*Making a dream come true!*
Kevan Roberts has been an artisan baker for over 20 years, perfecting his trade working in various roles both in the UK and France. Over his career he held roles as production manager and bakery manager but his dream was always to run his own artisan bakery. This dream came true in August 2013.
In early Summer 2013 Kevan and his wife Kathryn were offered the lease for the coffee shop within the Theatre Royal, Wakefield. Having seen and tasted Kevan’s bread at Wakefield Wood Street Market they were impressed and wanted to offer the couple the chance to make their Artisan bakery dream come true and so Time Bakery was born!
!And so with their newly acquired premises, bags of talent, enthusiasm and a second hand oven, Time bakery and Coffee Shop opened for business in August 2013 (Despite Kevan’s dough mixer breaking down just days before they opened!) offering a fantastic range of Artisan breads, pastries, teas and coffees as well as light lunches.
*Growing Fast!*
Working out of a tiny kitchen was hardly ideal but Kevan and Kathryn made it work. As well as making the bread for their own bakery they quickly picked up several trade customers (including several street food vendors and Farmer Copley’s Farm Shop) and demand for their artisan baked goods grow even creating bespoke breads for individual customers.
Luckily in March 2014 they were able to open a separate bake house in nearby Outwood which gives Kevan the space he needs to meet the growing demand.
In February 2014 Time Bakery became members of deliciouslyorkshire.
Kathryn says: “We’re proud to be baking in Yorkshire and we wanted to be part of an organisation that champions Yorkshire Food and Drink and supports small artisan producers.
With the business to business side of Time Bakery growing rapidly it’s important for us to be part of a strong network of Yorkshire Food and drink businesses and that’s how we see deliciouslyorkshire.”
In May 2014 after less than 9 months of trading Time Bakery was awarded “Best Food Retailer” in the Wakefield Retail Awards. A fantastic achievement when just a year earlier it was still a dream!
*Yorkshire School of Baking!*
Acquiring their original premises not only meant Kevan and Kathryn had an outlet from which to sell their artisan baked goods but also a venue to hold their bakery classes under the name The Yorkshire School of baking. With Kevan’s passion for baking and Kathryn’s experience as a Food Technology teacher they had everything they needed to make it work
Having first started running classes in schools during Easter 2013, the school of baking proved a huge hit and they have worked with both children and adults, teaching everything from how to make the perfect croissant to creating Mediterranean style breads. Their future classes will now be run at the bake house in Outwood.
Kathryn says: “Being able to run the classes at our new bake house is great. We still want to keep our class sizes small and friendly so we can give attendees the attention and tuition they need, however the bake house is much better equipped and perfect for teaching.”
*The Future!*
Kathryn and Kevan hope to continue growing and at some point in the near future hope to take on an apprentice.
“Kevan is very keen to pass on his skills and knowledge and we’d love to be able to take on an apprentice who can become a part of Time Bakery and grow with the business.”