VIDEO: Trying some bestsellers from award-winning Sussex bakery

The 2023 Bakers’ Dozen is a list of the top 13 artisan bakeries in Britain. More than 100 specialists, including artisan bakers, consultants, suppliers and lecturers, were asked to vote for their favourite artisan bakeries.

Poppyseed Bakery came seventh on the list – has three branches in Eastbourne and one in Bexhill. The business was established by Lee and Kirsty Smith in 2003 as Bexhill Farm Kitchen, changing its name to Poppyseed Bakery in 2016.

Lee Smith is no stranger to awards and praise like this. His bakes have been crowned ‘Britain’s Best Loaf’ four times and he won at ‘The World Bread Awards’ three times. He’s a regular judge for awards and competitions too.

In 2021 Lee came top three in the ‘Baker of the Year’ category at the Baking Industry Awards. He was a runner up in 2016 and won the ‘Speciality Bread’ category at the awards in 2020.

Lee made it to the final three to be a judge for the Great British Bake Off – being pipped to the post by Paul Hollywood. Before setting up Poppyseed Bakery, Lee was head baker at The Dorchester Hotel in London - just like Paul Hollywood.

We’ve tried some of the bestsellers – seeded sourdough, cheese and bacon puff, and almond croissant.