AN award-winning city bakery has scooped yet another award to add to the collection after being named as 'best bakery in Worcestershire'.

The award will only add momentum to calls from entrepreneur baker Peter Cook of Peter Cooks Bread in The Hopmarket in Worcester for other independent business leaders to make the courtyard a centre/quarter for artisan shops similar to the vibrant Neal's Yard in Covent Garden in London.

There are three vacant premises in The Hopmarket which he believes represents an opportunity for other artisan food businesses to add to the draw of the place - perhaps a cheesemonger, a deli, and drinks seller.

The award comes courtesy of the National Bakery Awards and gives the city-based business a chance of rising to new heights of national recognition. 

The Real Bread Campaign ambassador’s Peter Cooks Bread secured enough votes in the Slow Food in the UK Awards 2022 to be named Best Baker in England and also across the whole of the UK so this latest award adds yet more silverware to the bakery's cabinet. 

 

Announcing the win on Facebook, a spokesperson for Peter Cooks Bread said: "Well, look at this! Best bakery in Worcestershire. We are super-chuffed that we have been chosen as the county champion baker.

"Now we have to wait until July 12 to see if we are selected as a regional winner, or even….national champion! Thank you to those who make these decisions and fingers crossed."

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The bakery, owned by Pete Cook, has been recognised multiple times for the quality of its freshly baked goods.

Earlier this year, Peter Cooks Bread in The Hopmarket, was named as one of the top 13 artisan bakeries in Britain.

The bakery, which also has a site in Bishop's Frome, is well known for its long-fermentation and sourdough loaves, as well as a delicious range of pastries, including the famous Cruffin. Until recently purely a wholesale bakery supplying the hospitality industry across the region, Peter Cooks Bread now has its own shop in Worcester.

The bakery was ranked number 8 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, January 31 at the first-ever meeting of The Artisan Collective, which was 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.

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.