Two trainee bakery technologists from University College Birmingham have been busy creating Halloween recipes for everything from petrifying pumpkin profiteroles to bleeding brain muffins to kick-start their role as student ambassadors for a global bakery supplier.

One of Kitty Glencross and Stephanie Horsley’s first jobs as Dawn Foods’ 2023 student ambassadors was to come up with a series of scarily good recipes to inspire the company’s thousands of social media and website followers.

Both in their final year of the University’s Bakery and Patisserie Technology BSc (Hons) degree, the pair were selected as this year’s student experts thanks to their talent, creativity, knowledge and expertise.

Each year, student ambassadors are chosen to assist Dawn Foods as part of its ongoing partnership with University College Birmingham to support young people entering the baking industry.

Kitty, aged 22, and Stephanie, 25, will get to work with the company’s application chef Robin Loud on lots of new recipes for the industry, as well as creating blogs, insights and articles for the company’s website, trade press and social media platforms.

Stephanie comes from Stafford and was inspired to get into baking by her grandmother, a skilled home baker who made incredible wedding and birthday cakes.

“This opportunity is an invaluable experience,” said Stephanie. “It gives me a taste of parts of the industry that are of particular interest to myself personally, while allowing me the opportunity to nurture my creativity through recipe creation using Dawn Foods' fabulous products.

“It is also a privilege to represent University College Birmingham, a university that has taught and given me so much over the past three years.”

Kitty, who comes from Kent, works part-time in a cake shop to get hands-on experience and volunteers in a community artisan bakery.

“It is an honour to represent University College Birmingham and Dawn Foods as a student ambassador,” she said. “I am grateful to have this amazing opportunity to gain experience in the bakery industry.”

Jacqui Passmore, marketing manager UK and Ireland at Dawn Foods, said: “Every year, we are delighted with the standard of students who apply to become Dawn Foods’ student ambassadors.

“The students are not only skilled at practical bakery, but also have their fingers on the pulse about what is going on in the wider bakery and culinary world – from formats to flavour combinations, and social media influencers to celebrity bakers. 

“Dawn’s partnership with University College Birmingham is a great way to support the up-and-coming talent starting out in the bakery industry.” 

For an afternoon tea in their Advanced Patisserie exam, Stephanie followed her love for nostalgia and produced a Turkish Delight-inspired macaron with flavours of raspberry and rose.

Kitty, meanwhile, followed ever-increasing demand for plant-based bakes and used aquafaba to create vegan macarons with flavours of blackberry and lavender to intertwine the herbal and foraging trend. She has also experimented with a cucumber and mint choux bun.

Dawn Foods has established itself as one of the top global bakery companies, providing ingredients, bespoke solutions and services to the bakery and foodservice industries.  

Headquartered in Jackson, Michigan, and with its UK and Ireland base in Evesham, Worcestershire, it employs more than 4,000 people worldwide and partners with more than 40,000 artisanal and retail bakers, food service leaders, and manufacturers located in more than 100 countries.