibly imagine for a cake? Take a straw poll and you'll end up with a pretty long list before you get to babies' nappies. As unlikely an invention as it seems, the Nappy Cake is a genuine product that's available from internet retailer http://www.baby-cakes.co.uk. "Each cake is 'freshly baked' to order, and carefully handfinished," says the website. We wish we could have witnessed how this particular business venture would have fared in the Dragons' Den. However, one thing is in its favour: it's perfect for baby showers...

Market research firm Technomic says that 57% of around 3,500 respondents to a survey "had never been to a bakery cafe restaurant" in the US. Staggeringly, 28% of those non-customers don't visit bakery cafés because they are "not familiar with what food items the concept offers". THEY DON"T KNOW WHAT A BAKERY OFFERS?!? And we thought our UK industry had it tough.

Our revered doctor would have something to say about our modern-day fixation with caffeine. Not one for popping down his local Starbucks, or its 19th Century equivalent, listening to this frightening account leads one to believe that he was supping a pretty potent brew.

s, potatoes have iron

The importance of seeing that everything is perfect cannot be overestimated. For instance, say you have made 24 Madeira cakes that are not all they should be. The batter may have been cold and, instead of being potential 'trade-getters', the resultant cakes are a little tough.

Spring 2008 sees the launch of a brand new four-day food festival in the UK, the Real Food Festival. The event is designed to reflect the focus given to food standards and, in particular, provenance and sustainability in the UK and around the world. Its aim is to bring together producers and consumers in a celebration of excellent produce, reflected in the festival's profile as both a trade and a consumer show, with a dedicated trade day on the 24th.

A small bakery in Kirkham, Lancashire, has taken on a supermarket giant and won. While many bakers would hang their head in despair at the prospect of competing cheek by jowl with Morrisons, David Cross of Manor House Bakery worked in close partnership with another local bakery and used both staged investment in capital equipment and the progressive development of a healthy passing trade to score his coup.

The bakers at the William Saddler bakery in Forfar, Scotland, are a happy bunch, especially since they no longer have to work night shifts. Not only can they enjoy a better social life, but also, they can integrate more fully with their colleagues.

8am

Health has long been discussed as a key trend in the bread market, but new research has pinpointed Omega 3 and whole grains as areas with the most potential for the future.

Fears that decades of baking expertise could be lost to the next gene-ration of bakers, because of a lack of training provision, have prompted the creation of a new online bakery school.

Heavy discounting of everyday bakery products in North American and Western European supermarkets has motivated bakery manufacturers to develop premium products that command better margins - a trend that will help the global bakery market grow to a value of $407bn (£204bn) by 2010.

Scientists are currently developing varieties of wheat resistant to a virulent fungus, which has spread from Africa to Iran. The UG99, which began in Uganda in 1999, is a strain of black rust, which can affect 80-90% of wheat crops in these countries.

Wheat pricing has almost tripled since the turn of the century, according to the World Bank.

has bought US firm The Coffee Equipment company and its Clover Brewing System.

A fatal accident enquiry into the death of a bakery forklift driver started last week. Glasgow's Sheriff's Court will investigate the causes behind the death of agency driver Graham Meldrum in 2005. He was killed by a truck's tail-lift as he unloaded bread at the Allied Bakeries factory in Balmore industrial estate, Lambhill.

There is lots going on at the moment. The Baking Industry Exhibition opens its doors at 10am on Sunday 6 April at the Birmingham NEC and runs up to and including Wednesday 8th.

The owner of a Michelin-starred restaurant has won a battle to open what he calls an "old-fashioned and traditional bakery", deep in the heart of the Leicestershire countryside.

Greencore has revealed it is planning to launch a range of Weight Watchers branded chilled desserts within the next two months. The products are currently undergoing development in the firm's cakes and desserts facility in Hull.

Preservatives in bread are seen by bakers as key in delaying spoilage. But while consumers, the media and retailers generally regard convenience as a good thing, they share a negative perception of preservatives.

Italian pasta company Barilla has put its German subsidiary Kamps Bakeries up for sale, six years after acquiring in a deal worth around E1.8bn.

From 6 April, 2008, both private and public sector organisations can be held responsible for corporate manslaughter and companies of any size could face an unlimited fine if found guilty.

UK bakeries have faced a 15% rise in the price of sultanas over the last two months amid warnings that supplies from Turkey could dry up by early summer - three months before the next harvest.

of Bakers held its second annual ladies' lunch last week presided over by the Master of the Company John Renshaw (centre). Guests included, from left to right, Jill Renshaw; the Lady Mayoress of the City of the London, Theresa Lewis; Dee Cassey, marketing manager of California Raisins and Sylvia Macdonald of British Baker. The event was held at Bakers Hall in the City close to where the Great Fire of London was started, allegedly at a bakery. The Lady Mayoress spoke of her empathy with bakers as she too runs a business and works with her hands - creating pottery. The fire, however, is confined to her kiln. The Worshipful Company funds bakery education through scholarships and sponsorships.

The deadline for entries to the Baking Industry Awards has been extended to Friday, 16 May.

Cumbrian bakery The Gingerbread Shop says it will have to wait until August to find out if its application to trademark the term 'Grasmere gingerbread' has been successful, after objections from a local cafe owner.

A Scottish craft baker has won a £9,400 scholarship to study traditional artisan bakery techniques in New York.

Bakers and suppliers who source ingredients, finished products and machinery from Europe say they are under increasing pressure from the strong euro.

n Supermarkets could be made to adopt the traffic light system of food labelling in a deal made between the Department of Health, the Food Standards Agency and the European Union, according to the Daily Telegraph. Public health minister Dawn Primarolo has confirmed it is the government's favoured option, but Tesco, and around 50 other firms, prefer a system of guided daily amounts to alert consumers on health issues.

About skills achievement and Paul Barker:

About marketing and Tricia Barker:

Established: November 2005

Husband and wife partnership Tricia and Paul Barker run a very individual bakery and café called Cinnamon Square, in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire. What makes it unusual is that this is Britain's first 'theatre of baking', where customers can watch the bakers make cakes and pastries and quiz them about how they do it. This area is known as the Makery. Children's parties can be held here and Paul Barker also runs evening courses in bread and cake-making.

"Tabloid" tea is the finest Ceylon and Indian teas compressed into a small tablet of uniform size.

Debate raged on one blogging site recently about the merits of this amateur inventor's solution to that age-old riddle: how do you toast your bread evenly? This beautifully illustrated idea involves an electric motor to turn the centre shaft, and "the slow rotation of the gear shaft produces a more evenly toasted piece of bread." Comments included:

Bad habits - whether it's smoking, drinking or over-eating - are the bane of society and a drain on the NHS. But who ever considered breathing through one's mouth an outrageous habit? Yes, you guessed who. There appear to be one or two major health risks involved in Dr Allinson's remedy, but what do we know, eh?

Krispy Kreme donuts play key role in neurological research, shock! New research from Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine sheds light on why our brains kick into action at the sight of sweet fried dough. Subjects taking part were tested twice - after chomping down as many as eight Krispy Kreme donuts, and after fasting for eight hours. They were then shown pictures of donuts and screwdrivers, while having their brains scanned. After the eating binge, their brains registered little interest in the donut images, while the opposite was true following the fast. "The brain is able to detect what is motivationally significant. It says, not only am I hungry, but here is food," said senior author Marsel Mesulam, professor of the bloomin' obvious.

"The meat and potato ones are really good" - Simon Davey, manager of Barnsley FC, on the pie delights that awaited Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich before last weekend's crunch FA Cup tie between the two clubs, having promised the Russian oil billionaire a free pie if he turned up for the game. Following Barnsley's shock victory, we're guessing the tycoon left instead with pie on his face.

Ensure you have a varied and diverse range of soft drinks available.

Coca-Cola Enterprises is to introduce an easy-to-hold 'grip" packaging design across all its 500ml PET bottles of leading soft drinks brands - Coca-Cola, Diet Coke and Coke Zero.

There was a time when the only soft drinks you could buy in a baker's were cans of Coca-Cola and lemonade. But there has been a revolution in the soft drinks available from manufacturers and in the public appetite for new and different types of drink. Coca-Cola and other carbonated drinks are still available, and still popular, but these days they are likely to be sold from a free chiller supplied by the manufacturer.

"Year 2007 and the start of 2008 have been incredibly difficult. Our performance has been more affected by price rises and the ability to pass them on than ever before. Without the award, it may have been more difficult."

Visiting Bells of Lazonby, near the heart of the Lake District, can be a confusing experience. On the one hand, you have miles and miles of quintessential country lanes, punctuated by centuries-old hedgerows and traditional stone cottages. On the other, lying in a lane just off the village high street, you have one of Britain's most forward-thinking bakeries - one that has national distribution, was the winner of Sainsbury's Bakery Supplier of the Year and considered corporate social responsibility (CSR) a part of its very ethos long before most us had even got our heads round the slogan.

Established: 60 years ago. Michael Bell's father, John Bell, started off working as a one-man band, making and delivering bread and cakes to the doorsteps of many family homes in Cumbria.

have recently graduated from a three-month foundation course in the skills of baking that is open to 14 to 16-year-olds. They attended Warburtons Bakers Academy at Birmingham College of Food and Tourism.

Irwin's, the Irish plant bakery, has installed the latest version of QuickStep Food and Beverage from Lawson Software, along with Lawson Business Intelligence, to improve communication across its UK-wide supply chain.

Memory Lane Cakes in Cardiff failed to get a council noise abatement order lifted last week when a High Court judge refused a judicial review.

Warburtons plans to build a distribution site at Howden in east Yorkshire because it has outgrown its existing depot in the region at Gilberdyke.

Bakers are among businesses in Chesterfield being urged to take part in an initiative to get locally sourced, high-quality food served at a hospital in the Derbyshire town.

Greggs unveiled full-year pre-tax profits last week of £49m - up 12% on 2006. This is despite substantial rises in the cost of energy and key ingredients including flour and vegetable oils, which pushed up selling prices by 5% over the year.

n The Wiltshire town of Melksham has lost its last independent bakers with the closure of Webbs Bakery. Owner Mick Eglin looked back on "32 brilliant years" and said that the bakery had outlasted most of the other independents in the county.

"It was a real honour for me and Ed Turnbull (co-manager) to win the award last year. I recently took on a new role in Asda as fresh food team leader at the Benton store, but I know Ed and the team are still riding the wave of winning last year. Consumers expect a high quality in-store bakery and as the only genuine craft within retail, winning the award celebrated our expertise and kept the focus on ISB. The award definitely raised Asda's profile in the local community and it was a great reward to all the team. We had a wonderful night out at the ceremony. We put up a big banner outside the store telling all our customers about the win."

"Cuisine de France was extremely proud to have won the Customer Focus Award. Being customer-focused is key to our business and it's great to be able to share our partnership approach with the industry through the Baking Industry Awards. We would recommend everyone in the industry to enter the awards. It is a great accolade to use across your business and with your customers. The awards ceremony is well-organised and a great night was had by all!"

"Winning the Craft Bakery Award last year confirmed what we're about. The craft of baking is our focus - we have a wide range of products and devote a lot of time to staff, skills and training. We used the awards - John Waterfield was also named Baker of the Year - as a marketing tool. We put the awards logo on our letterheads, promoted the win on the website and put up posters and information in the shops. Since winning, we've done a lot more wholesale business in the north west. The award adds credibility to your company and can have a real impact on sales. It's like a seal of approval."

"We were so proud to have won the award. It was a stunning night and I was delighted to have been recognised by people in the industry for my work. A big article appeared in the local paper about us winning a few days later and you would not believe the amount of people who came in saying, 'We've just seen you in the newspaper.' Our customers were thrilled we had won the award.

The best thing about winning Bakery Supplier of the Year last year was that I got to kiss Joanna Lumley - it's something I've always wanted to do since I was in short trousers! Joking aside, winning the award was great exposure for Bells of Lazonby - the coverage we received in British Baker was read by everyone in the trade, including supermarket buyers who are our target customers. Just the other day, I was sat in front of a major buyer, who remarked on our success in the Baking Industry Awards. Buyers change regularly and the award is an excellent way to introduce the firm. It shows we've been reviewed by our peers and come up trumps. The cere-mony itself is a great night. I've been to lots of different awards nights and the Baking Industry Awards is definitely the best."

"I was utterly delighted on behalf of the whole company. We really felt like we had arrived on the bakery scene. I was surprised at how much media coverage winning the award generated. We had several articles in the local papers and were covered by local radio. The time spent entering has more than paid off by the publicity we received, especially if you consider how much it would cost to pay a PR company. The award has certainly helped raise our profile in the UK and was well received by our staff and head office in Canada."

"It was good to get recognition for the hard work I've put in to improving my skills over the years and passing those on to others. We run bakery classes for every-one from five-year-old school children through to adult courses in breadmaking, patisserie and Italian baking. We sent out a press release about winning the award and received lots of coverage in the local papers. The award gave us instant credibility with new customers and we have seen a steady increase in sales. Business in the past few months has been incredible and much of that is due to our awards success. It has added momentum to the business and has definitely opened a few doors. I've been asked to give a presentation at an upcoming British Society of Baking conference and that has come about because of winning the award.

"We were very pleased to be named Baker of the Year last year. It was great to communicate the win to our customers - we published a leaflet highlighting our success, which we handed to the public. Also, when we refurbished our shops, we put 'Baker of the Year' on the bottom of all our posters. They look great and we are honoured to have won the title.

This new category in the Baking Industry Awards has been created to reward new product innovation from the industry's largest companies. Plant bakers, industrial cake producers and large desserts manufacturers, which have launched innovative new products in the past year, are all encouraged to enter the Puratos-sponsored award.

The Celebration Cake Maker of the Year category is open to everyone, ranging from small cake-making specialists right up to celebration cake suppliers to supermarkets.

Businesses that have grown from traditional craft bakery roots to become excellent specialist bakeries, as well as large bakery food manufacturers with a strong market presence, are encouraged to enter the Bakery Food Manufacturer of the Year award.

The search is on once more to find the baking industry's high fliers and success stories, with the official launch of the Baking Industry Awards 2008. The awards, now in their 21st year, recognise the hard work and passion of the people and companies that make the British baking industry one of the most exciting and innovative in the world.

T he Customer Focus Award seeks out the most customer-orientated bakery businesses. It was created in recognition of the craft, industrial and in-store bakery sectors' constant determination to find new ways to improve levels of customer service.

V andemoortele has been involved with the awards since 1987 and is proud of its commitment to maintaining and developing the highest standards by recognising the skills, expertise and passion of bakers.

The in-store bakery (ISB) provides true theatre in supermarkets, encouraging retailers to maximise innovation and introduce increasingly exciting product lines. An integral part of the supermarket offering, the ISB enables consumers to indulge, experiment and enjoy the freshest of craft bakery products in-store.

T his award is open to any supplier or retailer, large or small, whether you make or sell a 49p croissant or a £29 cake. If you are proud of the quality of your product, please enter. This award isn't just about products like Tesco Finest; it is also about great quality standard products. Customers on all budgets should expect to get a quality product when they visit the bakery department or shop.

UK miller Rank Hovis says it is proud to once again sponsor the Craft Bakery Award in 2008. This award is an excellent way for craft businesses to demonstrate their talent in today's ever-competitive UK and Irish bakery markets.

A sda says it is seeing massive growth in its organic business and understands that the organic baked goods offering is becoming more and more important to its customers.

T he relationship between supplier and retailer is vital in building success in the bakery category. With this in mind, Sainsbury's, the sponsor of Bakery Supplier of the Year, is keen to encourage entrants who are able to demonstrate a successful partnership they have developed with a retail customer. Entrants do not have to supply Sainsbury's to enter this award.

T his year, Rich Products will be sponsoring the Achievement in Bakery Training Award, which aims to highlight best practice in training and encourage the industry to invest more in its staff.

The baking industry could do its bit to combat cancer by including extracts from mangos in a range of products. Mangos are rich in antioxidants and dietary fibre, according to new scientific research.

A rogue trader at the commodity broker MF Global played a large part in pushing up global wheat prices at the end of February, taking huge personal bets on the direction of wheat prices and losing $141.5m (£71m).

Irish bread and pastries company IAWS Group has revealed a 30% rise in half-year earnings and said it expected continued growth due to strong demand.

Hovis

The market reacted positively to Premier Foods' announcement on 4 March of its financial results for 2007. Investors and analysts breathed a collective sigh of relief when the doomsayers' predictions of a rights issue, possible sell-offs and breached banking covenants were not realised.

Does the baking industry need its own National Skills Academy for the bakery sector? Anyone who feels bakery needs a higher profile when it comes to training and attracting new blood is urgently asked to attend a drinks reception on Tuesday April 8 at the Gallery Seminar Suite, NEC Birmingham, starting at 5.30pm, at the Baking Industry Exhibition.

and biscuits are more easily recognised on the supermarket shelf and are more likely to be purchased if they are in cartons. A study by market research company TNS Dimarso, showed consumers three different product categories, each of them packed in a carton as well as another format. Cartons were preferred by consumers, due to eye-catching colours and print effects, said the researchers.

It's time, once again, to think about entering the Baking Industry Awards!

The last few months have seen extraordinary gyrations in grain prices. The quality wheat market has been especially affected as Canadian prices doubled between November and February before falling back in the first week of March.

A Lancashire pastry chef who learnt the trade from a Swiss master baker in Lytham St Anne's has returned from 20 years working abroad to open The Deliciously Swiss Artisan Bakery & Patisserie in Didsbury, Manchester.

A Welsh pastry business and 40 jobs have been saved, after senior management took control of the firm in a £1m deal.

Consumers are increasingly opting to avoid products with gluten and wheat because they want less of them in their diet and not because they may have a food sensitivity, according to a report commissioned by Mrs Crimble's 'free-from' cake and biscuit brand.

A family-run bakery in Gloucestershire has enjoyed a resurgence of customer support following a radio appeal by its owner for people in Cirencester to show loyalty to local businesses.

Grainfarmers Group, which recently struck a deal with Sainsbury's to supply its in-store bakeries with fully traceable milling wheat, has reached profitability after paring down staff and transport costs.

Last week, a most interesting programme appeared on television, dealing with ‘the teenage problem’.

...the dollar growth in the world market for bakery snacks predicted for the period 2007 to 2010, with sales in the USA and Canada together expected to rise by US$5.3 billion, according to a new report by Global Industry Analysts.

I’ve quizzed [colleagues] on the content, and I’ve been amazed to watch the influence these kinds of books can have on an organisation – James Nolan, CEO of Sara Lee Fresh Bakery, tells USA Today about the book that helped him most in his career, the disturbingly titled Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done

Save the rainforests by printing out your emails, not on paper, but on toast. This marvel of toaster technology is essentially a computer-controlled printer that shoots hot air rather than ink at the bread. The possibilities are endless, if slightly pointless.

So seldom in these trying times can one find an authority to turn to for tips on how to keep one’s “excretory organs” in fine fettle, so thank heavens for Dr Allinson’s ageless advice. Incidentally, we’re guessing that the august physician had yet to launch his own bread brand when he offered this comment...

Last week, Stop the Week brought you news of the first-ever outing of a hitman-turned-baker (that we know of, at least), in the new film The Baker. Despite our high hopes, it’s proven to be off-target with the critics. The Guardian called it “a slow, dim affair [that] lacks dramatic yeast”, and The Independent gave it one star and said: “[Director] Gareth Lewis’ gift for comic dialogue is doubtful and his idea of farce – a supposedly raunchy sex scene involving food – is embarrassing”. Could this mark the early death of bakery-themed cinema?

Paris-Nord Villepinte will play host to this year's Europain & Intersuc exhibition, which welcomes confectionery and bakery professionals from around the world.

The equipment bakers use for applying spray coatings and glazes ranges from basic hand-held spray bottles to highly sophisticated automated systems. Spray automation has huge potential for raising production efficiency, reducing wastage of labour and materials and improving product consistency. But do costs rule it out for all except the biggest firms in the industry? Many smaller and medium-sized bakeries may think so and baulk at the prospective costs of automating, or even mechanising, their spray operations.

The coffee shop culture is not a new concept in the Lake District National Park, but recently, the trend has been reaching out to those in search of more than just the afternoon treat of tea and scones. Forward-thinking bakery owners Phil and Ruth Eastwood, a husband-and-wife team, say they will soon be accommodating 'Stitch 'n Bitch nights', in a newly opened café area next to their Oak Street Bakery in Windermere.

Disgruntled with the humdrum of the busy city life, Barry Hawthorne moved to the Isle of Skye from Cape Town. Captivated by the moody Scottish countryside, it's here that he set up his pet project - a bakery called The Isle of Skye Baking Company.

Angela Pullin's arrival into her parents' business has brought a renewed vigour, plus a slice of not inconsiderable marketing and PR nous. In four short years, she has helped pull Pullins beyond its traditional markets, culminating in canny new branding and packaging last year. What's more, she says, this modernising bakery has since set its sights on breaking out of its south-west stronghold by taking on a more diverse client base.

Are you a senior executive or director? Are you also one of an increasing number of people who, internally, feel under pressure to perform at levels that are not sustainable, but without which, your future is insecure? The pressure comes from fearing what might happen if you do not perform to the requested level.

Being with it and modern is very difficult these days. There are those who tell me it is old-fashioned to wear a tie and jacket on even semi- formal occasions.

Retail sales of Fairtrade products in 2007 were worth £493m, up a staggering 81% on 2006 sales of £273m, according to the Fairtrade Foundation.

Bakery equipment supplier Ibonhart of Norwich is reaping the rewards of a 15-year trading relationship with Russia.

The 2008 Budget, out next week, is likely to heap an unfair tax burden on many smaller firms, such as craft bakers and bakery retailers, according to the Forum of Private Business (FPB).

The world-famous Brabazon Golf Course at The Belfry, near Birmingham, is once again hosting this year's golf day for the British Society of Baking. The event takes place on Tuesday, 29 April, starting at 8.30am, and will give members of the BSB and their guests the opportunity to follow in the steps of golfing greats such as Tiger Woods.

This week, I was passed down a family recipe hailing from the Gwendraeth Valleys in West Wales - one which utilises bread in a hitherto forgotten way. It's called siencyn (pronounced shen-kin). Imagine the following delight: tea, sugar, bread and lumps of cheese, all in a bowl. That's right, cheesy bready tea. Yum.

Mike Holling, president, National Association of Master Bakers

Sugarcraft students from Brooklands College competed in a bi-annual catering exhibition at ExCeL in London's Docklands and achieved great success.

Tens of thousands of bread baskets being illegally used by bakeries and caterers have been recovered in the past six months by Bakers Basco, an organisation set up by the industry to crack down on companies who hold on to baskets following deliveries.

Shoppers are increasingly confident about the food they eat, according to a Food Standards Agency (FSA) survey, which found people are less concerned about issues such as additives, food poisoning and GM foods.

The Scottish baking industry will be represented at Tesco's Enjoy the Taste of Scotland food festival in Glasgow, from 25-27 April.

Bread brands dominate the top 10 grocery brands in the UK, according to new research from AC Nielsen.

A decision on the mandatory introduction of folic acid to breadmaking flour has been postponed until the results of two further studies are known.

Leeds Thomas Danby college is taking its bakery skills overseas, after securing funding to collaborate with schools in Russia.

Northern Ireland's Irwin's Bakery has been appointed one of the lead 'ambassadors for Ireland' by Tourism Ireland, partnering with the tourist board in a series of initiatives in Britain, including large-scale sampling events in London and Glasgow over St Patrick's Day on 17 March.

Premier Foods has admitted that the timing of bread price rises last year and consumer concerns about its Hovis white bread played a significant part in losses of £73.5m for 2007, announced this week.

n Combining a business exhibition with seminars, demonstrations and training, the Caffè