I was delighted to recently visit Luke Evans bakery at their base in Riddings to meet the team and see the various production stages of their high quality handmade products.
Luke Evans has a 200 year heritage and sell direct to the public from its shop in Greenhill Lane, Riddings, as well as supplying around 300 trade and wholesale customers across Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Staffordshire, including shops, cafés, schools, and delis. Fully trained craft bakers operate 24 hours a day turning out breads, cakes and savoury products from farmhouse loaves and bread rolls to fresh cream éclairs and iced buns.
Family run businesses like this are the heart of our economy, and Luke Evans is a great example of a fantastic local employer. They employ more than 50 people at their Riddings base and Helen Yates (Luke Evans Bakery operations director) has been involved, along with other craft and plant bakeries across the country, in developing the fantastic Trailblazer Apprenticeships for the bakery industry alongside the National Skills Academy for Food & Drink.
Managing director David Yates said: “We gave Nigel a full tour of the bakery, where he was able to talk to the bakers, and see what was involved. We were busy with the bread production, and he watched and asked questions about the various different processes and types of breads the bakers were making. The visit also gave us the chance to highlight our latest investment – an Oddy Novatek roll plant which has replaced the Original Oddy we first purchased 22 years ago.”
Their new machinery can produce a staggering 9000 bread rolls an hour, and allows the bakery to produce different sizes rather than having to hand roll their finger rolls, as previously. This allows them to meet increasing demand and leaves more time to develop new products and specials.
Having seen their new machinery and tasted their outstanding products, I have no doubt they will continue to roll from strength to strength!
You can find out more about Luke Evans (and see their amazing range of bread and cakes!) here.
