THE THREE Little Bakers of Inverness have been crowned Scottish Baker of the Year.

The business beat nearly 60 other bakers to the top title, and along the way took prizes for its morning rolls, fruit scones, sourdough loaf and potato scones.

Paddy and Jane Murphy of The Three Little Bakers said: “We are delighted, we cannot tell you how proud we are of our team and their hard work which has paid dividends not just with product wins but with the ultimate win! We look forward to being the Scottish Baker of the Year and to enjoying the benefits being the world champions will bring to our business.”

With Scottish Bakers members out in force for their annual conference in Glasgow, the prize was presented by Scottish Bakers’ ambassador Mich Turner MBE who said: “With nearly 500 products from 57 bakers entered and with each product assessed for appearance, the quality of the bake and taste, The Three Little Bakers should be very proud of their success here today.”

The Scottish Baker of the Year competition sets out to select the best scones, loaves, savoury items, morning rolls, individual cakes and biscuits, as well as categories for French and Danish style pastries and 'free-from' bread, biscuits and cakes.

“With 50 industry professionals on hand during our annual judging day to put each product through its paces, our winners can be justifiably proud of their achievements,” said Alasdair Smith of Scottish Bakers, which organises the competition. “We really do congratulate all of our winners and we thank the voting public for taking the time to vote for their favourite bakery business."