Highland Shortbread Showdown 2025

The Shortbread Showdown Grand Final – That’s a Wrap!

Thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate all things sweet and crumbly at the 2025 Shortbread Showdown Grand Final, proudly sponsored by Williamson Foodservice!

It was a fantastic, sugar-filled day as hundreds of you came along to sample the sensational finalist bakes from talented shortbread makers across Scotland. From classic buttery bites to creative twists, the competition was tough – and tasty!

So, who took the crown? Let’s take a look back at the highlights from the day... and reveal who was crowned our 2025 Shortbread Showdown WINNER!

This year we had finalists from 7 Scottish regions!

Venture North - Caithness and Sutherland
Visit Inverness Loch Ness - Inverness and Loch Ness
South of Scotland Alliance - Dumfries, Galloway and the Borders of Scotland
Fife - Food from Fife destination
Nairn - Discover Nairn destination
Visit Cairngorms - Cairngorms National Park
Visit Angus - Destination of Angus

The Winners!

Overall winner of the Shortbread Showdown 2025

Moira from The Bake Hive took the biscuit!

The judges were blown away by both of Moira’s sensational bakes, which scored the highest across the board. She wowed the panel with a perfect pairing: a classic, buttery shortbread and a beautifully fragrant pistachio and rose creation that brought a delicate twist to tradition. A true shortbread superstar!

Best Flavoured Shortbread Goes to... Fisher & Donaldson!

Chloe and Jade from Fisher & Donaldson impressed the judges with entries in both categories, but it was their Spiced Orange shortbread that truly stole the show. Packed with warming citrusy goodness, this flavourful twist earned them the coveted title of Best Flavoured Shortbread 2025 – and every bite was as good as it sounds!

Classic Perfection from the Pentland Hotel!

The title of Best Traditional Shortbread 2025 went to Connor from the Pentland Hotel in Thurso. His perfectly baked classic wowed the judges with its buttery, melt-in-the-mouth texture. A timeless bake done just right and a well-deserved win!

Public Choice Champion – Dorothy!

The people have spoken – and once again, they’ve chosen Dorothy from R Macdonald & Son as their favourite!

Dorothy, who also scooped the Public Choice Award in 2024, made it through the blind taste shortlisting to proudly represent Inverness and Loch Ness at the final once again in 2025. Her traditional bake clearly continues to wow the crowd – a true showstopper that earned her the public’s vote for the second year running.

A huge well done, Dorothy – back-to-back wins never tasted so sweet!

Best Display Winner – Fisher & Donaldson
We had some incredible display setups this year, each one showcasing the inspiration behind the bakes and shining a spotlight on the brilliant businesses who took part.

Our judge, Kelly, had the tough job of choosing a winner – and she crowned Fisher & Donaldson! Their bright, beautiful stall perfectly complemented their bake and stood out for its creativity and charm. Thoughtful touches, including pieces of the business's rich history, told a heartfelt story that truly brought their brand to life.

This year, the judges felt a special commendation award was well deserved – and it went to Christine from Timeless Fashion and Beauty.

After taking on feedback from last year’s competition, Christine returned with not one but two beautifully improved bakes. She entered both categories, showcasing a classic shortbread alongside a standout flavoured entry inspired by her favourite – Blood Orange Caorunn Gin. The result? A truly impressed the panel.

Well done, Christine – we love to see the passion (and progress)!

2025 Showdown Sponsors

This year’s Shortbread Showdown wouldn’t be possible without the incredible support of our event sponsor, Williamson Foodservice. As the North’s leading fresh fruit and vegetable distributor and a trusted full-service wholesaler for the foodservice, catering, and retail industries, their involvement is invaluable to making this event a success.

A family-run business for over 60 years, Williamson Foodservice is renowned for its dedication to quality and reliability. Supplying some of the biggest names in food and hospitality, their ever-growing product range spans everything from fresh produce and dairy to speciality delicatessen items, soft drinks, and pantry essentials.

Their passion for excellence makes them the perfect partner for celebrating Scotland’s most iconic treat. Thank you, Williamson Foodservice.

2025 Showdown Supporters

Supporting the 3rd year of the Shortbread Showdown, our thanks go to Scotland Food and drink and The Highland Council Common Good Fund.

Looking Back at 2024!

A huge thank you to everyone who took part and attended the 2024 Shortbread Showdown grand final at Eden Court on the 17th March, wow do you like your shortbread! It was a fantastic day hosted by Sarah Rankin with hundreds of you coming to taste test the finalists bakes.

We are delighted that 11 Destination Management Organisations from across Scotland were represented in the final, businesses from each area competed with amazing creative, flavoured and traditional bakes. Some of the flavours included Arran Gold, pistachio, lemon, smoked Raasay whisky,Yuzu, Stem Ginger and Chai and more.

The wonderful bakes were able to be washed down with a delicious drink of coffee or tea with compliments from one of the event sponsors Grain and Grind.

The judges decided that the over all winner of the 2024 Shortbread Showdown was Mackenzie's Bakery from the Isle of Skye crowned champion for the second year in a row. Their bake was a Scottish honey and rolled oats shortbread that really impressed the judges – who said that saying that his “creativity, using oats to create the texture, was outstanding”.

After being named overall champion, Raymond Stewart from MacKenzie’s Bakery said: “I’ve had the idea for the shortbread for a while, but didn’t have the chance to try it. I couldn’t have done it without the rest of the bakery and their support – we all chip in and work as a team. Believe it or not, the first time we tried this version of the shortbread everyone liked it and we didn’t tweak it again. We are definitely going to introduce it to our bakery. Now we have to plan for next year!”

Our 2024 Winners

The winner for best flavoured shortbread was The Bake Hive, who represented the South of Scotland destination. Moira served up an incredibly popular and mouth watering Stem ginger and chai bake to take the trophy.

Taking the trophy for the best traditional bake was David from Oversteps Care home in Dornoch.

“Congratulations to the winners of the Highland Shortbread Showdown 2024,” said judge Coinneach MacLeod. “As the Hebridean Baker, I have always been passionate about the traditions of shortbread so I was excited to see how the competitors would share the techniques, artistry and flavours of our national biscuit – and they did not disappoint!

“With so many delicious bakes and interesting flavours, choosing our favourites was tough but well done to MacKenzie’s Bakery, Oversteps Care Home and The Bake Hive, as well as the winner of the public’s choice, R Macdonald & Son.”

The people tasted in their hundreds and voted the peoples choice winner to be Dorothy, she was representing R MacDonald & Sons. Her bake was a traditional shortbread that was extremely popular with the attending crowds.

Our youngest competitor, aged just 14 was Charlotte who's wonderful lemon bake that was presented so beautifully with an Easter, Spring theme won best stall on the day.

The event was hosted by MasterChef finalist Sarah Rankin, who commented: “I was thrilled to host the Highland Shortbread Showdown this year and see how creative the finalists got with such a traditional teatime treat! They certainly gave the judges and the public difficult decisions to make in choosing their winners. Well done to everyone who took part – it certainly was a sweet day!”

Fernando, owner of Xoko Bakehouse in Inverness, gave an engaging baking demonstration around the world of croissants. Something that you will find as a staple in the cafe on Bridge street alongside all their other delicious bakes and offerings.

A huge thanks to everyone who took part in another successful Shortbread Showdown, our sponsors, judges, host and to all who came along to be part of the day! We very much look forward to 2025! Get perfecting your bakes and enjoy some more photos from the day below.