(Image: Stock image via Canva)
The innagural World Shortbread Championship is set to take place in Scotland next month, with organisers today revealing the lineup of an expert judging panel.
Sponsored by Carr's Flour Mills and organised by High Life Highland, the championships will take place at Inverness Leisure on Saturday, November 21, bringing together junior, amateur and professional bakers from across the UK and beyond to compete for the title of World Shortbread Champion.
Competitors will battle it out across traditional and speciality shortbread categories, with entries assessed by a panel of leading figures from the worlds of baking, food publishing and flour milling.
The event will be hosted by chef, food writer and broadcaster Sarah Rankin, who will guide audiences through a day celebrating Scotland's baking heritage and the people keeping it alive.
She said: "Shortbread is one of those foods that instantly connects people to Scotland, whether they've grown up making it at home or discovered it elsewhere in the world.
"The championships are a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the skill behind this seemingly simple bake while creating a memorable day for competitors, spectators and food lovers alike."
Leading the judging panel is award-winning baker, cookbook author and Bad Girl Bakery founder Jeni Iannetta, joined by former Great British Bake Off contestant Nicky Laceby, Christine Faughlin, content director (Food & Lifestyle) at Sainsbury's Magazine, and Allan Burns, Sales and Marketing director at Carr's Flour Mills.
Together, the panel brings extensive experience across artisan baking, food journalism, publishing and commercial bakery production, ensuring entries are judged to the highest standards.
Members of the public will determine 25% of the result, while the panel provides the other 75%.
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Jeni Iannetta, head judge of the World Shortbread Championships, said: "Shortbread is woven into Scotland's food culture and is recognised around the world as one of our most iconic bakes.
"It's exciting to see a competition dedicated entirely to celebrating it, and I'm looking forward to discovering the talented bakers who will help showcase both the tradition and creativity that make great shortbread so special."
Spectator tickets are now available, offering visitors the opportunity to watch the competition unfold, meet fellow baking enthusiasts and discover who will become the inaugural World Shortbread Champion.
For more information, visit The World Shortbread Championships website here.