The tiny Glasgow bakery that's won Scotland's best croissant award

After a lengthy tasting session at five-star Edinburgh hotel The Balmoral, the inaugural award went to Rebecca Slade and her business Maple Leaf Bakery - a home-based microbakery, who also make celebratory cakes, from Glasgow. 

Slade won after a panel of taste testers assessed 20 bakers’ wares, which were made with Edinburgh Butter Company’s product, with an emphasis on shape, colour, pastry development, texture, and taste. The experts consisted of Ross Sneddon, executive chef at The Balmoral; Darcie Maher, owner of Lannan Bakery in Stockbridge; Kayleigh Turner, head pastry chef at The Glenturret Lalique; author of Britain’s Best Bakeries, Milly Kenny-Ryder, and the director of Edinburgh Butter Company, Chloe Black.

“We were impressed with the extremely high standard of all the entries, but Maple Leaf’s croissant really stood out for us and we unanimously agreed that it deserved the trophy,” said Chloe Black. “We were thrilled to award Rebecca with a restaurant voucher for top Edinburgh restaurant Tipo alongside a specially commissioned trophy”.

The baker in second place was Bridge of Allan’s HAVN and third spot went to Patina at Edinburgh Park. 

Other competitors included competitors included Scottish businesses Jeju Baked Goods, The Culinary Kiwi Bird, Kaf Coffee, Dune Bakery, The Palmerston, Station House Bakery, Sunrise Bakehouse, Freedom Bakery, Broken Clock, Argyle Place, Le Petit Francais, Feingeback, The Fat Batard, Courie Courie, The Sheraton, Outlier and Wild Hearth. 

For more information, see scotlandsbestcroissant.co.uk.