There’s nothing like cake to get you through these lockdown days!
There’s certainly been a boom in at home bakers over recent weeks and for some it’s given an opportunity to expand their already established business. We caught up with Jessica Palmer who runs Bake with Jess to find out more about their weekly treat boxes, celebration cakes and more.
For those who are new to Bake With Jess, tell us a little about your product range..
We have quite a wide variety of products here starting with custom made celebration cakes and cupcakes, boxes of brownies, blondies, stuffed cookies and bites. But our biggest seller at the moment by far is our treat boxes – they are a weekly feature with a variety of contents that changes each week, it gives people a chance to try a bit of everything that we do. They are so popular that we are currently working on other variations – we have already released our afternoon tea treat box but have even more new boxes coming soon.
What is your favourite item that you sell?
I’ve got quite a sweet tooth myself so the list is endless but I would have to say my most recent creation which is the Milkybar cookie sandwich. It’s a recipe that I’ve been developing for a while now and consists of two gooey Milkybar cookies sandwiched between a thick layer of Milkybar ganache.
How has the Covid-19 situation affected business?
I feel blessed overall to not have been affected as awfully as others have, I’ve always worked full-time and ran my baking company as well but after losing my full time job due to cuts following the impact of covid I’m more keen than ever to use the opportunity bring some happiness to others with my baking. My business has meant I have had the chance to be part of so many heart warming stories in this hard time and I have been trying to find ways to help thank our key workers, I am currently in the process of arranging for some of my cupcakes to be donated to the ICU department at our local hospital.
If you find you have a passion for something just go for it! Make sure you have followed all the legal requirements and set your business up correctly, we are proud to hold a 5* hygiene rating with the Blaby District Council & I would definitely say this is a vital requirement, then the world is your oyster – I wish I had started sooner!
The baking and food delivery market in Leicester has become a very busy market, what do you think sets you apart from others?
My goal is to offer a friendly service & food that brings people joy – my baking has always brought me such happiness and that’s something I want to share. So many companies offer the same things so I like to think that what sets me apart are my constantly evolving products & ideas, along with the personalised service that I offer.
How do you find Leicester as a city to start a business in?
Leicester is my home town I was born here and it’s such a diverse city I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather begin! That being said I spent years living in Spain as a child so I would definitely love to see what market there is for our baked goods over there one day.
Who are some of your other favourite local independents?
There are so many incredible business’ that I have come across since starting my company. A huge shoutout to Wigston Fields News & Deli – they are a corner shop who help promote other local produce and what they do for the community is is amazing. For baking supplies – Cook, Bake, Decorate in Lutterworth are fantastic they have been keeping our community stocked with all the ingredients and materials that we needed with the shortages from the covid situation. And slightly further afield but Luxprints in Northampton are a company who make cake toppers for all occasions and they never fail to bring the extra sparkle to my baked goods.
We have a variety of offers ready for Father’s Day including our Luxury Father’s Day Treat Box, a Father’s Day Cupcake Box, and a Father’s Day Giant Cookie Pie – all details on the contents and how to order are available on our social media now. We will be releasing Celebration Treat Boxes soon as we have created these as an alternative to the traditional concept of having a big cake for parties given the current social distancing situation we are in. We wanted to create a box that could be versatile for every occasion, one that could be used as a birthday gift or simply as a little pick me up for a friend that you miss.
We are heavily social media based you can find our latest offers and regular updates on our Facebook page @bakewithjesss and our Instagram page @bakewithjess_ For those who are a bit more old school you can contact us via email at [email protected] or via telephone on 07834348432. We take orders via any of the methods mentioned above, we are looking to create an automated ordering system in the future but I just love the interaction with each customer to get a feel for what they’re after.
