Following a delicious morning of judging, the winner of the 1st edition of the Best Croissant UK Awards was announced at The Savoy Hotel London. After receiving over 26,000 public votes the 85 entrants were whittled down to 10 finalists who were invited to the event judged by a prestigious panel of bakery and patisserie experts, where Chestnut Bakery was officially crowned the winner of the best Croissant in the UK.
‘We’re thrilled to have received such fantastic response to our winning croissants. It was a joy to receive incredible feedback from everyone on the panel and has given us an immense sense of achievement, we’re feeling very proud!’ – Comment from Chestnut Bakery’s Head Baker, Brock Afford and Executive Baker, Charles Leroy.
The judging process included a thorough appraisal of the croissants shape, regularity, volume, as well as colour, layering and texture, and of course the all-important taste. The full panel of judges included: Gilles Quillot, Executive Chef at the French Embassy, Benoit Blin, Executive Pastry Chef at the hotel-restaurant Manoir aux Qaut’Saison, Camille Perotte, 2019 winner of French TV show ‘Le Meilleur Pâtissier’, Richard Bertinet director of The Bertinet Cookery School, Felicity Cloake, food journalist and book author, as well as the 2016 winner of the Great British Bake Off, Candice Brown.
The 10 finalists from bakeries across the UK also included Café Kitsuné, Maison Puget, The Carlton Tower Jumeirah, Indigo Bakes Ltd, Weirdough Bakery, Harrods, Chez Maitre, Two Brothers Bakery and La Boulangerie Artisan.
Not only will Chestnut Bakery receive the nationwide recognition associated with Isigny’s Croissant Awards but are also awarded a Michelin starred meal for two at Modern European restaurant Hide in London.
Lucas Buhler, Europe Sales Manager at Isigny Sainte-Mère says ‘We’re delighted to see that over 26,000 people engaged in our first Croissant Awards in the UK by voting for their favourite croissants. A huge congratulations to our finalists and most importantly our winner, ‘Chestnut Bakery’. We’re passionate that our butter, produced on exceptional Isigny terroir in France, creates a unique and luxurious butter with intense creaminess and flavour, taking pastry to a new level.’
Founded in 1909 in Normandy, the Isigny Sainte-Mère Cooperative is globally renowned for its dairy products crafted in accordance with tradition and the highest standards. It’s thanks to the richness of its producers’ milk, recognized as an exceptional raw material, that Isigny Sainte-Mère creates butters, creams, and cheeses with unique flavours, earning it international acclaim.
Located in the heart of Normandy in the Veys Bay, between land and sea, the land in Isigny’s terroir is particularly rich and generous, providing a unique grazing area for cows to produce high-quality milk. Collected within a 50 km radius of the Cooperative, the milk is transported to the Isigny Sainte-Mère processing facility every 48 hours to preserve all of its qualities.
The women and men of the Cooperative, both milk producers and employees, work every day to produce and enhance the milk from their terroir, transforming it into excellent products.
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