Thurso bakery takes prize for best buttery
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A SAVOURY delight received the icing on the cake as Reid’s of Caithness bagged the prize for Scotland’s best buttery at the Scottish Baker Awards.
The Thurso-based bakery beat off some stiff competition at the event held in Glasgow to whisk the buttery prize back up the A9.
Reid’s had won the best baker award at last year’s event which meant that they had to drop out for a year from the main category.
However, other individual categories were still open to them and, aside from winning the buttery event, they won a bronze in the best roll contest.
A delighted managing director Gary Reid said: “It’s vindication for all the hard work the staff have put in this past year.
“Obviously we won the main category of best baker last year but, having done so, we had to drop out of competing in this year’s.
“So to see our work rewarded in other categories was a great moment. You don’t know if you’re going to get something so there was a bit of excitement when the buttery result was announced.
“The bronze winner was announced first, then the silver, and you’re wondering if you’ve actually got the gold. Thankfully our name was announced and it was a great feeling.
“It’s also been a year since my father died and I’m sure he would be proud. Last year, when we won the best baker award, he passed away the following Monday.”
As for the recipe for Gary’s success – well, that’s something of a secret.
He added: “The buttery recipe is something I’m keeping to myself. All I can tell you is that after winning the bronze award in that category last year I decided to experiment.
“I slightly tweaked the recipe to see if I could improve the taste of our buttery. I gave the new version to family and friends and they say it reminded them of a great buttery they had back in Aberdeen many years ago.
“As we know, Aberdeen is famous for its butteries so I implemented the slightly tweaked recipe and it appears to have been liked by the judges.
“Every year we’ve entered we’ve always won something and that shows the strength of our business.
“However, it also underlines that with each success we’ve a lot to live up to.”
Meanwhile, Reid’s title of best baker was handed over to Brownings the Bakers of Kilmarnock.
“We have tried so hard to win this award since the competition launched in 2012,” said John Gall of Brownings. “But this year we have smashed it.
“We are a family business and everyone at Brownings works hard so we really deserve this win.
“We have a fantastic business and we take it very seriously using traditional methods and craft skills to deliver quality every time.”
