A LOCAL bakery has been named the best bakery in the country.

Kendal'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 at the first 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, said: "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.''

British Baker editor Amy North 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.''