SEASONS Bakery, in Ingleton, continues its success on the awards circuit this year by having its owner, Daniel Nemeth, voted the Tiptree North West Bread Hero of 2020.

This award comes hot on the heels of the British Bakers Magazine award for Best White Loaf 2020 just a week before.

As well as entering numerous competitions, the results of which are still awaited, Dan has been working hard throughout the pandemic when so many bakeries closed their doors.

“We got letters and phone calls from people begging us not to close. One of them was from Julian Smith MP,” said Dan.

Rather than closing his bakery, father of five (including one-week old Isaac) Dan dedicated all his time and energy to finding solutions to the problems he and his team faced.

Turning the shops into mini farm shops, sourcing the necessities to keep going, he made sure that everyone had everything they needed, taking care of staff and customers alike.

He also donated 6,000 loaves of bread during the pandemic to good causes. Countless home deliveries were made to the people who couldn’t leave their own homes, with more than 100 boxes going out every day, and their Artisan School website was adapted to make a platform to buy online.

“Dan has been fantastic during these tough times’, said his wife Charlotte. “If somebody was in need Dan made sure they didn’t go without. My most vivid memory of this blur is when a lady came in with two young children, almost in tears, buying her bread. Dan asked if she was ok and the young child said they have been unable to buy toilet roll. Dan went straight into the back, grabbed one of our 12 packs and handed it over free of charge. “ The company created 20 new jobs during the pandemic so it could continue round-the-clock production and hopes to expand further with 20 more jobs as the company looks at making nationwide deliveries.

As well as other products the baker produces between four and eight thousand loaves per week.