Cumbria & Manchester’s Lovingly Artisan Bakery has been named as the top bakery in Britain as part of the 2023 Bakers’ Dozen – which lists the best artisan bakeries in Britain as voted for by industry experts.
The Bakers’ Dozen was revealed on Tuesday 31st January at the first ever meeting of The Artisan Collective, held at The Compound, in Birmingham sponsored by Bako, Brook Food & Bakery Equipment, Craggs & Co, and Dawn Foods.
The Artisan Collective is an initiative created by British Baker, the leading source of information for the baking industry, to celebrate artisan bakeries and the people behind them while offering a platform to facilitate conversations and share skills. Among them was Lovingly Artisan’s Catherine Connor, who joined an expert panel discussion examining cost effective marketing for bakery businesses alongside journalist Vince Bamford, Matthew Bond, from Project D and Vhari Russell, from The Food Marketing Experts.
When it came down to voting time for the Bakers’ Dozen more than 100 specialists, including artisan bakers, consultants, suppliers, and lecturers, were asked to vote for their favourite artisan bakeries. Each voter was hand-selected by British Baker with the voters broken down by region to ensure bakeries across Britain had an equal opportunity to shine.
Aidan Monks, co-owner of Lovingly Artisan Bakery commented on winning top spot in the Bakers’ Dozen: ”We were totally shocked to be included in the top 13 let alone being voted the UK’s number one artisan bakery. Being named in the top spot is even more special for us knowing that our industry peers have voted for us. Hopefully the fact that we are trying to create the very best bread we can using the finest ingredients available and to put quality, wholesome, healthy breads at the heart of every family table again, has really resonated with them because it’s exactly what they are trying to do too.”
Amy North, British Baker editor added: ”The Bakers’ Dozen celebrates the best of the best. Each bakery on the list has been recognised by others in the industry as a beacon of dedication, passion, and skill, as demonstrated through lovingly handcrafted products and the people who make them.”
An artisan bakery is where baked goods – such as sourdough, bread, buns, pastries, and cakes and more – are made by skilled bakers by hand, often utilising longer and more traditional processes. Quality of ingredients and the end products are high on the agenda, and as a result, artisan bakeries typically only have a handful of sites.
The 2023 Bakers’ Dozen is as follows:
1. Lovingly Artisan, Cumbria & Manchester
2. The Street Bakeshop, Basingstoke
3. E5 Bakehouse, London
4. Bread Source, Norfolk
5. Bread Ahead Bakery, London
6. Northern Rye, Newcastle upon Tyne
7. Poppyseed Bakery, Eastbourne
8. Peter Cooks Bread, Hereford
9. The Dusty Knuckle, London
10. Pollen, Manchester
11. Fabrique, London
12. Levain and Cherry, Birmingham
13. Freedom Bakery, Glasgow
