Local bakery still going strong despite loss of council contract
Each week thousands of rolls, loaves, scones, sausage rolls, cheese straws and cakes of all descriptions are made in a small Derbyshire village bakery – on the same site where they have been produced by seven generations of the same family for more than 200 years.
The popularity of Luke Evans Bakery, in Riddings, near Alfreton,[1] has never waned and this was demonstrated most recently when managing director David Yates took to social media to criticise the decision by Derbyshire County Council to stop buying the company’s rolls[2] for its schools in favour of buying them cheaper from a company making them in Gateshead and then being distributed to the schools via[3] a Wakefield distribution centre.
People took to Facebook in their hundreds upset at the council’s move and fully in support of the bakery’s upset about the loss of the contract it had fulfilled for around three decades. Mr Yates was aghast at the thought that schools would in future be receiving bread that would be more than 24 hours old at least and that the council had gone against its own buy local policy.
Mr Yates said: “Derbyshire County Council always prides itself on using local suppliers so I suppose I felt pretty cross at what had happened. Having said that, the council contract was a small part of our business about 5% and never threatened to derail us in any way.
“But it did make us look twice at whether we could obtain more business and we ended up getting six new contracts elsewhere anyway. And we still supply a large number of schools directly anyway. We pride ourselves on sourcing fresh local ingredients wherever we can.”
A tempting array of products in the on-site shop (Image: Derby Telegraph)
So Derbyshire Live popped along to the bakery in Greenhill Lane in Riddings to see first-hand what it is that has kept the company in good business since 1804 and sees it set fair for another 200 years, although it has not always been plain sailing, especially during the Second World War, when there was a shortage of staff and in the 1970s when two fires threatened to derail production.
The company, which has a shop selling directly to the customer on the site has evolved a great deal from the days when bread was delivered locally by horse and cart, to be replaced today by smart delivery vehicles across the county and beyond the borders into Staffordshire and Nottinghamshire.
Although the bakery does sell direct to customers, the business is predominantly wholesale, serving customers[5] such as National Trust sites in the area, Chatsworth Farm Shop and many other retailers adding up to about 230 outlets supplied altogether. Mr Yates has been involved with the business for 33 years and originally farmed with his family at Duffield before marrying into the family and taking over the running of the bakery eventually.
Cheese straws are a very popular line (Image: Derby Telegraph)
The shop is an array of cakes, sausage rolls, and bread products and smells wonderful when you enter under the watchful gaze of the founding father of the business Henry Evans, who named it after his brother Luke, who was killed in an accident – their portraits are high up on the main wall.
Mr Yates said: “Our biggest selling loaf is the bobby’s foot – it’s a bloomer loaf which looks like a policeman’s foot. We also sell a tremendous amount of bread rolls and probably less cakes. But these are quite weather-dependent. On a sunny day, people want rolls to make picnics and don’t want cream cakes, which are harder to keep fresh outdoors in the heat, so much and so we have to be mindful of that when we are baking.”
Entry into the bakehouse itself is just a door away and so the products in the shop couldn’t be fresher. A walk through the production lines reveals rolls and loaves being produced in large numbers ready for the new modern ovens that have been installed relying on gas energy and ensuring a good even bake.
Cheese straws are ready for bagging and an array of cakes are waiting to be be filled with cream such as doughnuts, eclairs and cream slices. Large cake items include egg custards, jam swiss rolls, Bakewell tarts and the ever-popular Battenburg cakes.
On average, around 3,000 sliced loaves, 24,000 large rolls, 2,000 teacakes, 1,000 swiss rolls, 3,000 cheese straws, 2,000 sausage rolls and 3,000 cream cakes are baked each week.
A typical working week sees Sunday and overnight into Monday as the busiest time as the bakery stocks up again after the previous week. Monday is one the busiest days for the company to deliver to sandwich bars who are also replenishing their supplies after the weekend.
The shop frontage with the bakery behind and to the left (Image: Derby Telegraph)
On a daily basis, cakes, cases for cakes needing cream and scones are made during the daytime, while bread is made from around 2pm in the afternoon through to midnight.
The bakery is a big part of the community and Mr Yates says the company always tries to give back to people who support it. He said: “We gave away Coronation cakes and Jubilee cakes to community groups and we also find that our staff are very loyal and many have been here for a large number of years.
“In 2004, when it was the 200th anniversary, we gave eight watches to people who had been here more than 20 years at that time and recently someone retired who had been here for five decades.”
The company also gained popularity for staying open during the Covid lockdown and within three days had established a home delivery service. Mr Yates added: “That was when we saw sales of cakes rise because obviously everyone was after comfort food such as brownies.
The business has come a long way since the days when the bakery existed to deliver bread locally on the horse and cart but the core principles of customer service and quality products remain the same.
Bakery funder Henry Evans on the left eventually named the business after his brother on the right in these images (Image: Derby Telegraph)
Mr Yates added: “We are in direct contact with our customers both over the counter and wholesale and we know what they want and appreciate they are also trying to give the best service they can using our products. I think that a good example of dedication to the business came one winter when one of the delivery drivers got stuck in snow in Selston and rather than waste the bread he opened up the van on a car park and sold from it and people were able to get to him.
“After I posted the social media comment about the contract, I did wonder what people’s reaction would be but I needn’t have worried because people were so supportive.”
When Mr Yates responded to the comments online, he summed up the spirit of Luke Evans Bakery and said: “We have had so many messages of support over the last few days, and we want to express our heartfelt thanks to you all.
“Derbyshire County Council[6] has confirmed that legally they are not allowed to reverse their decision, to award the bread contract to a national baker. As such, we move on, and we continue to enjoy being your baker of choice, of so many wonderful customers[7] and supporters.
“We will be here for many years to come, and the next time an opportunity to feed the children of Derbyshire presents itself, we will try again.”
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References
- ^ Riddings, near Alfreton, (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
- ^ Derbyshire County Council to stop buying the company’s rolls (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
- ^ the schools via (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
- ^ Derbyshire County Council cancels local bread contract with Luke Evans Bakery (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
- ^ predominantly wholesale, serving customers (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
- ^ Derbyshire County Council (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
- ^ so many wonderful customers (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
- ^ Sign up to our newsletter here. (data.reachplc.com)