Dartmoor Bakery A family dream turning into a booming business

Since then Avis Jones and her family have built a fantastic reputation for artisan bakery and their tasty business is booming.

Matriarch Avis is head of a creative family who all bring a unique skill to this new venture. Her daughters Sorrel and Autumn along with their partner and husband all have experience in commercial kitchens and the food industry, while her son Troy is the brains behind all of the technological hardware installed, such as free wi-fi, charging points for phones and computers and a huge smart screen TV. Her nephews are the talented carpenters from The Upcycled Pallet Company who have fitted out the bakery beautifully using nothing but recycled pallets. All in all they are a strong family team who have all pulled together to produce this contemporary coffee shop and bakery.

Avis’ daughters first dreamed of opening a coffee shop together building a business around their catering skills. They wanted the place to be in the Yelverton area as they live locally and spent many happy childhood hours here on the moor. When Avis was made redundant the girls decided to all go in to business together. Avis raised her children on homemade meals made from scratch – an ethos they bring to the bakery.

For the first few weeks after opening the bakery was without an oven and all of the baking was done at home and brought in to the shop fresh each day “It nearly killed me” says Avis who was putting in 100 hours each week creating and preparing original menus each day ranging from homemade soups, bread rolls, quiches, and flans as well as a full assortment of cakes, muffins and biscuits.

Avis and her family have been delighted with the reception they have received from their customers and believe their insistence on the finest fresh ingredients, coupled with innovative modern recipes, such as their pesto and parmesan swirls or hummingbird cake made with tropical flavours have aided their popularity.

They hope to increase their opening hours to include breakfast and are considering options to reopen some evenings to serve visitors such as cycling and running groups or private parties. They have already been approached to bake for other businesses and aim to update their website to include recipes and special events. “Perhaps, one day, we can take our brand all over Dartmoor” says Avis, but for now they are really enjoying baking on our doorstep.