Bakeries from all over Scotland have applied for the prize
It’s Monday at 10:30am, and almost everyone in The Balmoral Hotel’s plush Beauly Suite has been awake for at least seven hours already.
They set their alarms for the crack of dawn, in order to bake their entries for The Edinburgh Butter Company’s Scotland’s Best Croissant 2026 competition. This is the third year of the awards ceremony, and it’s expanded, with versions, also organised by our own butter company, in Northern Ireland and the first in Wales this November.
Some of the bakers, who are from all over Scotland, look bleary eyed and tousled, wearing an unofficial uniform of comfy dungarees and Birkenstocks. The room’s Rococo portrait of a lady in pink satin and powdered wig regards them imperiously.
Despite the tiredness, everyone is happy to meet others in the business.
Charlotte King and Scott MacKenzie from Bakhoos, which specialises in cakes, Viennoiserie and sourdough, have been up since 3am. This couple had to bake, but also get to Edinburgh from Fortrose in time for the competition. They have two small children at home. I don’t know how they do it. I ask if they’d be excited to win.
“It’s just nice to be here and interact with other bakeries,” says King.
Bakers are a chilled lot. Unless it’s bubbling away like a sourdough starter, there is no obvious cut-throat competitiveness.
There’s the same convivial attitude from the team behind Cadzow Bakery in Hamilton.
“If it happens, it happens,” says Dr Carol Lang - a former archaeologist, who switched to baking a couple of years ago. She was up at 3am, which is quite normal for her, and she usually turns in at 7pm.
While the bakers browse the stalls and listen to speeches from sponsors including Valrhona chocolate, branded packaging experts Duchess & Alleycat, Shipton Mill, and Dear Green Coffee, the judging is starting next door. I sneak through the interconnecting entrance.
In front of a huge window with the perfect view of the Scott Monument, there are piles of half a dozen croissants, on plates that are labelled from 1 to 17 for each entrant.
This will be a blind tasting. Who knows which bake is from The Palmerston, The Fat Batard, Peregrine, Birch or all the other hopefuls?
There is still a gap at slot number six, but, a few minutes in, there’s a gentle knock on the door and a harassed-looking pair from Edinburgh’s Sloe Lane Bakery slip inside, with plastic boxes full of delights, including a feta and hot honey swirl, that are swiftly decanted.
“Would you be excited to win?” I whisper to one of them. “I’m just happy to be doing what I love,” she replies, before sneaking out again.
The croissants on display range in colour from honey to walnut, and there is quite a lot of variation in size, too, from something you could slip into a trouser pocket to a few that would need their own duffel bag. Some have a sheen, others are completely matte. The only thing that they all have in common is that they’re made using The Edinburgh Butter Company’s sheet butter.
They will be rated based on four categories - appearance, lamination skills, texture and flavour.
Owner of The Edinburgh Butter Company, Chloe Black, gives the judges branded aprons and there’s a short introduction to the rules. She asks if they will give as much feedback as possible, because the entrants really like a bit of advice.
The judges nod. This year, they include the unofficial Scottish queen of baking, Darcie Maher of Lannan, who tells me that she purposely skipped breakfast to prepare for this role, as well as last year’s Best Croissant winner, Cassie Bekas of Wheatberry Bakery, and head pastry chef of The Balmoral, Zoe Ridgway.
Unfortunately, another judge - CIS Pastry Chef of the Year Ross Sneddon - seems to be stuck in London, courtesy of Storm Boelo. The weather also explains the absence of content creator Pippa Perriam, who is stranded on Islay, to rate their new additional Creative Off Cuts category.
Instead, Ailidh Forlan (@plateexpectations) and Sophie Hannigan (@scottishfoodgirl), are going to step up to the plate solo.
This category, served on a second white linen topped trestle table, involves creations that have been made from croissant pastry remnants. However, these aren’t any ordinary leftovers. These are glorious-looking goodies, like sesame honey butter toast; pecan pumpkin pie bun; honey nut buns, apple kouign-amann, and baby Guinness cruffins. My stomach loudly rumbles.
I pray for a few spare crumbs.
While Forlan and Hanngian rave over the sugar-dusted and borage-flower-garnished passionfruit and white chocolate cruffin that they’re dissecting on a chopping board, with comments including “It’s actually incredible” and “so bl**dy lovely”, Maher and Bekas are checking the heft and “honeycomb” texture of croissants.
I slip away, as this is going to take a few more hours.
Later, I discovered that the winner of the offcuts category was Buns & Crumbs in Beith, who won thanks to their date, pecan and sea salt swirl, with second place going to those last-minute entrants Sloe Lane, and third to Patina, both Edinburgh-based.
It’s been a good day for Patina, as they also win the coveted best croissant trophy, with second place going to Maple Leaf Bakery and third to Kaf, both from Glasgow.
On winning, Clothilde Vadin, the assistant head baker of Patina , says: “We’re really happy with our progression in the competition, having placed third and second in previous years. That’s all due to our head baker Linda, she really brings the team together and brings that level of excellence every single day.”
After that score, the well-deserved winner and surely all of Scotland’s other bakeries deserve an early night.