Building Lovingly Artisan – an artisan bakery with a real sense of purpose.
You may have spotted that we enter awards! Entering awards is a strategy we have implemented for many years, and we will continue to use, as we naturally evolve and develop as a family business.
The decision to enter awards is not based on ego or on the point of winning. That’s just a bonus.
The real prize is what you learn along the way; as you enter you take a closer look at your viewpoints, beliefs and in our case, often our products too. It’s all about testing yourself, pushing boundaries, standing up from the falls, and remembering to celebrate the wins long enough, considering all that you have achieved, without moving on too fast
Our mission to do better is driven by the desire of pride. To be proud about all we achieve, knowing we did our utmost and best is enough for me. Benchmarking the performance of the business and having the company evaluated by others is somewhat nerve-racking, yet it does you good! We can all so easily get lost in the humdrum of running the business, the endless ‘to-do list’ details, whereas sometimes you need the fairytale instead.
The awards have given us a sense of purpose; it’s an opportunity to challenge your creative spirit, pushing and nurturing technical boundaries. A time to learn whilst developing new ideas and innovation. The motive is doing better not only for ourselves as artisan bakers, but more importantly for those we bake for – YOU
We are more than prepared to lose a few awards along the way, as painful as that might be. You learn so much about the bakery as you enter, win and lose. Each set of awards teaches us and our team, and each time we feel enriched by the discussions that follow; who won, what won, weighing up all the whys and why nots.
Our Lovingly Artisan customers are food-savvy, educated, informed, they listen to the food programme and follow the latest trends with genuine interest. One to dive into if you love your foodie listening – https://www.foodfmradio.com/
We bake for an audience of sourdough loving consumers, who appreciate the effort we make to win a few, and lose a few. We wholeheartedly know, that the most rewarding accolade any baker can win is winning the hearts of those we bake for; our customers both north & south.
People buy sourdough with their taste buds, alongside a desire for a fantastic meal, picnic or brunch. We have all given more time for cooking and exploring a broader menu during the many lockdowns. We introduced Fougasse to our bread menu. What is funny, is as yet we haven’t entered our Fougasse into any awards, yet our customers willingly wait as it comes out of the oven in an orderly manner in Altrincham – Note to self!
You can’t afford to stand still. You have got to be alert to food trends and lifestyle changes. The secret is to listen without losing sight of your authenticity as an artisan baker.
The truth is you’re only ever as good as your last bake!
Let’s pray we win a few too in the future
Catherine – A catch up with the bakers wife
