A popular Oxfordshire bakery has been successful at the National Bakery Awards 2023.
Mark's Cotswold Bakery has been named the county winners for Oxfordshire meaning the business is automatically entered into the South East of England category.
The family bakery is located in Chipping Norton, just down the road from Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm.
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If the bakery is successful in the South East of England category, it could be judged for the National Bakery Awards Grand Final.
An awards ceremony for all winners will be held in Euston Square in London on July 12 this year.
A statement from the bakery said: “We are thrilled to be recognised out of all UK bakeries (retail and wholesale) for our county.
“This is testament to the whole bakery team, the long nights for the bakers, the early mornings for the packers and drivers and the people around the edges who support everyone in the bakery to join it at the seams.
“A superb team effort from everyone at Marks Cotswold Bakery.”
Mr Woodgate leads a team of six bakers and is currently in the process of building a new bakery that will eventually be 5,400 sq ft.
Having spent more than 30 years in the IT sector, Mr Woodgate decided to turn his passion into his day job and became a baker in 2018.
He had started making sourdough in his spare time at home in the Aga, but quickly realised he had something special going when friends and neighbours gave rave reviews.
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