Northwest based multi-award-winning baker Aidan Monks is set to join the judging panel for the Britain’s Best Loaf competition 2020.
The competition – which is sponsored by ADM, American Pan UK and Scobie McIntosh/Revent – offers bakers the opportunity to pit their loaves against the finest in the country across six categories. The winners in each category will be judged for the ultimate title of Britain’s Best Loaf.
The categories are:
- Gluten free
- Innovation
- Plain sourdough
- Sourdough with other ingredients
- White
- Wholegrain
Originally set to take place in March at the Birmingham NEC, the competition was postponed due to the Coronavirus outbreak – but organisers British Baker magazine won’t let anything get in the way of celebrating the best of British baking. Judging for Britain’s Best Loaf will now take place on 23 September at East Court, East Grinstead, West Sussex.
Aidan Monks got his first taste of baking from his grandfather, a baker in Ambleside, in the heart of the Lake District, who supplied locals and visitors to the area with freshly baked, traditional bread. This hands-on experience initially inspired Aidan to train in the culinary arts as a commis chef, before training in hospitality management at Blackpool College, where he was lucky enough to gain a scholarship to study at the Boston College of Culinary Arts, Massachusetts, where he rediscovered his love of bread. He then later went on to study alongside the craft bakers at Les Grands Moulins de Paris, France, and ever since he has strived to further develop his baking skills and knowledge.
In 2010 Aidan established Lovingly Artisan, specialising in hand crafted slow-fermented traditional breads made using sourdough and all-natural ingredients. Lovingly Artisan is built around the belief that a balanced and healthy lifestyle is essential to our overall well-being, which has helped put Aidan and Lovingly Artisan at the forefront of bakery innovation in the UK.
“Britain’s Best Loaf is a fantastic opportunity for any baker to showcase their bread-making skills and gain recognition from their peers,” said British Baker deputy editor Amy North.
“The competition is judged by some of the top talent in the baking industry and we are thrilled to have Aidan Monks, our reigning Baker of the Year, join our ranks this year.”
Aidan Monks commented: ‘’Britain’s Best Loaf provides a magnificent opportunity to recognise the skills of those individuals and businesses at the forefront of the UK’s burgeoning artisan bakery scene and I am proud to be asked to judge in this year’s awards.’’
The deadline for entries is 7th September and, because of this year’s exceptional circumstances, bakers do not need to deliver their loaves personally: they can courier them to the judging venue if preferred.
To find out more, and to enter, visit britainsbestloaf.co.uk
