Baker of the Year Aidan Monks has opened a new shop alongside his Kendal site in Cumbria.

Family-run company Lovingly Artisan has grown its operations base in Plumgarth’s Lakeland Food Park to meet demand from retail customers

It will also enable the business to expand the bakery in the coming months to meet growing demand from trade customers, including hotels, restaurants, cafés and foodservice outlets across the north west.

“We are a family artisan bakery and our mission is to deliver fresh, great-tasting and high-quality breads to every single one of our customers. Demand for our bread has grown steadily and, because of that, we have taken steps to open our own dedicated bakery shop at Plumgarths to meet that demand,” said Lovingly Artisan owner Monks, who was crowned Baker of the Year at the 2019 Baking Industry Awards, organised by British Baker.

“In addition, moving the retail side of the business to a dedicated space will allow us to expand our bakery operation and enhance our production facilities allowing us to meet the demand for our breads across the region,” added Monks. “We are passionate about creating and providing the best breads possible to as wide an audience as we can, all without compromising on quality.”

The new retail facility has created one full-time job, with others due to be added in the coming months as both the retail and bakery operations continue to grow.

As well as offering artisan breads and Gilchester Organics flours, The Bread Store will eventually stock a range of bakery-related products, including recipe books, aprons and bread tins.