Bun fight! Ronnie wins Best Burger Bun challenge

It’s a patty on the back for UCB Bakery student Ronnie Galway, who won the Alliance for Bakery Students and Trainees’ (ABST) Best Burger Bun competition.

Entrants had to come up with two new burger bun recipes - one for a chicken burger and one for beef – and Ronnie’s innovative chopped croissant dough Pickle, Tomato & Cheese beef burger bun and Tikka with Nigella Seed stamped bun for the chicken version came up trumps.

The 17-year-old, who is in his second year of his Level 3 college course and hopes to get a job in a small craft bakery when he finishes with a dream of opening his own bakery one day, said: “Winning the competition felt great and gave me a massive confidence boost.

“I found it very hard to find inspiration for the competition and had to do a lot of research on what flavours went with the different types of burger. To prepare, I did 3-4 practice sessions and changed the recipes every time, I wasn’t entirely happy until the day I made the final products.”

It’s not the first time UCB has impressed the ABST by any stretch. Last year alone, UCB’s Bakery and Patisserie Technology degree students won a third of all the prizes, from best dough art to best fruit loaf, at the ABST’s Annual Conference and competition.

On Ronnie’s performance, Samantha Dowle, Assistant Dean of UCB’s College of Food and bakery and patisserie lecturer, said: “He has really grown in confidence this year and has certainly shown an aptitude for product development within bakery.

“I would encourage all students to participate in competitions as it’s a great method of learning and making improvements.

“Two other students from UCB, Kai Murray and Joshua Offer, also entered, and while they were not placed, they should be hugely proud of their efforts. It is great when students are successful in competitions, but we shouldn’t overlook the effort all our students put in.”

Guest judges Stephanie Evans and Emma Thomas from competition sponsor Guenther Bakeries UK said they were very impressed with the range and quality of the innovation.

Ronnie will pick up his trophy at the ABST Conference Gala Dinner on 8 June at Alton Towers Conference Centre alongside runners up Christine Cook from the Dublin Institute of Technology and Abby Lee from Sheffield College.

Find out more about courses at UCB’s College of Food.