The story so far

If someone had told me I would be running a bakery in Ashburton 5 years ago I’d probably laugh. Although I grew up in Devon, I lived in South London with two young children working as an animator and video editor. Two big events coincided and changed everything. My mother, who had been living a full life with cancer for ten years, was beyond further treatment. At the same time a national lockdown was announced and my partner, Sarah, and I packed our bags and came to Devon to be with her and my family. The timing proved to be serendipitous and our days were spent at home caring for her and each other. With more time in the kitchen I - like many others - started experimenting with sourdough - using a starter gifted by our neighbour.

I loved making bread and I was keen for a career change. I applied to be a delivery driver at Hylsten Bakery. Luckily, I got the job and it turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I loved working at Hylsten and getting to know Kate and the team. I had just persuaded Kate to teach me more about baking professionally when Ella’s bakery came up for sale. Initially, we had planned to team up with Hylsten. However, in 2021 a fire broke out at their unit and they were tasked with the mammoth job of repairing, and re-building.

With our family on our side, Sarah and I decided to start our own business and now it’s been almost two years! We’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported us so far. Especially our lovely customers and the beautiful local community. We feel very lucky to be baking in such a special town.

Joe