Windmill team efforts turn judges’ head
THE team at Green’s Windmill have been honoured for their efforts to meet demand for flour during the national lockdown earlier this year.
The windmill’s trust were crowned the winners of the Tiptree World Bread Awards Heroes with Brook Food for the East Midlands in a special online ceremony.
Green’s Windmill is a fully restored and working 19th-century tower mill in Nottingham. During Covid-19 flour shortages, the team at Green’s Windmill continued milling throughout, putting in 12-16 hour shifts to meet demand.
Using the 19th-century technology they fulfilled 800 orders in five months – five times the amount in a standard year.
In normal times, the awards celebrate the bread; hundreds of loaves would be delivered for assessment by a panel of esteemed judges. Instead, in a special edition for 2020, the awards recognise the people behind the loaves: the bakers, millers and farmers.
Hundreds of nominations for the Bread Heroes were sent in from across the UK. “All the nominees in this year’s awards truly deserve recognition for their generous, considerate and often altruistic initiatives to help others,” said Stephen Hallam, chairman of the judges.
Twelve regional winners were selected by the judging panel. One of the judges, Emma Freud, executive producer for Comic Relief, said: “These nominees were so well found – each of them have done remarkable things for their communities, using their talent with bread to make life easier for people who need support.”