Owners of Cafe Allez!, formerly at Belvoir Castle’s Engine Yard near Grantham, launches Allez Bakes in Scalford, near Melton Mowbray
Cafe owners have taken their next step and opened a new bakery, providing scrumptious goods to other businesses in the area.
Owners of Cafe Allez!, Mark Trevarthen and Claire Fretwell, have opened Allez! Bakes in Scalford, near Melton Mowbray.
The pair previously ran their cafe at Belvoir Castle’s Engine Yard, near Grantham, until it closed down in 2022 when the lease wasn’t renewed - a decision that devastated customers of the popular venue.
Since then, they have been running their mobile cafe, but saw the opportunity 18 months ago to start providing their homebaked cakes and bakes to other businesses.
“Our aim is to supply coffee shops, cafes and pubs with the kind of cakes that they’d love to bake themselves, if only they had the time,” said Claire.
Allez! Bakes is not a shop, but provides cakes to cafes and shops within a 15-mile radius, including Grantham, Bottesford, Oakham, Newark, Melton Mowbray and other nearby areas.
Claire added: “It has been fantastic so far and it’s a very exciting time.
“It’s hard work, but we have great support and Cafe Allez continues to be a fantastic part of our lives.
“It’s nice because when we had the cafe, we sold mainly our own cakes but we did have to buy other products in.
“It’s nice to have local suppliers. I think there is a gap in the market for that at the moment which I think we can fill.”
The pair are starting with cakes, tray bakes and cookies, but eventually hope to include more baked goods.
Some favourites include a raspberry bakewell cake, a vegan bakewell cake and a cookie dough sandwich.
Mark said: “Claire's always had a passion for baking and many will recall the fabulous cakes she and the team created for Cafe Allez!.
“The emphasis was - and remains - on generous portion sizes, top quality ingredients and mouthwatering taste.
“We know that this has to be backed up by total consistency, and all of the allergens and ingredients information needed in today's demanding market."
As the business develops, the pair hope to see it flourish and grow.
Claire added: “We are going to take one step at a time.
“We would like to keep developing the range, getting more products to our customers and getting our cakes into a nice range of cafes and shops.”
To find out more about Allez! Bakes, go to https://allezbakes.uk/.
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