New Real Bread Campaign ambassadors

While all Real Bread Campaign supporters are encouraged to fly the flag for our charity’s work, this doughy dozen of more visible and vocal champions will be waving that flag higher and harder over the next few years: 

• Ilgin Beaton, Just Sourdough 
• Peter Cook, Peter Cooks Bread 
• Aba Edwards-Idun, hobbyist baker.  
• Marcia Harris, Addapo 
• Aidan Monks, Lovingly Artisan 
• Charlotte Nemeth, Seasons Bakery  
• Dara O’hArtghaile, Ursa Minor Bakehouse 
• Connor Rose, home and community baker 
• Lydia Schofield, Birch Bread  
• Eddy Sleiman, Ed Baker 
• Ben Tyler-Wray, The Celtic Bakers 
• Cindy Zurias, 26 Degrees  

Read the mini-biographies they wrote to introduce themselves. 

As time goes on, we’ll be publishing more detailed profiles of, and articles by, our ambassadors. 

How we chose our ambassadors 

In April 2021 we publicly announced an open-application process, which ran until the end of May. We then undertook the difficult task of narrowing down more than 80 fantastic applicants to this batch of just 12. 

Our key considerations when choosing ambassadors were: 

• Passion. 
• Communication.  
• Expertise, skills, knowledge. 
• Diversity and representation. 

First tasks 

We’re asking our new ambassadors to help promote our Knead to Know...more crowdfunding campaign to publish the updated and expanded 10th anniversary edition of our microbakery handbook and support more community Real Bread bakers.

Cindy Zurias will be joining us on The Theatre of Food stage for two of our four appearances at Latitude festival, running a demo on Saturday 24 July and as a panelist for a discussion about non-commodity grains and pulses on the Sunday. 

Looking ahead 

It is not possible for a small group of ambassadors to fully represent the wide diversity (in all senses) of people behind the rise of Real Bread in general, or even just in the Real Bread Campaign network. We were, however, able to assemble a team who collectively embody a range of expertise, knowledge and characteristics.  

We will continue taking such steps towards improving the inclusion and representation of a greater diversity of people in our work, network and the world of Real Bread. Later this year we plan to continue and start conversations on specific topics around Real Bread and particular aspects of the Campaign’s work. This will include:  

• Continuing inviting people to use our platform to tell their stories, share their knowledge and air their views. 
• Reconvening the Campaign’s advisory working party of experts who help guide what we do and how we do it. 
• Examining how we can help people involved in the rise of Real Bread to build/strengthen relationships with others in their local area. 

We will also be discussing what we can do to inspire and support people in our network from around 20 countries outside the UK – particularly those who applied to be ambassadors - who are best placed to create and run their own regional or national Real Bread campaigns. 

Thanks again to… 

…our 2019-21 batch of ambassadors: Clare Barton, Madeleine (Dilly) Boase, Jo Bottrill, Wayne Caddy, Su Yin Chan, Phil Clayton, Peter Cook, Danielle Ellis, Duncan Glendinning, Sonya Hundal, Valentina Ion, Jane Mason, Ben Mackinnon, Ameena Nur, Paul Robinshaw, Lucie Steel, Jack Sturgess, Andrew Smith, Kitty Tait, Helen Underwood and Ian Waterland.  

Photo credits, left to right
Aidan Monks © Artisans & Co, Marcia Harris © Marcia Harris, Eddy Sleiman © Ed Baker, Charlotte Nemeth © Seasons Bakery, Cindy Zurias © Cindy Zurias, Ben Tyler-Wray © Eva Hodgkin, Aba Edwards-Idun © Aba Edwards-Idun, Ilgin Beaton © Just Sourdough, Peter Cook © Paul Husband, Connor Rose © Connor Rose, Ciara and Dara O’hArtghaile © Ursa Minor Bakehouse, Lydia Schofield © Amie Stephenson. 

Montage © the Real Bread Campaign.