Baker uses his loaf to take award

Photo: Darren Robinson

Trainee baker Matthew Dadamo - bakery winner.

A young baker is hoping a prestigious award will help his career to rise.

Tameside College student Matthew Dadamo, of Grasscroft, was presented with the Trainee Bakers Challenge Cup at a ceremony at Alton Towers last month. The national competition challenged 80 people to bake bloomers and batch rolls, to be judged by an expert panel.

Matthew has a year to go at college, where he studies professional food preparation, and hopes to work in food science.

He said: “I was really shocked when I found I’d won; I wasn’t expecting it at all. We had to make batch rolls and bloomers to a certain size and weight and send them in to be judged.

“Winning has got my name out there and people recognised me at the ceremony because I’d won. I had my name up on a big board! I’m hoping to use it as a springboard to go on and achieve big things with my career.”

Matthew, whose dad Carlo has owned the Country Oven Bakery in Greenacres for 30 years, wants to go on and work developing new products.

“Rather than baking I want to go into food science and test-baking, to help develop new products. It’s an exciting time for me.”