Sauces and dressings are not something that come instantly to mind when thinking about bakery, but they are an integral part of adding flavour - not to mention a point of difference - to a sandwich, wrap or a panini.

Patisserie, Danish, Viennoiserie... they're all interchangeable titles for the same thing, aren't they? Well, sometimes, but you'd be best advised not to mix them up if you're doing a category analysis. According to one market analyst's definition, sales of one of those categories soared nearly 17% last year, while another dropped nearly a third and the remaining one fared pretty solidly.

For various reasons, the idea of onion bread sometimes frightens consumers. But with Onion & Butter Bread, the butter reduces the impact of the onion.

This truly great-tasting dessert can be made so simply. Crème brûlée (burnt cream) is a smooth custard dessert with a caramelised sugar topping, often overlooked by bakers to sell, leaving it to the restaurateurs. If you have retail plus a coffee shop, you have two opportunities for a sale.

With Christmas out of the way let's roll out Easter! These innovative Easter Bun Swirls are ideal as ready-to-eat snacks, a major advantage over the ever-popular Hot Cross Bun.

Welcome to this Special Feature on Recipes and Ingredients. Last week, some friends who live near Bromley in Kent, phoned me to say that the Saturday lunchtime queue stretched right outside their local baker's. That was music to my ears. I rather wished a TV crew had rushed round there and said something like: "It might be a recession, but look at how popular the local craft baker is!"

Jumping up six places in British Baker's Top 50 bakery retailers table this January, was UK coffee chain Coffee Republic. Currently at ninth place, up from 15 last year, the firm has seen massive expansion in the last year and shows no signs of slowing down.

Forget yer bells and whistles. When it came to winning the Tesco-sponsored Quality Product Award at the Baking Industry Awards 2008, Jackson's Bakery opted not to throw the kitchen sink into its hand-raised Traditional Steak Pie - thankfully for the dental health of the residents of Chesterfield. For Jackson's, less was clearly more - apart, that is, from the meat content, where more is clearly more, with 30% meat, all sourced from a good local butcher.

A high-street shop with a retail front-end and any of a variety of eat-in options could be dismissed as 'neither fish nor fowl'. It can also prove to be something of a phoenix for a business that is marking time.

Bananas are available all year round, but in the months when there is less fresh seasonal fruit around, bananas are good stand-bys. They are grown in India, China, Africa, South and Central America, Australia and the Caribbean. The Windward Islands, in particular, produce a high-quality crop.

Jo Fairley is co-owner of Judges organic bakery and grocery in Hastings and co-founded Green & Black's chocolate firm with hubby Craig Sams

Thermo Fisher Scientific has launched a new checkweigher for use in the food industry.

Biscuit brand Fox's is adding a new cookie to its half-coated Chunkie range this month. The Chunkie Extremely Chocolatey Fruit & Nut Cookie contains dark chocolate chips, milk chocolate chunks, nuts and raisins and is semi-coated in milk chocolate.

Ailing US wholesale bread and cake distributor Interstate Bakeries is radically revamping its range to focus on 'natural' products. The firm, alongside eight of its subsidiaries, recently saved 22,000 jobs after successful financial reorganisation, following over four years in bankruptcy. Based in Missouri, Interstate produces popular American brands such as Hostess Twinkies and Wonder Bread.

Wine business Vinopolis has been given the go-ahead to open a bakery, restaurant and shops by London's celebrated food market, Borough Market.

== Dust guidance ==

Marks & Spencer has won a 13-year tax battle over the status of its chocolate-covered teacakes, although there is still confusion around the legal ruling.

The boss of Firkins Foods has vowed to have 50 bakeries operating within the next two years - just months after saving 30 former Firkins Bakery shops from the administrator. The West Midlands bakery group - formerly Firkins Bakery - had to lay off 140 staff and shut 20 of its 53 stores when banks reduced credit last November.

London-based manufacturer The Bagel Group, which filed for administration earlier this month, has been sold to a new company, Mr Bagel's Limited, as a going concern. The business has been acquired by the Mansouri family for an undisclosed sum.

== FDF focuses on fat ==

Roy Flint, craft baker, plant baker and former president and treasurer of the National Association of Master Bakers has died. He had been ill for some time with lung cancer.

The West Cornwall Pasty Co is to open a further 15 outlets in the next 12 months, as well as refurbishing 25 of its existing shops.

Continental bakery and patisserie Jungs is to open a glass-walled craft bakery, allowing high-street shoppers to watch the bakers at work almost 24 hours a day.

David Armstrong, MD of Bako UK for the last year, left the company at the end of January.

British Baker has moved the date of National Cupcake Week to the week commencing 14 September, in order to give bakery retailers more time to prepare. The remit for the week has also been expanded to include everyone from craft bakeries to cafés and supermarkets - so make sure you get involved.

== ABI head retires ==