Biscuit maker Bahlsen is to take on McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes with a new six-figure advertising campaign for its Messino cake – an “upmarket oblong Jaffa”.

All flour bought by government departments will soon have to conform to British farming and manufacturing standards. Under a new government plan, flour used in hospitals, schools and prisons will have to meet production standards such as the Red Tractor scheme or LEAF Marque scheme.

Irwin’s Bakery will invest €1m into its Irish supply chain network during the next three years to create a direct route to retailers in the Dublin area.

Linlithgow-based designer cake business Truly Scrumptious is to open a Cupcake Cafe Bar amd Cake Decorating School later this month.

Scullions Wholesale Bakery, a subsidiary of the McGhee Group, has bought fellow Scottish firm Fords Bakery out of administration, saving 87 jobs.

Unifine Food & Bake Ingredients is to support UK participants in the Amoretti 2010 World Pastry Team Championship in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, in July.

The standard rate of VAT will increase from 17.5% to 20% from 4 January 2011, announced chancellor George Osborne in his first Budget earlier today, but zero-rating for most food remains in place.

Roberts Bakery has purchased Aldreds the Bakers after parent company D&G Food Group put its four bakeries up for sale earlier this month.

The farl is a brown loaf, aerated chemically, shaped similarly to scones, only four times the size. Volume is not attained by adding excess baking powder, but by thoroughly mellowing the gluten. Try out this recipe it should give the finest brown loaf you have ever made:

Cake of the week goes to Gardners Bakery in Kingsthorpe, who baked this cheeky number for ITV's Loose Women in celebration of National Craft Bakers' Week. And no, the miserable sods didn't mention it on air. Gardners had more success with BBC Radio Northampton's Bernie Keith, who raved about his specially made cake within five minutes of receiving it. We're presuming it didn't depict the radio presenter exposing himself too.

"Herbert entrusts me with the 'secret' recipe. In truth, it's simple, containing just three ingredients: smelt flour, which gives the bread a lovely nutty flavour; Cornish sea salt and water"

Your Olivers, Blumenthals and Ramsays have hogged the TV schedules for long enough. The bakery trade has been crying out for its own superstar. Now she's arrived. All hail Angela Maher for her jaw-dropping appearance on Mary Queen of Shops last week.

Rory Bowman

Sunday 27 June, Melton Big Bake

Robert Done, head of sales & marketing UK, Tromp Bakery Equipment

For bakers looking to maximise on technology, premixes and improvers continue to offer a cost-effective method to develop on-trend products with a healthy shelf-life. Last year's recession saw some talk of bakers returning to baking from scratch to cut costs, but for most, the consensus emerged that to bake the best products, good premixes and improvers are a must-have.

So, you have goods to deposit or extrude, but what's the

Successfully implementing a global project for Starbucks to standardise its muffin range was, understandably, one of the main achievements Rich Products highlighted to judges in the Sainsbury's-sponsored Bakery Supplier of the Year category. But it was also its family culture and its focus on collaboration with its customers, which saw it walk away with the gong at the Baking Industry Awards 2009.

Next week marks the first-ever Co-operatives Fortnight (19 June to 3 July 2010). I know what some of you are thinking: crusty Guardian-reading weirdos and this, smiles Dan McTierman of co-operative The Handmade Bakery, is probably what the neighbouring butcher thinks when he drops round a copy of his British Baker to help out this fledgling start-up.

I can now declare Sainsbury's Bakery College officially open, said regional MD Anthony Hemmerdinger or words to that effect, as three bakery apprentices held up the red ribbon and bread chain, cut on 26 May.

Don Williams, CEO of brand and design consultancy Pi Global discusses the intricacies of brand naming and the importance of getting it right

Lemon tarts have become very popular and are based on the classic French recipe Tarte au Citron, which tastes so fresh and tangy that it is impossible to imagine the calories hidden inside.

Translating sustainability

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

Crisp manufacturer Darling Spuds has added a new flavour to its portfolio. In a bid to capture a taste of the Mediterranean, the sun-ripened tomato, green olive and oregano flavour joins its gluten-free crisps range.

Excel Labels is offering customers 18 free rolls of labels for every 100 rolls purchased, until the end of June, to mark its 18th birthday.

Crantock Bakery has launched an "un-Cornish" pasty in reponse to customer demand. The Crantock Armadillo marks a new style of pasty, as it is top-crimped, rather than crimped along the side.

Hobart Independent has said it can offer even more ware-washing solutions through its national dealer network, via its extended Ecomax range. This includes three glasswashers, two front-loading dishwashers and three pass-through dishwashers, and caters specifically for small to medium-sized businesses.

WMF is to launch its new 2000 S coffee machine at the Caffè Culture exhibition at the end of this month. The company boasts that this new piece of kit can help anyone make coffee like a barista, with its advanced, integrated milk foaming capabilities.

By Max Jenvey of Oxxygen Marketing Partnership, a strategic business agency, specialising in the bakery, foodservice and convenience retail sectors

Fox's is introducing two new products to its recently revamped Chocolatey biscuits range, following the relaunch of Caramel Shortcake and Shortcake Rounds.

Fats and oils supplier AAK, has introduced Akofluid sustainable palm oil to its product portfolio. It is designed to reduce waste, saturated fat usage and the impact on the environment. The firm has redeveloped its Akofluid Pumpable Shortening, which is a blend of rapeseed and palm oils, so that the palm oil content is now fully certified as being from sustainable sources.

An energy-saving rack oven, recently on trial in a number of German bakeries, is now available in the UK and Ireland, through European Process Plant (EPP). The MIWE rolling e+ can offer potential energy savings of up to 25%, as reported by some bakers involved in the trials.

As sales of the ubiquitous cupcake continue to rise, British Baker today launches the search to find Britain's Best Cupcake Baker 2010.

Almonds: There has been a more favourable May almond estimate of 700,000mt+, over 100,000mt better than was previously estimated after the bloom. For now at least and up to the next estimate, the trend is for lower pricing, but this would be immediately reversed by a more negative new crop figure in June.

Alex Waugh

Swiss-based baker Aryzta has unveiled two acquisitions that it hopes will strengthen its market position in Europe and the US.

Mono Equipment has purchased the exclusive rights to manu-facture Bluebird Packaging Machines' product range, after the firm went into liquidation in April.

Warburtons has announced a long-term extension to its UK milling wheat contract with farmer-owned business Open-field, as it continues to maintain its support of British wheat.

Subway has taken the number one spot for UK sandwich sales, according to a report published by the British Sandwich Association (BSA).

Renshaw looks set to grow by over a quarter as the bakery ingredients supplier reported spring sales matching those of the Christmas peak.

Clark's Pies is targeting business growth by merging its two Cardiff bakeries.

It has to be one of the most talked-about television shows on a bakery in history. The first episode of the new series of Mary Queen of Shops, screened on 7 June, saw retail guru Mary Portas come head-to-head with Maher & Sons bakery owner Angela Maher in a battle of wills. This culminated in Portas and her crew being asked to stop filming and leave the premises.

Consumers would welcome a national food hygiene rating scheme for cafés, restaurants, shops and bars, reports the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

Almost 1,000 entries were submitted for competition classes at the Alliance for Bakery Students and Trainees' (ABST) Annual Conference, held at the Alton Towers Hotel from 11-13 June, up from over 700 last year.

Almost 60 jobs have been lost after D&G Food Group called in administrators and put its four bakery companies up for sale.

Think you're the cupcake king or queen? Now's your chance to let your cakes shine, as British Baker launches its search for Britain's Best Cupcake Baker 2010.

Rich Products has announced it is to spend over £1m on a new toppings and icings factory in the UK, marking a "significant investment" for the firm.

Waitrose has restructured all of its buying teams, with food-to-go and bakery merged under one head of department.

Sainsbury's and Asda have welcomed several new faces to their bakery teams in recent weeks.

Staff at the Maple Leaf bakery plant in Walsall are to be balloted on industrial action, following a breakdown in negotiations over pay rates.

Patrick McGuigan

The media spotlight fell on craft bakers and the role they play in the community last week, with National Craft Bakers' Week generating a host of positive newspaper stories and features on TV and radio.

When an employee is at work, that's your time, not theirs. So if they have any personal matters to attend to, then they should deal with them on their days off, or during breaks for example, lunchtime. But occasionally, something will happen that simply cannot wait. If it is a genuine emergency, which can easily be resolved they won't be gone for hours then you may not mind them popping out for a few minutes.

According to recent research by Age UK, 120,000 workers were forced to retire in 2009, when they reached the Default Retirement Age (DRA) of 65. This, it says, cost the economy £3.5bn, plus employers lost the benefit of experienced staff.

Not all poorly performing employees have to be managed out of a business by an employer some leave of their own accord. When they do, their appalling timekeeping and dreadful attitude are usually quickly forgotten. But it is probably inevitable that they will move on to worry another unsuspecting employer.

Richard Stevenson, technical manager at NAMB, answers members' queries on food and trading law and other business issues

Employers must not discriminate against employees on the grounds of their religion or belief. But, as with a recent incident that involved a Muslim bus driver, what happens if faith gets in the way of running your business?

It doesn't matter how careful you are, an employee can turn out to be a disaster. For a new hire, they might look good on paper and perform well at interview, but as soon as they take up the role, they may fall short of the mark.

On 6 April 2010, new fathers were granted additional paternity leave and pay rights. They can now take up to six months off. So how is this supposed to work in practice and is it something you need to worry about now?

Independent sandwich bars and cafes finding it hard to put sustainability on the menu, faced with increasing pressures that prevent them from offering either healthy or sustainable products, states a new report.

MEPs have rejected the inclusion of a provision in the Food Information Regulation (FIR) directive, which would allow bakers in the EU selling wrapped products by number to continue doing so, following a vote at the European Parliament yesterday (16 June).

MEPs have thrown out a proposal for ‘traffic light’ values on food packaging, but have backed plans for food labels that feature mandatory nutritional information, defeating the UK Food Standards Agency’s wish to see traffic light labelling adopted universally.

Staff at the Maple Leaf bakery plant in Walsall are to be balloted on industrial action, following a breakdown in negotiations over pay rates.

The European Parliament is to vote on the inclusion of a provision in the Food Information Regulation (FIR) directive, which would see UK bakers selling wrapped products by numbers allowed to continue doing so.

A bakery producing sourdough breads and homemade cakes is set to be at the heart of a new local food shop and café in Exeter, which is to be financed entirely with investment from the local community.

Bristol-based eco-bakery The Thoughtful Bread Company has moved to a new purpose-built bakery at Farrington’s Farm Shop.

It has to be one of the most talked-about television shows on a bakery in history. The first episode of the new series of Mary Queen of Shops, screened on 7 June, saw retail guru Mary Portas come head-to-head with Maher & Sons bakery owner Angela Maher in a battle of wills. This culminated in Portas and her crew being asked to stop filming and leave the premises.

Swiss-based baker Aryzta has unveiled two acquisitions that it hopes will strengthen its market position in Europe and the US.

Warburtons has announced a long-term extension to its UK milling wheat contract with farmer-owned business Openfield, as it continues to maintain its support of British wheat.

Entries for California Raisins Bread Competition 2010 need to be sent to Bako North Western by 30 June, not Bako Northern as previously stated.

Subway has taken the number one spot for UK sandwich sales according to a report published by the British Sandwich Association (BSA).

National Craft Bakers’ Week (NCBW) has got off to a flying start, with cakes already sent to a number of national TV and radio stations, from bakers across the UK, in order to promote the week.

lNational Cupcake Week

Let us consider that type of cake which has a layer of almond paste in the centre. It may be simnel cake or a rich slab cake. Which is the best way to insert that layer of cake? The usual procedure is to mix the almond paste, weigh off and chaff each piece round, then pin it out to the required size, finally placing this 'heavy' layer of almond paste on a much lighter cake batter. Does this almond paste layer not try its best to sag during baking? And it is successful too often! Instead of preparing a paste, sprinkle the dry ingredients, about half an inch thick, on the batter forming the bottom half of the cake. During baking, moisture, which is usually driven off, actually doughs up the paste for you. Thus you do not require any eggs for the paste and save time in mixing.

For the first time, bread sold in Orford is featuring health labels on the packaging, warning of the dangers of lung cancer, heart disease and impotence. Oh no, yet more health scares about bread, you cry! Well, actually no. Neither is it the latest instalment of The Real Bread Campaign. In fact it's to do with a scam operating around the Grasmere Avenue area of the town where criminals are selling Golden Virginia tobacco for £6 on the street.

"He said he was taking into consideration my honesty and the length of time I had been working there and I thought he was going to give me a warning. I could not believe it when he said he was sacking me"

Unusual bread-related cultural event of the week is a forthcoming stage production whereby bread is kneaded, risen and baked on stage. Intriguing enough, but what's more, Not by Bread Alone by Israeli Nalaga'at theatre company is set to be staged in London next month by an entirely deaf and blind cast. It's described as "The moving and life-affirming stories of eleven actors played out through music, humour, mime, magic and bread-making, mixing reality with fantasy, grandeur with ridicule." What's more, the venue will feature the BlackOut Bar, where you can order drinks and food in pitch black surroundings, served by blind waiters. We recommend you leave your table manners in the cloakroom.

Move over girly flowery cupcakes, your time is up. As unlikely a proposition as it might seem, vermin-themed cupcakes have arrived. Yes, and just when you were thinking there was nowhere left to take the category after zombie cupcakes (see 7 May BB), 'What's New, Cupcake?' by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson arrives with recipes for cockroach and rat cupcakes: bit.ly/d2abTV

In the battle for customer loyalty on the high street the benefits of an Epos system are considerable: they're customer-focused and allow marketing initiatives to be delivered through a choice of communications including till displays, receipts, loyalty schemes or even email and text to prompt extra purchases.

Pork, ginger and rhubarb, mutton and turnip, and shrimp and butter were some of the more unusual pie varieties entered into the 2010 British Pie Awards this May. But while these eye-catching recipes offered a new take on the classic dish, traditional recipes such as steak and kidney scooped most of the top prizes.

The Bread Factory is anything but. Despite the company name, which, if nothing else, is a story to tell potential customers as we learn; its passion and aim as a business is to create artisan craft bakery products. It has successfully combined the benefits of scale with the traditional values of craft baking, making it the worthy winner of The Craft Business Award, sponsored by Rank Hovis at the Baking Industry Awards 2009.

Irish researchers at University College Cork have produced low-salt breads with a comparable shelf-life to standard breads, but they are still working on improving the flavour. One potential solution is to add sourdough as a flavour-enhancing agent.

What's the greatest barrier to growing a Belgian bakery chain in Britain? The crashing euro? A cataclysmic economic outlook? No, it's a linguistically challenged nation whose preferred mode of communication is shouting loudly at foreigners. "We've got a virtually unpronounceable name to most English people and a virtually indecipherable logo, even for those who work in the company!" says Steven Whibley, managing director at Le Pain Quotidien (LPQ).

52 Loaves: One Man's Relentless Pursuit of Truth, Meaning and a Perfect Crust

Madeleines are small shell-shaped sponge cakes from Northern France and were made famous in Marcel Proust's book Remembrance of Things Past. They are different to English Madeleines, which are small sponge cakes cooked in dariole moulds, coated in raspberry jam and rolled in desiccated coconut. The French variety are quick to make and it is worth investing in the shell-shaped moulds, as they make the finished little cakes look pretty and they are the perfect accompaniment to a cup of coffee or tea.

British Pie Awards are a tremendous achievement

The National Trust has launched a range of biscuits as part of its branded line of food and drink, following the launch of a selection of breads last autumn.

Paterson Arran has launched a new snack product, Paterson's Cookie Buttons. The 24g cookies are designed for inclusion in lunchboxes or eating on the go.

Rowlett Rutland has launched the 250SR gravity belt-driven Electric Slicer, designed to make a perfect cut with minimum wastage.

Ulrick & Short can now declare a range of its cold swelling starches to be 'wheat flour', following innovative product development. The cold swelling ingredients in its Synergie range are said to maintain the functionality of a starch and provide lots of different textural and stability options, while carrying the clean-label 'wheat flour' declaration.

Sharpham Park has launched a spelt bread range in Waitrose. The 400g range includes a wholegrain bloomer with sunflower seeds, a refined white loaf, and a spelt and rye loaf. Spelt has a low glycaemic index of 30, so releases sugars and nutrients into the blood stream slowly, said the firm.

By Max Jenvey of Oxxygen Marketing Partnership, a strategic business accelerator specialising in the bakery, foodservice and convenience retail sectors

New from Country Range is a line of cake, bread and pastry mixes, to meet the demand for healthier baking products. Every mix in the nine-strong range is free from hydrogenated fats, artificial colours and preservatives.

Tate & Lyle has launched a new starch, Resistamyl 140, which can be used in a number of applications such as bakery cream, custard or pastry cream.

Carr's Flour Mills has launched a new Maltster flour to help bakers meet the Food Standards Agency's sodium guidelines.

West Cornwall Pasty Co. has introduced a number of new breakfast products to its portfolio, which will be available to customers before 11am.

Rugby legend Phil Vickery is on standby, local schools and community groups have been primed, and craft bakers round the country are putting the final touches to promotional plans.

All eyes to Scotland and a few eyebrows raised northwards too at news that the country's food and drink sector has been targeted to grow by a quarter by 2017, from £10bn to £12.5bn. Given the economic outlook, that's a laudable degree of faith in its food producers, among whom bakers are the biggest in number.

Pinenuts: further hit by the impact of the weak sterling, prices remain extremely high and, given that replenishment from the Chinese new crop is still some six months away, it is hard to see how there can be any major price correction this side of January 2011. Global demand for pine nuts overall has declined at these historically high prices.

Grain prices in 2009/10 have been much below the level of the previous two years. During the months before Easter, wheat prices drifted further along, with good news about the area planted for the coming harvest and the condition of crops emerging from winter; consequently expectations are for a large world crop in 2010.

Paul Catterall,

Lees Foods has seen its year-on-year pre-tax profit increase more than two-fold from £379,000 in 2008 to £843,000 in 2009.

Flintshire firm Tasties has landed a deal to supply 13 Tesco stores in North Wales with a new range of sandwiches.

Strong sandwich sales and consumer demand for meal deals has helped Greencore to raise its operating profit by 31.8% to E25.9m (£22m) for the half year ended 26 March 2010.

Roberts Bakery has announced a pre-tax profit increase of 37% to £6.92m as it filed its accounts for the year to 29 August 2009.

Maple Leaf Bakeries UK is to relaunch its New York Bakery Co brand in the autumn following news that its sales have dipped.

Waitrose is set to launch a 13-strong range of crusty loaves, made with only English flour, in a bid to "make English bread great again".

Walkers Charnwood Bakery was awarded the Supreme Champion title for its pork, chicken and ham creation, at the British Pie Awards, held recently.

The directors of Sunfresh Bakers Ltd were asked to stump up more to buy their business out of administration after a revaluation by their bank.

Pre-tax profit may be down, but Northern Foods has said it is investing for growth, with the planned relaunch of its Good-fella's pizza brand this year.

A community bakery hopes to open its doors before Christmas, after raising thousands of pounds from local shareholders.

A new law to clamp down on illegal computer file-sharing will not initially target coffee shops and bakeries offering WiFi to customers.

Maher & Sons Bakery is to feature in the new series of Mary Queen of Shops, to be broadcast from 7 June on BBC2.

Chilled speciality breadmaker New Primebake is on a recruitment drive to help meet demand for its products.

Stephen Ort, previously a regular contributor to British Baker, died recently after a long illness.

National Craft Bakers' Week (NCBW) is just around the corner, so make sure you have all your point-of-sale (POS) and promotional materials at the ready, and posters up in your windows.

Helen Gregory

New bakery qualifications will not replace NVQs in September, as widely thought. Instead, bakery colleges have been told they will be able to run NVQs and the new IPQs (Improve Proficiency Qualifications) in tandem.

The Real Good Food Company has announced a return to fortunes following a flat year in 2008, with Hayden's Bakery and Renshaw leading the revival.

Roberts Bakery has announced a pre-tax profit increase of 37% to £6.92m as it filed its accounts for the year to 29 August 2009.

Maher & Sons Bakery is to feature in the new series of Mary Queen of Shops, to be broadcast from 7 June on BBC2.

Pre-tax profit may be down, but Northern Foods has said it is investing for growth, with the planned relaunch of its Goodfella’s pizza brand this year.

Waitrose is set to launch a 13-strong range of crusty loaves, made with only English flour, in a bid to “make English bread great again”.