With their unusual shape and pretty design, these will draw customers to the bakery counter, especially if they are displayed next to other breadsticks and rolls. They are perfect at Christmas.

Teal (Birmingham) supplies a range of hot water handwash units that require no water supply or drainage and that can be used anywhere with a mains electricity supply. Portable versions for use in vehicles are also available.

Alfa Laval’s (Aberdeen) AlfaVap evaporator is said to increase production and run at higher concentrations than many older plate evaporators.

CF Controls (Avonmouth, Bristol) has deve-loped a system for checking the colour and height of products including buns, biscuits, cakes, pizza bases and bread.

Jacket potatoes are popular in the takeaway market, and Rational (Luton, Beds) says its Potato Baker accessory for its SelfCooking Center means food outlets can produce perfect potatoes in less time than traditional potato ovens.

Three Optimass Coriolis flow-meters from Krohne (Wellingborough, Northants) have been installed by specialist chocolate manufacturer Classic Couverture.

Nisbets’ (Bristol) selection of next-day catering equipment includes a new planetary mixer, a range of stainless steel prep tables and three sizes of Bistro aprons.

The addition of a co-extrusion system to new or existing single or twin-screw lines can help new product development, according to APV Baker (Peterborough).

Valera (West Thurrock, Essex) is sole UK distributor for Sanyo’s Professional EMC 2001 microwave oven. The oven has a 1.9kW power output for fast cooking and a large 37-litre cavity space – the EMC 2001’s dimensions mean it can take tall jugs and containers. It is made in stainless steel, with a sealed-in ceramic base plate, ensuring durability and easy cleaning.

A new plastic conveyor belt has been added to Starfrost’s (York) freezing and chilling equipment range. Sourced from supply partner Ashworth, the belt has an all-plastic contact surface to give good product release and easy hygiene. It is suitable for spiral and straight tunnel freezers.

Servequip (Croydon, Surrey) says its TurboChef Tornado cooks up to 12 times faster than conventional ovens. This is thanks to the combination of its high-speed impinged hot air, dual microwaves and infrared heating element.

A bake-off oven designed to bake bread normally produced in a deck oven is being marketed by JBS Master Baker (Market Deeping, Peterborough).

European bakery machinery manufacturer Polin (Farnham, Surrey) says it produces almost every type of oven, from small bake-off units to comprehensive tunnel oven installations.

The Mondial Forni Micro Oven, available from Eurobake (Bolton, Lancs), is designed for baking bread, pastry, pizza and snacks within the retail bakery environment. The oven features 99 baking programmes, each with nine possible differentiated baking phases. Automatic weekly programmable operation, for one or two ignitions a day, makes the oven easy to use.

Cathal O’Connor, MD of Amandine (Dungarvan, Waterford) has invested in a rack oven from Double D Food Engineering. Double D’s Revorack Ovens bake 25 racks of French confectionery a week.

Rational (Luton, Beds) claims perfect bake-off results are easier than ever with its SelfCooking Center. The user selects the food to be baked and pushes a button; the oven selects the programme and controls the bake-off climate.

Nestlé FoodServices’ (Croydon, Surrey) warm-and-serve Bakery Cookies have been joined by two limited-edition flavours – Sticky Toffee and Oatmeal & Raisin.

How often we are given so-called facts, which are often nothing more than guesses or wishful thinking. For example, some film star was quoted in the newspaper the other day. She said: “I was voted the sexiest woman in the world.” But by whom?

Sunday I meet Lorna Bennett at Liverpool Airport before setting off on our trip. Lorna works for Huffkins of Burford and won the Piero Scacco Award from the Worshipful Company of Bakers. I was the winner of the Association of Bakery Ingredient Manufacturers (ABIM) Award. Both awards are funding our trip to the Richemont school, which has been arranged with help from Liz Davidson, president of the Richemont Club of Great Britain. On arrival in Basle, Switzerland, we meet up with some of the other people attending the course and make our way to Lucerne together.

Grain markets are currently in a relatively benign mood. Looking forward to a new crop, however, an increase in both the basic wheat and bread wheat prices can be expected.

The All-Party Small Shops Group report, called High Street Britain 2015, was published last week, accompanied by a great deal of media interest. Over 100 journalists, including two from the USA, asked for copies.

Ginsters is adding a new deep-fill “less than 350 calories” Chicken Tikka sandwich to its healthier-eating sandwich range.

The Bread Roll Company has launched its first new product after winning £20,000 of Home Grown Cereals Authority Enterprise (HGCA) funding last year.

- British Baker is taking a stand at the Food & Bake exhibitiona at Birmingham's NEC on March 19 to 22. Come and see us on stall P70 in hall 7.

The Irish National Bakery School is finalising details of a new degree course for the next academic year, writes Ann Marie Foley.

Sandwich chain Pret A Manger says it is looking at the environmental impact of food miles on its products.

RHM bread bakeries is evalua-ting the Glycaemic Index diet system and any weight management benefits it offers, but has so far decided against promoting it.

The Irish Jacob Fruitfield Group has reported profit of E4.4 million and sales of E42m in its first five months, writes Ann Marie Foley.

BAKERY industry giants are lined up to address the British Society of Baking’s (BSB) two–day “Golden Jubilee” Spring Conference, taking place, mornings only, at the Food & Bake 2006 exhibition in Birmingham.

Welsh bakery Brace’s is to drop its ‘Brace’s...Bread for all Seasons’ slogan and launch the tag line ‘Where Premium Quality is the Standard’, as part of a tranche of marketing activity. Marketing director Scott Richardson said the Brace’s brand needs to “move with the market”. He commented: “Premium quality is always something our customers have associated with Brace’s, so it is a natural progression for us to include it in our new strapline for 2006.”

A GREGGS bakery worker has been given a nine-month suspended prison sentence after conning colleagues and her employers out of £2,400 by pretending to have terminal cancer.

A BIZARRE power struggle is taking place between the administrators of Harvestime (2005) and the administrators of New Rathbones.

Supermarket bread prices have risen by as much as 10p for an 800g loaf over the last month, as bakery suppliers head off increased energy costs.

FEBRUARY 18 Chocolate Desserts and Individual Cakes. One-Day Course. Slattery. Contact John Slattery, tel: 0161 7679303

FEBRUARY 18 Chocolate Desserts and Individual Cakes. One-Day Course. Slattery. Contact John Slattery, tel: 0161 7679303

Food Design (Harrogate, Yorks) is celebrating European success after securing an order to supply a new product to spice up coffee in Italy.

Food Design (Harrogate, Yorks) is celebrating European success after securing an order to supply a new product to spice up coffee in Italy.

BCP Fluted Packaging (Blackburn, Lancs) has an advertising drinks sleeve, which ensures a company’s brand is visible, while protecting hands from heat.

Equipment supplier Aberna (Ash Vale, Surrey) says it has improved its range of La Pavoni coffee machines. The Hotel range, based on Aberna’s Bar machines, are more compact, it says.

Hubbard Ice Systems (Ipswich, Suffolk) offers a choice of ice and water systems, from simple bottle coolers to advanced ‘magic eye’ hands-free ice and water dispensers.

The Italian Beverage Company (IBC) (Borehamwood, Herts) has launched DROPissimo – a Belgian chocolate drop for blending with milk to make hot chocolate.

Nisbets Next Day Catering Equipment’s (Bristol) soup kettle is finished in black, with a hinged stainless steel lid for simplicity of service. It has a 10-litre capacity and features an easy-to-clean, removable inner pot, as well as a variable simmer thermostat.

The EB range of automatic-fill water boilers incorporates an easy-to-use de-scale system, says Lincat (Lincoln).

Coffee and tea are essential on-the-go drinks, and Pritchitts (Bromley, Kent) says its one-cup whiteners are a handy accompaniment.

A new range of slim-line, fully automatic hot drink machines – the Milano Series 3, 4 and 6 – has been launched by Nescafé Coffee Company (York).

Hot dog brand Rollover (Slough, Berkshire) is branching out into the drinks market with a new range of fruit smoothies.

Huhtamaki’s (Skelmersdale, Lancashire) disposable cups can be personalised with a logo or company name for no extra cost.

The New Covent Garden (London) range comprises a choice of nine 2kg soups, available from selected wholesalers and chilled food distributors.

The following tale of corporate wrestling between two Goliaths of the soft drinks industry may seem far removed from the average baker on the high street, but stay with it. PepsiCo, a third of the value of megabrand Coca-Cola five years ago, overtook its bitter rivals for the first time last December. Spotting a trend, the former diversified into healthier products, fruit juices and energy drinks. The latter was slow to react to changing consumer lifestyles, dithered and fell behind.

French President Jacques Chirac could be forced to eat his words over the derogatory remarks he made about British food last summer.

Q. How did you get to be chief operating officer of the Aga Foodservice Group?

BakeMark UK, sponsor of National Doughnut Week, is urging high street bakers to do their bit for charity – and reap the business benefits – by getting involved with this year’s event.

Earlier this week, the All Party Small Shops Group, led by Jim Dowd MP, reported on its findings. Before it even appeared, many of you told me that it would be too little too late, although you did appreciate what Mr Dowd was doing.

- INGREDIENTS supplier Zeelandia has added a “walk-in” freezer and a blast freezer at its technical centre in Billericay, Essex, so that it can do more research and development in the UK. In the short term, the freezers allow the Netherlands-based company to research pastry glazes and frozen products.

The search is on to find Britain’s top bakery sandwich shop for the British Sandwich Industry Awards 2006, organised by The British Sandwich Association (BSA).

Lyndale Foods is rolling out a new-format store following trials at its flagship Sayers shop in Liverpool.

Waitrose is offering British bakers the last chance to enter its fifth annual Waitrose Small Producers Awards, by its deadline of March 3.

Compass Group said the sale of its travel concessions business is due to complete by mid-2006, as it held its annual general meeting last week.

Giles Foods has emphasised that it will continue to expand, after selling its Milton Keynes plant to Food Investment Group (FIG) last week. Managing director David Rixon told British Baker FIG has only purchased its quiche plant at Milton Keynes along with the existing quiche business, not the whole business.

PENZANCE-BASED bakery chain Warrens, with 56 shops, says it has got the year “off to a brilliant start” with a French-themed promotion.

Department store Harvey Nichols has signed up Maison Brillant to open a bakery concession, as it gives its food hall a “face-lift”.

Bakers will survive through to 2015, but other independents, such as convenience stores, grocers and petrol forecourts, are likely to be wiped out by then. That is unless key recommendations from the All Party Small Shops Group are taken on board, predicts a new Parliamentary report.

ADM Milling blamed “unfavourable economic conditions” as it announced it is to close its Newcastle flour mill in May.

Ormeau Bakery is gearing up to bake over one million pancakes in the week running up to Shrove Tuesday on February 28. Shrove Tuesday is one of the bakery’s busiest periods and the RHM-owned plant, based in Belfast, will be working around the clock.

Iceland and Morrisons are both recalling own-label frozen garlic and cheese bread slices, due to possible contamination with small pieces of plastic.

Plant bakery Rathbone Kear is looking at sites to build a new bakery in the next year, following a £1 million investment in its existing estate over the last 10 months. Chief executive Harry Kear said he would like to build the site from scratch if the supermarket Morrisions (the majority shareholder in the company) gives the go-ahead. He told British Baker: “We have the team here that can do it.”

Plant bakery Rathbone Kear is looking at sites to build a new bakery in the next year, following a £1 million investment in its existing estate over the last 10 months. Chief executive Harry Kear said he would like to build the site from scratch if the supermarket Morrisions (the majority shareholder in the company) gives the go-ahead. He told British Baker: “We have the team here that can do it.”

Food and drink sector skills council Improve has revamped two levels of its bakery apprenticeships, in a bid to recruit more young workers to the sector. The revision includes a reduction in the hours apprentices spend in the classroom, so that more practical skills are delivered.

Described by the organiser as “the ultimate foodservice and hospitality show”, this year’s Hotelympia will feature over 1,000 international exhibitors and an expected 40,000 visitors, plus a host of demonstrations, seminars and competitions. It is a chance for bakers looking to develop hotel contracts to network and learn about new products and equipment.

Window Displays: Make a real feature of your window to encourage people to linger and come into your bakery

With the help of a leading environmental food waste-to-energy company, ingredients and convenience foods producer Greencore Group claims to have found an answer to the challenge of food waste disposal – particularly that of raw animal by-products – in an environmentally sustainable way.

It may have been the year of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, but for the Spencer family of Hathern in Leicestershire, 1953 marked the start of a business that would evolve into one of the most respected craft bakeries in the area.

Pensions – now that’s a subject to stir the heart and start the blood racing! I am in receipt of mine, so I am reasonably happy. But recently on Radio 4 I heard a trade union representative say: “My members are not prepared to work until they drop.”

If you are going to enter a market where there are already major players you have to be different, and according to Paul Morrow, MD of Bakels, its new Gourmet Filled Biscuits are just that.

Big name chefs have not been shy to dabble in the baker’s craft. Recent months have seen Jamie Oliver’s name emblazoned across breadmaking gift sets in department stores. Chef Paul Rankin has his own branded bread range. Meanwhile, the likes of Antonio Carluccio continue to preach that good bread should be the essential starter on every dinner table.

Serves 25

There is no doubt about it. The supermarkets really are leading the bakery market when it comes to lowering salt levels in bread, and Sainsbury’s is right at the helm.

There is no doubt about it. The supermarkets really are leading the bakery market when it comes to lowering salt levels in bread, and Sainsbury’s is right at the helm.

The Irish Pride-owned Keatings’ bakery at Kanturk, Co Cork, is to cease production in early March, with the loss of 76 full-time jobs and 20 more part-time administration jobs, writes Hugh Oram.

The All Party Parliamentary Small Shops Group is due to publish its report on the future of the high street in 2012 on February 14.

The Federation of Bakers (FoB) has announced details of its sixth annual conference, due to be held on May 10.

The Food Investment Group (FIG) has bought two bakery businesses that specialise in savoury pastry products.

Tesco director of bakery Tony Reed, Brian Robinson, newly appointed chief executive of Allied Bakeries and Sir Michael Darrington, MD of Greggs will be keynote speakers at the British Society of Baking’s Spring Conference, held on March 20 and 21 at the NEC, Birmingham.

Salt levels in bread were put in the spotlight, with Sainsbury’s singled out for praise, at a Salt Awareness event in the House of Commons last week.

Administrators behind the break-up of New Rathbones are finalising the division of creditors’ funds, after selling the business’ assets.

RHM Bread Bakeries has bought Harvestime (2005)’s main Leicester bakery and plans to start production “as soon as possible”.

Bakery company Dawn Foods has appointed Carrie Jones-Barber as its new chief executive. She is the third generation of the Jones family to head the company, following her father Ron Jones. He and Miles Jones will remain involved in the running of the organisation in new roles as chairman and co-chairman.

The Federation of Bakers (FoB) expects to wait up to 18 months as legislation covering bread weights is finalised in Europe.

Organic and natural products retailer Whole Foods is to recruit and train more than 60 bakers as it prepares to launch a 120,000sq ft flagship megastore in Kensington, London.

Supermarket sliced own- label bread is lower in salt than branded loaves, British Baker research shows.

This sandwich was devised using La Brea Country White Sourdough Oval

This sandwich is made using La Brea Wholegrain Loaf bread

Creating a sourdough ‘starter’ – which involves developing your own yeast culture rather than adding yeast to the mix – entails mixing flour, water, and other ingredients that have been colonised by wild airborne bacteria.

Lincat (Lincoln) has extended its range of upright, heated merchandisers with a new oven feature.

Valera (West Thurrock, Essex) has added an extra-large basket model to its range of under-counter dishwashers. The CF50, which accommodates a maximum plate size of 340mm diameter, can also be used as a high-volume glass washer.

Délifrance UK (Leicester) has launched a sweet-tasting, round flatbread inspired by a 19th century recipe from Lapland.

Kluman & Balter (Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire) has expanded its fats and oils range with Breadfat.

The Village Bakery (Melmerby, Cumbria) is introducing a Four Berries Bar to its range of organic Four Bars, which includes Four Fruits, Four Nuts and Four Seeds. Packaging has also been redesigned.

Gb Ingredients (Felixstowe, Suffolk) says it offers a range of yeast products, including NG&SF block yeast for dough mixed on a spiral or high-speed mixer, supplied in either 1kg or 800g blocks in a 12kg outer.

Fermex (Worcester) supplies a frozen yeast product with characteristics similar to dried and fresh yeasts, but also a number of advantages over both, particularly when used in frozen dough applications.

DCL Yeast (Alloa, Scotland) and Europe’s leading cream yeast specialist Algist Bruggeman (Belgium), both part of the Lesaffre Group, have extended the use of cream yeast away from its traditional plant baking use.

For those with long memories who think bakers ‘don’t make bread like they used to’, the loss of the hearty, flavoursome recipes of pre-war breadmaking are sorely missed. The impact of new manufacturing processes and ingredients on the quality of bread since the 1960s is well-documented. But what of the changing role of yeast in bread flavour?

Bakers could be set for further yeast price increases in the coming months as reform of the EU Sugar Regime impacts on yeast manufacturers.

Coming of age Q. When will the new laws outlining age discrimination come into effect?

For a company that supplies some of the leading bread brands in the UK and sends products to bakeries around the country on a daily basis, having a fail-safe order processing system is a must.

Name: ANDREW FAIRLEY Company: GREGGS, NORTH EAST Job title: 3rd YEAR APPRENTICE Location: GOSFORTH, NEWCASTLE

A series of demonstrations and workshops in Leeds aims to help students prepare for up-coming bakery competitions. The National Federation of Bakery Students’ Societies/IBB Alliance is holding an Exhibition Standard School on Friday, February 10, from 8.30am to 5pm, and Saturday, February 11, 2006 from 8.30am to 3pm. The weekend is designed to help and encourage students and others into competition work ahead of the Alliance’s conference at the end of April.

There is a telling phrase tucked away at the end of the Subway article on page 9 this week. Brian Griffiths, MD of EIPC, the company which manages the buying for Subway’s franchisees says: “There is a prevalence of parking fines here (in the UK), which is reflected in costs.”

Asda’s new “hot cross hedgehog” loaf is the “best product it has ever put out”, according to bakery director Huw Edwards. The new 400g spicy bloomer loaf, priced at 92p, has a ripple effect from cuts on the top.

Sandwich chain Subway is predicting it will sell 150 million submarine rolls in the UK and Ireland and in continental Europe in 2006, as its rapid expansion continues.

A MANAGERESS defrauded £14,000 from a Scottish bakery over a two-month period, a court heard.

ALAN Davis, who runs the Authentic Bread Company in Gloucester, says that he sold 47 tonnes of Christmas mincemeat to Prince Charles’ Duchy Originals food company in 2005. That figure is a hefty increase on the 14 tonnes sold in 2004.

The All Party Small Shops Group said it is yet to finalise its report into the future of the high street in 2012 in the face of mounting speculation as to its contents.

Irish food giant IAWS Group said it is satisfied with overall trading performance in the year to date, as it held its Annual General Meeting on January 30.

Baker Paul Jones is to revive his 70-year-old family bakery business in North Wales after a two-year hiatus.

The Pastry Manufacturing Company, based in Salford, which manufactured a range of baked products including pies, has been placed in liquidation.