Shortbread Showdown 2025 - How to enter

Be part of the 2025 Highland Shortbread Showdown

Visit Inverness Loch Ness are delighted to be hosting the Shortbread Showdown for it's 3rd year in 2025! Last year, the event welcomed 30 businesses from all over the Highlands of Scotland to the grand final at Eden Court to compete to win the crown for the best shortbread in the Highlands. Over 1500 members of the public came throughout the day to taste the delicious bakes and learn about the businesses taking part, more information on winners and 2024 & 2023 competitions can be found HERE

Why should your business be part of Shortbread Showdown 2025

The aims of the event are simple – The shortbread Showdown provides a fun and creative opportunity to showcase your business through your delicious shortbread entry. Your business does not have to be a bakery or sell shortbread, you just have to have an amazing baker in your team!

This competition is a great way of engaging your customers and followers at the start of 2025 to support your business and shortbread entry and make some noise about you!

Working with Destination Management Organisations (DMO's) across the Highlands and Islands and some from mainland Scotland, your business will be promoted throughout the competition, starting with a local shortlisting event with your nearest DMO and then the top 3 winning businesses of that event go through to the final event at Eden Court in Inverness.

When and where is the Shortbread Showdown?

Timeline from entry to final.

Registration : OPEN NOW! You have until the 3rd Feb to enter for Inverness and Loch Ness, other areas may vary.
Shortlisting Events : All local shortlisting events will take place local to you, dates for these are to be confirmed with each DMO..
Inverness and Loch Ness Shortlisting Event
The shortlisting event for Inverness and Loch Ness will take place on Friday, 21st February. This year, it will be a private event exclusively for all entrants at the Glen Mhor Hotel. A fresh judging panel will carefully review submissions and select the finalists who will proceed to the final stage.
Grand Final : To be held at Eden Court’s One Touch Theatre on Saturday 8^th March, between 10am – 2pm this inclusive event will be open for the public to come and try the business’s shortbread, and a panel of well-known faces will take us through the scoring process.

What DMO's are included?

Any business can take part in the Highland Shortbread Showdown 2024, you do not have to be a member of a DMO but below is a list of the ones who are taking part.

Destination management Organisations

Food from Fife

South of Scotland

Who decides who wins?

We have another fantastic line up of judges for the grand final in March 2025.

Joining our judging panel this year we are excited to welcome Paul from Mackenzie's Bakery in Skye who has been the worthy winner of the competition in the last two years, so it is only fitting we make him a judge!

We are absolutely delighted that Kirsten Gilmour of KJ’s Bothy Bakery, Cairngorms and Jeni Iannetta of Bad Girl Bakery, Inverness will be making a return to the judging panel for the 3rd year running! It would not be the same without them!

We are also being joined by local foodie Kelly Tadd who is the creator of the fantastic foodie socials account @Haimandawa

How do we decide a winner?

This year there will be more than just one prize, in fact there are a few prize categories;

Overall winner of the Shortbread Showdown: To the judging panel's discretion, who they believe has produced an award-winning shortbread
Best flavoured shortbread
Best traditional shortbread
The publics choice winner: Based on public tasting the shortbreads and voting for their overall favourite

Sign me up!

We would love you and your business to take part in this years events. If you would like to be involved in the Shortbread Showdown 2025, please sign up HERE . Entry is open until the 3rd February 2025.

The full rules of the competition are below and will be sent to you when you enter.

If you are a business that is a member of one of the above DMO's your entry will be FREE.

Otherwise, the entrance fee is £25 to enter, though this fee may be waivered, dependant on DMO, please check with your local contact.

The rules

Due to public and participant feedback, and the popularity of the competition, we have decided to have two categories for this years Shortbread Showdown event. A ‘traditional’ shortbread and a ‘flavoured’ shortbread.

A business is allowed to enter just one of the bake options or one of each.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a competition if a business did not take the crown for the best shortbread, so there will be an overall winner on the day!

The judges will be scoring Shortbreads based on the following;

Traditional Shortbread judging criteria:

· Texture

· Flavour

· Appearance

Flavoured Shortbread judging criteria:

· Texture

· Flavour

· Appearance

General rules:

· Any shapes are welcome, but a shortbread piece can be no larger than 6 x 6cm in both the shortlisting event and if you get through, the final too

· Each competitor must represent a Destination Management Organisation (A list will be available on the website, but you do not have to be a member of the DMO to take part)

· At both the shortlisting event and the final - If the shortbread contains nuts or any allergens, this must be stated clearly to avoid any health and safety concerns for the general public

· There must be some general ingredients in the shortbread - all must contain flour, butter, and sugar in some form (vegan alternatives allowed). Any additions are allowed so long as they are edible and you state the ingredients

· No expenses can be made for entrants

· There will be photography at the shortlistings and grand final, by entering the competition you are giving permission for us to use any photos that you are captured in unless you tell us other wise.

If you are successful in making it to the final, please see the additional rules below:

· If there is a tie, there will be a second stage of judging on the day

· The shortbread entered in the shortlisting event must be the same as what is entered in the final

Get involved!

You may not wish to enter a shortbread but there are many other ways you can get involved with the Shortbread Showdown event and we would love you to!

Be a sponsor

Should you wish to join us a sponsor, we would love to hear from you. Drop us a message and we can talk through the various options.

General enquiries

Should you have any questions that are not answered here, please do get in touch and we will be more than happy to help.

And if you missed it further up the page, and want to enter your show-stopping bake you can REGISTER HERE