STORY: UK's best bread celebrated with awards

For the first time in three years, stars of the bread-baking world gathered together at St John’s Church, Hyde Park, London on Wednesday 26 October 2022 for the much-anticipated announcement of the winners of this year’s Tiptree World Bread Awards with Brook Food.

Pain au Levain by Marta Nagy of M’s Bakery in Pokesdown, Bournemouth was declared the Overall Winner by Stephen Hallam, Chair of the Judges. Marta was presented with a cheque for £1000, a Tiptree hamper, KitchenAid equipment and trophy by Scott Goodfellow, Joint Managing Director of Tiptree.

Pain au Levain, which is the bakery’s signature white sourdough, made with flour, water and salt, had first won the Brook Food Plain Authentic Sourdough category. M’s Bakery also took home the People’s Choice Award, which is voted for by the public for their favourite baker or bakery.  


Pain au Levain by Marta Nagy of M’s Bakery in Pokesdown, Bournemouth was declared the Overall Winner of this year’s Tiptree World Bread Awards with Brook Food, the UK’s leading celebration of the art of bread-baking. She collected the award with her husband, Istvan at a ceremony at St John’s Church, Hyde Park, London. Credit: Henry Kenyon

Impressively, this is the second time the bakery, which Marta runs with her husband Istvan whom she has been baking with for over 30 years, has been the Overall Winner of the Awards. In 2018 they won the top accolade for their French Country Sourdough.

This year, Marta beat off competition from almost 500 loaves submitted to the Awards from around the United Kingdom. On the morning of Judging Day, which took place at Cathedral Hall in Westminster, the hundreds of loaves were delivered by courier, taxi and also in person to ensure maximum freshness.

Seeing the high quality of the loaves submitted into this year’s Awards, it is hugely satisfying to know the skill and passion for baking good bread here in the UK is not only in good hands, but has to bode well for the successful future of our Craft,” says Hallam, whose fellow judges, all 70 of them, included Carl Shavitz, Founder & Director, Artisan Bread School, Cindy Zurias, Artisan Baker Consultant, Jane Mason, Founder & Director, Virtuous Bread, Nick Harris, Chairman, Craft Bakers Association and Juliet Sear, Baking Expert, Cook, Food Stylist, Author & TV Presenter, The Wonder Baker.

“It is great to be reunited with the bread baking community in real life, we welcomed some new judges to the family and were very impressed as always, by the expertise and passion during the judging process,” said Scott Goodfellow. “The standard of loaves submitted was very high, reflecting the excellent quality of the UK bread industry.”

Tiptree World Bread Awards with Brook Food, launched in January 2013, is open to all bakers: amateur and professional, young and old.

“What a joy to be back in the ‘real’ world,” says Caroline Kenyon, Director of the Awards. “Seeing the remarkable array of bread on display at Cathedral Hall when we held our Judging Day, it was clear the UK bread industry has really held its own despite all the slings and arrows. What heroes they are.”

(Image credit: Henry Kenyon)


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