Alex Dalgetty & Sons Bakers

A family company stretching back several generations, Alex Dalgetty & Sons is now run by Craig Murray, the original Dalgetty's great-grandson. The bakery in Galashiels whips up the breads and cakes sold in the two shops, one in the same town and one in Melrose. They're particularly strong on traditional treats like Ecclefechan tart, Selkirk bannocks, black bun, clootie dumpling and Border tart. They can claim to be one of the original bakers of the Selkirk bannock, as Alex Dalgetty worked with Robbie Douglas, the baker credited with inventing the bun in 1859, and learned the original recipe from him. It's not just bannocks they do well; they came in third at the World Scotch Pie Championships 2012 -- the highest ranked baker, as first and second place were carried off by butchers.