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Three bakers · Two styles

Categories

Every competitor enters Traditional. Specialist is optional — enter up to two.

Three Baker Categories

Compete in the category that fits where you bake from.

  • Professional

    Working bakers and pastry chefs — for those who bake for a living.

    Eligibility
    You must be registered with your local Environmental Health Officer, or your country's equivalent food-safety authority.

  • Amateur

    Home bakers and enthusiasts — for everyone who bakes for the love of it.

    Eligibility
    For bakers who receive no income from their baked goods. If you earn from your baking, enter as a Professional.

  • Young Baker

    Under-16s — the next generation of shortbread skill.

Two Shortbread Styles

Traditional is mandatory. Specialist is optional.

  • Traditional

    Mandatory

    The baseline category every competitor enters. Three ingredient groups only — nothing else.

  • Specialist

    Optional

    Add Specialist for extra glory. Anything goes — chocolate, citrus, savoury, sculptural.

Traditional — the ingredient-groups rule

A Traditional shortbread must contain ingredients from exactly three groups, and nothing else:

  • 01

    Flour

  • 02

    Fat

  • 03

    Sweetener

That's it — flour, fat, sweetener, nothing else. No flavourings, no inclusions, no toppings. The Traditional category tests how far you can take the form within those three ingredient groups alone.

Specialist — anything goes

The Specialist category is open. Chocolate, citrus, herbs, savoury, sculptural — any direction the form will take. Add up to two Specialist entries on top of your Traditional entry to compete more than once.

Want to enter?

Pick the category that fits where you bake from, enter Traditional as your baseline, and add Specialist if you fancy the extra challenge. Entries are open to bakers from anywhere in the world.

Enter the competition