Celebrating the very best: Meet the finalists for Baker of the Year 2026
Celebrating the very best: Meet the finalists for Baker of the Year 2026
Brook Food is proud to announce the finalists for the Baking Industry Awards ‘Baker of the Year 2026’.
For the 13th consecutive year, Brook Food is incredibly proud to sponsor and judge one of the most prestigious individual awards in the UK baking industry.
The Baking Industry Awards have long been an important moment in the industry calendar, recognising the people, businesses and products that demonstrate excellence across baking. For us, the Baker of the Year category holds a particularly special place.
It is now 13 years since we first took on the responsibility of sponsoring and judging the award. In 2014, we found our first Baker of the Year, Mark Bennett of Patisserie Mark Bennett, and since then we have travelled the length and breadth of the country, visiting some of the UK's most talented and dedicated bakers.
Every year, we are reminded of quite how strong the UK baking industry is. It gets harder every year
One of the things we have come to expect from this award is that judging it will never get easier - quite the opposite.
Year after year, the standard of entries continues to rise. Bakers are pushing themselves further, developing their skills, improving their products and making an increasingly significant contribution to the businesses and communities around them.
That makes choosing a shortlist an incredibly difficult task – but it is also what makes the award so worthwhile.
Our judging process goes much deeper than simply looking at what is on the bakery shelf.
The Baker of the Year award is about the individual.
When we visit each shortlisted baker, we want to understand the person behind the products. We look at their journey, their technical ability, their creativity, their commitment to quality and the role they play within their business. We want to understand what they have personally contributed to getting those products from an idea to the finished bake.
Whether they own the bakery themselves or are part of a much larger organisation, the same principles apply.
It is this depth of judging that we believe gives the award its integrity.
Meet the Baker of the Year 2026 finalists
This year's finalists represent exactly what we have come to love about the Baker of the Year category: breadth, diversity and exceptional talent.
What connects them is their individual commitment to their craft and the contribution they make to the businesses in which they work.
DAN GIRLING
Daniel has been shortlisted for Baker of the Year in recognition of his exceptional baking expertise, leadership and commitment to quality. As Bakery Manager, he has driven award-winning innovation, developed outstanding products and played a key role in the continued growth and reputation of the business. His passion, creativity, and impact make him a truly deserving candidate.
MATT TOWNSLEY
Matt has been shortlisted for his outstanding passion and commitment to developing both people and products. His exceptional baking, recognised by Britain’s Best Loaf, is matched by his dedication to teaching, mentoring and engaging with his local community. With a clear focus on innovation and continual improvement, Matt embodies the passion, skill and vision that continue to drive the baking industry forward.
GARY KADAS
Gary exemplifies the qualities of an outstanding modern bakery leader, successfully combining artisan craftsmanship with large-scale production without compromising quality or values. His hands-on approach, technical expertise and commitment to developing people and products make him a standout candidate and highly deserving of the Baker of the Year shortlist
This is a category that never stands still and it would be easy, when seeing familiar names among the finalists, to assume that the outcome is already clear.
Perhaps there is a previous winner. Perhaps there is someone who has been a finalist before. Perhaps their experience makes them an obvious choice.
But that is precisely what makes the judging process so interesting.
Every year, we are surprised.
Previous finalists come back stronger. Established bakers continue to develop. New entrants bring fresh ideas and approaches. And the contribution that individuals make to their businesses becomes increasingly impressive.
This year has been no different.
Once again, the quality of the entrants has stepped up another level.
That isn't something we say lightly. After 13 years of visiting some of the very best bakers in the country, our expectations are high. But the finalists this year have demonstrated just how much talent, ambition and dedication exists within the UK baking industry. And ultimately, that is a wonderful problem for us to have.
We are immensely proud that Brook Food has been able to play a part in recognising this talent for the past 13 years. As a business, we work alongside bakers every day. We see the investment they make in their businesses, the challenges they overcome and the passion they bring to what they do.
Being involved with the Baker of the Year award gives us the opportunity to step away from the machinery, equipment and technology that are at the heart of our business and focus on the people who make the industry what it is - The bakers.
It is a genuine honour to visit them, hear their stories and see first-hand the skill and dedication that goes into their work. And it is a privilege to be able to help showcase and recognise the very best of them.
The finalists will come together with the rest of the industry at the Baking Industry Awards ceremony at the Hilton on Park Lane, London, in November, where one of them will be named Baker of the Year 2026.
Before then, we want to say a huge thank you to every baker who entered this year's award – and to everyone who has entered over the past 13 years. Because without those bakers putting themselves forward, sharing their work and allowing us into their businesses, there would be no award to judge.
Every entry raises the bar.
Every visit teaches us something.
And every year, the standard gets harder to beat.
We are immensely proud to be part of that journey, and even prouder to continue to shine a light on the extraordinary people who make the UK's baking industry what it is.
