If you've taken the time out to read this, there's a fair chance you'll know that we are at a historic moment for the Bakery.
It is a calm moment sitting here writing this, I feel focussed and optimistic. I rediscovered a couple of kinda negative ‘draft post musings’ sitting in my inbox since I last posted in 2016 that never saw the light of day and never will.
It's cathartic for me to take this moment to look back, acknowledge the last few years, then crack on.
This week we'll finally be letting you know what we have in store for you this summer at Pettigrew Bakeries, so keep an eye out on @pettigrewbakes
Where are we now?
We have earned your trust, loyalty and respect as a fiercely independent family run business in the ‘burbs of the Cardiff community. We are a humble bunch, working our butts off for consistency & advancement, to be the best we can be and maybe even inspire others. To you who champion us, thank you. We put everything into the Bakery, hearing your stories and seeing your joy keeps us motivated and hungry for success.
Acknowledgements...
There are too many people to list individually so I won't do that, but a massive THANK YOU to team Pettigrew Bakeries & Tea Rooms past and present. You know who you are because you're either still with us (several of you for 7+ years), or you know the Pettigrew revolving door is always open to you :o). You like minded workaholics put your soul into making ideas come to life.
Surviving the past 5 years, and getting to the point we are at today, would not have happened without Rhys. To save him embarrassment I'll keep it short. Rhys carried the Bakery production in those early years as we learnt together (usually the hard way) with a ton of trial and error and within the confines of trading 7 days a week (under a mountain of debt). I got stuck back into baking at this time in a way that (naively) I thought I wouldn't be doing. Spending hours, then years, baking together and bringing on a team of self-taught bakers.
It turns out that doing this from scratch creates the strongest foundation to whether even a global pandemic!
A few years back Rhys started working on his own Bakery project and took the plunge over the summer last year to go all in on Carrot Top Bakery. Do yourself a favour and give him a follow @carrottopbakery, find him at weekly farmers markets, and various cafes/venues that proudly serve uncompromising hand-crafted baking. This guy is the real deal & does not, cannot & will not compromise.
Rhys is a friend and a huge inspiration to me, thanks Rhys for everything you poured into helping build up Pettigrews.
A few years back Rhys started working on his own Bakery project and took the plunge over the summer last year to go all in on Carrot Top Bakery. Do yourself a favour and give him a follow @carrottopbakery, find him at weekly farmers markets, and various cafes/venues that proudly serve uncompromising hand-crafted baking. This guy is the real deal & does not, cannot & will not compromise.
Rhys is a friend and a huge inspiration to me, thanks Rhys for everything you poured into helping build up Pettigrews.
Family
Quick thanks go to our families for unwavering love and support, including investing to make our dreams a reality! We lost our dad Steve earlier this year, but we know how proud he was of his sons and all his family, we could not have opened without his support.
I’m so proud to see how many people's lives have been touched by Pettigrew. One of those absolutely smashing it right now is Gareth who is proudly living his dream next door to us at Let Them See Cake @letthemseecake. Gareth & Ryan put everything into their vision and seeing it alive and kicking, and our neighbours, is awesome.
Thank you to our amazing wholesale pals, who over the years have fiercely supported us and championed our produce. It is really tough to say goodbye for now and not see what you do with our products in your own artistry. It is a travesty how little wholesale choice there is for real bread made in Cardiff. One day we will be back in the market I hope.
Quick thanks go to our families for unwavering love and support, including investing to make our dreams a reality! We lost our dad Steve earlier this year, but we know how proud he was of his sons and all his family, we could not have opened without his support.
I’m so proud to see how many people's lives have been touched by Pettigrew. One of those absolutely smashing it right now is Gareth who is proudly living his dream next door to us at Let Them See Cake @letthemseecake. Gareth & Ryan put everything into their vision and seeing it alive and kicking, and our neighbours, is awesome.
Thank you to our amazing wholesale pals, who over the years have fiercely supported us and championed our produce. It is really tough to say goodbye for now and not see what you do with our products in your own artistry. It is a travesty how little wholesale choice there is for real bread made in Cardiff. One day we will be back in the market I hope.
Cardiff Bakers/Bakeries
The emerging Real Bread baking scene of Cardiff is such a joy to see! From my experience Bakers are good people who get a kick out of making other people happy. You just won’t hear a bad word uttered about our competitors in the City. There is room for all of us and we are all different & champion each others learning and success. Basically if you hear someone chatting crap, running one of us down it'll always tell you way more about them.
The emerging Real Bread baking scene of Cardiff is such a joy to see! From my experience Bakers are good people who get a kick out of making other people happy. You just won’t hear a bad word uttered about our competitors in the City. There is room for all of us and we are all different & champion each others learning and success. Basically if you hear someone chatting crap, running one of us down it'll always tell you way more about them.
“If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until you can hardly bear to look at it.
A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts it will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”
― The TwitsThe current team of Bakery heroes make me proud every day; every baker, every server, everyone supporting us behind the scenes. It is such a privilege working with you all. We are building such a cool unique business together and the next chapter is going to be even more exciting.
Thanks for taking a minute to read this, to understand what we are grateful for, and indulging us as we put the past 5 years to bed and reinvent Pettigrew Bakeries for the years to come.
See you soon
David & Lee - June 2021
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