When it comes to the world’s best pastry, obviously the crème de la crème can be found in France, but the UK is also home to some pretty spectacular bakers.
La Liste has just revealed the winners of its 2024 Pastry Awards, and one UK bakery scooped a special award, while 198 other pastry shops landed on the long list.
The only UK spot to claim an award was Darcie Maher’s Lannan in Edinburgh, which was selected as one of the winners in the Pastry Opening of the Year category.
Self-taught baker Darcie is just 26 years old and regularly sells out her viennoiseries, which include Croissants, Cardamom Buns, Pain Suisse with coffee and caramelised milk chocolate, as well as savoury bakes such as Merguez sausage rolls with braised fennel and monte enebro.
There’s also a number of seasonal specials, like Apple Pie and Custard with Kissabel apples, crème fraîche custard, cinnamon sugar, and latticed croissant pastry, and Rhubarb, Custard and Almond cake with Marcona almond sponge, rhubarb compôte, whipped vanilla custard, and toasted Marcona almonds.
Darcie, who grew up in the Scottish Borders, worked across the UK before joining the team at The Palmerston where her creative pastries garnered her a following. She then took the plunge to open her own bakery, with Lannan coming from the Gaelic word for ‘house’.
The bakery certainly has a homey feel to it, with a hatch that customers can see through to the busy kitchen, and a glass counter proudly displaying all the incredible treats on offer.
Speaking about the win, Darcie said: ‘Having been open for less than a year, it’s an honour to receive the award from La Liste for best pastry opening of the year.
‘My life long dream has been to own my own bakery and Lannan has surpassed anything I imagined it would be. To have the recognition cements all the relentless hard work that’s gone into every aspect of the bakery up until this point.’
The world’s overall best pastry shop was revealed to be in Paris, with Ritz Paris Le Comptoir and pastry chef François Perret, taking the top spot at the awards.
Explaining why it’s the number one, La Liste said: ‘The Ritz, Paris and its famous pastry chef François Perret have created a sublime pastry shop experience with Le Comptoir, a must-visit on the Parisian pastry scene and sure to remain an icon for many years.
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‘Open seven days a week for eat-in, takeaway and click-and-collect, Le Comptoir welcomes a new audience to Perret’s exquisite creations, and its luxurious cream, gold, and terracotta interiors provide an indulgent and rejuvenating welcome for every visitor.
‘What’s on the menu? Chef Perret is known for his gastronomic range, from classic croissants and pains au chocolat to sophisticated sandwiches. His renowned madeleines come filled with raspberry or passion fruit; try the Tennis Balls full of sharp lemon and iced in white chocolate and, for summer 2024, the Madeleine Abricot infused with Jardin Vendôme tea.
La Liste Pastry Awards 2024, full long list of UK’s best bakeries:
- The Angel Bakery, Abergavenny
- The Apple Pie Cafe and Bakery, Ambleside
- Grasmere Gingerbread, Ambleside
- Wye Bakehouse, Bakewell
- Landrace Bakery, Bath
- Nash’s Bakery, Bicester
- Ten Four Bakehouse, Birmingham
- Loaf, Birmingham
- The Flour Pot Bakery, Brighton
- Julien Plumart, Brighton
- Real Patisserie, Brighton
- Farro Bakery, Bristol
- Hart’s Bakery, Bristol
- Hobbs House Bakery, Bristol
- Mark’s Bread, Bristol
- Wooster’s Bakery, Bury St Edmunds
- Baker & Graze, Cheltenham
- The Chester Grosvenor, Chester
- KNEAD Cirencester, Cirencester
- Peppina Sicilian Bakery, Dorchester
- Grain Culture – Bake Shop, Ely
- Baker Tom’s Bread, Falmouth
- Rye Bakery, Frome
- Bettys Café Tea Rooms, Harrogate
- Sugardough, Hove
- The Sourdough Revolution, Lechlade
- Nova Bakehouse, Leeds
- Live Love Loaf, Leek
- Fiona Cairns Online Luxury Cake Shop, Leicester
- Flint Owl Bakery, Lewes
- Baltic Bakehouse, Liverpool
- Cédric Grolet at The Berkeley, London
- Tarn Bakery, London
- The Connaught Pâtisserie, London
- Tea Lounge – The Biltmore Mayfair, London
- Afternoon Tea at Claridge’s, London
- The Ritz Club – The Ritz London, London
- Afternoon Tea at The Savoy, London
- Lounge at The Cadogan, London
- The Rosebery – Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London
- TWG Tea, London
- Philippe Conticini London, London
- Rosalind Miller Cakes Emperor House, London
- Cakes & Bubbles, London
- Basement Sate, London
- Mille Patisserie, London
- Dyce, London
- Crème, London
- Angelo Musa – Harrods, London
- The Carlton Tower Jumeirah, London
- Pierre Hermé Paris Covent Garden, London
- Ararat Bread – makhdoom, London
- Blondies Kitchen, London
- Quince Bakery, London
- Eric’s, London
- TOAD Bakery, London
- Kova Patisserie, London
- Violet Bakery, London
- SHIOK! Pâtisserie, London
- KURO BAKERY, London
- Donutelier by Roladin, London
- Cutter & Squidge, London
- Primrose Bakery, London
- Poilâne, London
- Little Sourdough Kitchen, London
- The Lily Vanilli Bakery, London
- Vida Bakery, London
- The Chinoiserie, London
- The Hansom, London
- Afternoon Tea at COMO, London
- Layla Bakery, London
- Aubaine Selfridges, London
- Afternoon Tea at The Parlour, London
- Palm Court at The Langham, London
- The Dorchester, London
- The Landmark London, London
- Afternoon Tea at The Orchid Lounge – Pan Pacific London, London
- The Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon at Fortnum & Mason, London
- Science Afternoon Tea at The Drawing Rooms (at The Ampersand Hotel), London
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Afternoon Tea, London
- Afternoon Tea at Sunborn Yacht Hotel London, London
- Mad Hatters Afternoon Tea 50 Berners Street, London
- The Drawing Room at Brown’s Hotel, London
- Afternoon Tea at The Rubens 39, London
- Anges de Sucre, London
- Aux Pains de Papy, London
- Baban’s Naan, London
- Beigel Bake Brick Lane Bakery, London
- Cake Boy ltd, London
- Comptoir Gourmand Bermondsey, London
- Dunn’s Bakery 6, London
- The Dusty Knuckle Bakery, London
- E5 Bakehouse , London
- Fabrique Bakery Hoxton, London
- Fortitude Bakehouse, London
- Jolene Bakery & Restaurant, London
- Karaway Bakery, London
- Little Bread Pedlar, London
- Pavilion Bakery, London
- St. JOHN Bakery Neal’s Yard , London
- WA Cafe (Ealing), London
- Birley Bakery, London
- Pophams, London
- The Old Post Office Bakery, London
- Chinatown Bakery, London
- Le Deli Robuchon Mayfair, London
- Margot Bakery, London
- Miel Bakery, London
- Aries Bakehouse, London
- Ole & Steen, London
- WA Cafe (Covent Garden), London
- Buns From Home, London
- Söderberg Soho, London
- Luminary Bakery, London
- Alma Mill & Bakery, London
- The Proof, London
- Sourdough Sophia, London
- Cake & Flowers, London
- Whipped London, London
- Chestnut Bakery, Covent Garden, London
- Tetote Factory, London
- Yasmina Restaurant and Bakery, London
- Patisserie Sainte Anne, London
- Little Bread Pedlar – Pimlico, London
- Bageriet, London
- Bake Street, London
- Wood Street Bakery, London
- Arôme Bakery – Covent Garden, London
- Happy Sky Japanese Bakery, London
- Afternoon Tea at The Goring, London
- Karma Bread Bakehouse, London
- St. JOHN Bakery, London
- Cliveden House, Maidenhead
- The Waterside Inn, Maidenhead
- Long Boi’s Bakehouse, Manchester
- Pollen Bakery Cotton Field Wharf, Manchester
- Companio Bakery, Manchester
- Teatime Collective, Manchester
- Alex’s Bakery, Manchester
- The English Rose Bakery, Manchester
- The Black Cat Cakery, Manchester
- Barbakan Delicatessen Ltd, Manchester
- Oast, Margate
- Kuma-San Bakehouse, Matlock
- Northern Rye, Newcastle upon Tyne
- Bread Source, Norwich
- Hamblin Bread, Oxford
- Ben’s Cookies, Oxford
- Gatineau Artisan Patisserie & Bakery, Oxford
- GAIL’s Bakery Summertown, Oxford
- Proof Social Bakehouse, Oxford
- DoreDore Bakery&Cake, Oxford
- GAIL’s Bakery Jericho, Oxford
- Millefeuille, Oxford
- St Agnes Bakery, Saint Agnes
- St Ives Bakery, Saint Ives
- Sol Bakery & Cafe, Salisbury
- Forge Bakehouse, Sheffield
- Oxfords, Sherborne
- The Almond Thief, Totnes
- Da Bara St Mawes, Truro
- St Mawes Bakery, Truro
- The Italian Bakery, Wareham
- Stoberry House and Gardens , Wells
- Grain & Hearth Bakery, Whitstable
- Haxby Bakehouse, York
- Cosgriff and Sons, York
- Bluebird Bakery, York
- Little Arras, York
- Ursa Minor, Ballycastle
- Cookie Jar, Newcastle
- The Earth’s Crust Bakery, Castle Douglas
- ARAN Bakery, Dunkeld
- Bostock Bakery, East Linton
- Twelve Triangles, Edinburgh
- Hobz Bakery, Edinburgh
- Lannan Bakery, Edinburgh
- The Pastry Section, Edinburgh
- The Palmerston, Edinburgh
- Bakhoos Bakery, Fortrose
- Cottonrake Bakery, Glasgow
- Partenope, Glasgow
- Bad Girl Bakery Cafe, Muir of Ord
- The Newport Bakery, Newport-on-Tay
- Bostock Bakery, North Berwick
- Birch Cafe, Portree
- Bandit Bakery, Aberdeen
- Two.Eight.Seven, Glasgow
- Outlier 38, Glasgow
- kaf Coffee, Glasgow
- La Barantine, Edinburgh
- HAVN, Stirling
- The bakery by Zique, Glasgow
- The Bakehouse & Crannog, Mallaig
- Falko, Haddington
- Brød – The Danish Bakery, Cardiff
- Ground Bakery, Cardiff
- Crwst, Cardigan
- Popty’r Dref, Dolgellau
‘There are exceptional pâtisserie from the signature Mango Coconut Ritz au Lait to the Hazelnut Marble Entremet, along with all kinds of cookies, cakes, mille-feuille and pioneering pastry drinks. Along with César Ritz and Auguste Escoffier, François Perret is a name bound to Le Ritz, Paris, forever, and Le Comptoir a testament to his incredible vision in the pastry shop landscape.’
Other notable award winners include Bastien Blanc-Tailleur from Paris, who was named the World’s Most Creative Pastry Chef, The Royal Tea Room at the Atlantis The Royal in Dubai, which was crowned the World’s Best Afternoon Tea, and Dominique Ansel in New York, which was celebrated with the PAstry Game Changer award.
Lannan made it on to the long list of exceptional pastry shops and bakeries from around the world, as well as 198 other spots, including a number of iconic London spots such as Cédric Grolet at The Berkeley, The Connaught Pâtisserie, Philloppe Conticini London, Blondies Kitchen, Crème, Donutelier, Cutter & Squidge, and Fortitude Bakehouse.
Outside of London Betty’s Cafe Tea Rooms (various locations) also made the long list, as well as Bread Source in Norwich, Hart’s Bakery in Bristol, and Wooster’s Bakery in Bury St Edmunds.
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