A perpetual trophy recognising the efforts made by participating states will be introduced at this year’s L A Judge competition.

GrainGrowers bakery consultant Morten Staer said recognition for Baking Associations of Australia (BAA) member states will be included in this year’s competition.

“States such as Western Australia has done very well over the past five years, they do a lot of training with the candidates,” Morten said.

“We want to recognise the work they do by supporting the candidates,” he said.

The 45th L A Judge Award in 2012 is hosted by GrainGrowers and will take place May 22-24 at North Ryde, New South Wales. Nominations for competition opened in January.

The L A Judge Award is recognised as Australasia’s most prestigious baking industry award. Each competitor will be evaluated on their practical baking skills, technical knowledge and communication abilities during three days of rigorous competition.

Sponsorship packages for the 2012 event are available by contacting Morten Staer or Olivia Avis at GrainGrowers.