The Bread Bakers Guild of America has presented its highest award, the Professor Raymond Calvel Award, to Craig Ponsford and Abram Faber.

The Calvel Award, which prior to 2007 was called the Golden Baguette Award, recognizes individuals for extraordinary service to the artisan baking community. The award is named in honor of the late Professor Raymond Calvel (1913–2005), the French scientist, baker, and researcher who is considered by many in the industry to be the father of modern artisan baking.

Ponsford, the owner of Ponsford’s Place in San Rafael, CA, was a member of Bread Bakers Guild Team USA in 1996, when he won a gold medal for his breads at the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie (World Cup of Baking), which at the time was an unprecedented achievement for an American baker. Ponsford served on the Guild’s Board of Directors from 1995 to 2010 and was Chairman from 2002 to 2010. He has devoted many years to advancing The Guild’s mission: preserving the traditions and techniques of artisan baking through education.

Faber, who with his wife, Christy Timon, owns the award-winning bakery, Clear Flour Bread, in Brookline, MA, served on The Guild’s Board of Directors for 12 years, six years as Vice Chairman. He was the director of two Camp Breads, national baking education events sponsored by The Guild in 2005 and 2007, and has worked to offer innovative and affordable baking classes through The Guild. He has been a frequent spokesman and advocate for the artisan baking community.

The awards were presented at the closing celebration of WheatStalk, The Guild’s three-day national baking event held at Kendall College in Chicago, IL, on June 28-30, 2012.

Past recipients of the Calvel Award /Golden Baguette Award include Christian Vabret (2007), Jeffrey Hamelman (2005), Frank and Brinna Sands (2004), Didier Rosada (2003), Michel Suas (2002), and Greg Mistell (2001).