On Monday I was lucky enough to be invited by Rural Roots PR to the opening of The Rutland Cake Company on Ashwell Road at Oakham Enterprise Park.
With a full cafe of supporters, milkshakes and lots of cake-apés such as giant ice gems, brownies, sponges and more!
We met Naomi the owner of The Rutland Cake Company who we asked a few questions about her new business venture, The Rutland Cake Company!
Thank you for inviting us to your cafe opening, have you always dreamt of owning your own cafe and bakery in Rutland?
Thanks for coming, it was such a fun evening. I have always dreamt of having a cafe since I was a little girl. I've always loved baking, cakes and visiting cafes and I never really imagined I would have my own bakery/cafe. To have opened it in Rutland where I grew up and being able to support so many local producers is an absolute dream.
Has being a baker always been an aspiration of yours since a young age?
Well actually I wanted to be an artist and then a lawyer. But yes, I dreamt of being a baker, I just didn't realise making fun celebration cakes was a real job.
Other than a cafe what other services do you offer at The Rutland Cake Company?
Mainly we make bespoke cakes to order. That is the biggest part of our business right now, also supplying the cafe and other local businesses with cakes. We also will be running cake decorating sessions and children's parties - mainly cupcake making, chocolate making, fondant and modelling work. We are also available for groups to book in for reading groups, knitting groups etc. We think of ourselves as a hub for the local and OEP community.
We were so pleased to hear that your business venture was quite a family occasion with your father and husband building the cafe themselves from scratch! Can you tell us more?
Thank you! Yes, my husband designed it. He is a Landscape Architect. As a family we have have built a few houses and renovated lots of houses, moving lots! So between us we have quite a few building skills. So yes, we designed and built the unit from scratch. It looks like a hut but it is actually a completely solid building underneath!
My favourite taster at the opening was definitely the giant ice gems, what is your favourite treat and best seller?
Me too, I loved ice gems as a kid, so sweet and crunchy. Our biggest seller has been the salted caramel brownies, the literally fly out the door. My favourite is also the brownies, the cream egg ones are going down really well with Easter round the corner.
Do you have any future plans or ideas for The Rutland Cake Company that we might not already no about?
Always a few plans going on! This year we want to focus on building up a really good reputation, keeping our customers coming back for more but of course there are a few very exciting plans going on. Secret of course.
If people have yet to visit The Rutland Cake Company’s new HQ, can you tell us why they should visit and where to find you?
We are based at Oakham Enterprise Park, Ashwell Road Oakham - the grounds of the old prison. Pop in for hot drinks, cakes, lunches, light breakfasts and snacks. We use as much local produce as possible, including eggs & organic vegetables from Langham, Rutland Dairy milk, Nelsons meat, Manor Farm yoghurt and everything is homemade by us on site!
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