British Bakers were proud to welcome back students from The Worshipful Company of Bakers, for a three-day Bursary Training Course in the Baking Centre.

Without the annual event held in 2020 due to the pandemic, last month saw another group of students welcomed to the Baking Centre, for three days of technical demonstrations, market insights and creative assignments, a deep-dive for students into the world of commercial bakery ingredients.

The course kicked off with a welcome to the students from the Bakels team led by Ambassador Director, Keith Houliston. This was followed by an introduction to the Bakels Group by Marketing Manager, Michael Schofield.

Free-From

The demand for free-from products has accelerated through COVID-19 and so this formed a central theme for the course. Demonstrations on cake and caramel within the free-from category provided students with insight into not only the challenges faced by manufacturers in developing such ingredients, but the range of options produced by British Bakels.

Scratch vs Premixes

As students transitioning from academic studies to industry careers, a hands-on practical session with Bakels’ team of cake experts gave all an insight into the benefits of premixes in scaling-up production.

With consumers demanding more from their cake in terms of consistent flavour, texture, appearance and shelf life and many of the students looking to start-up and grow their bakeries in the future, premixes give them the tools they need to optimise production and deliver consistently high quality cake products.

Turning insight into concepts

With a wealth of market insights in the forefront of their minds, coupled with access to a wide range of Bakels ingredients, students were tasked with creating and presenting a bakery product for launch to a Dragon’s Den-style judging panel, which included the Master of the Worshipful Company of Bakers, Christopher Freeman, accompanied by members of the Bakels team.

The process gave the students a flavour of the key stages and considerations of successfully launching a product to market, with thought required for consumer suitability, packaging design and pricing strategy.

Guest Presenter – Colin Lomax

With decades of experience in the industry, Colin Lomax provided an excellent overview of his time in the baking industry over the years and showcased the opportunities which exist within our industry. As well as insight into his career, Colin delivered a technical demonstration on bread, all valuable takeaways for the students.

Recognition and Careers

The course was concluded with presentation of certificates by Christopher Freeman for students, as recognition of their attendance and efforts over the three days.

With over 39 years experience in the bakery industry with Bakels, Keith delivered a presentation on careers in the industry. From CV creation to tips on how to stand out, students were given all the tools they require to build a successful career in baking.

This was supported by William Bowen, four years ago a student forging his way into the baking industry, and today Key Account Manager for Bakels and a prime example of how Bakels provide opportunity for aspiring bakery students.