GARY Wallace is not only one of celebrity chef Rick Stein's food heroes, he's also one of Shaw Trust's now that his prestigious farm shop has started selling the national charity's cakes.
The tasty goodies, baked to perfection at Shaw's Kitchen, in Holt, Wiltshire, have proved a huge hit with the public since they appeared on the shelves at
Coffee and walnut, carrot, Belgium chocolate drizzle cake, cherry shortbread and chocolate fudge brownies in particular have been selling like hot cakes, ever since Gary and his partner Judy Hancox agreed to stock the treats and discovered what a winning recipe it is to work with the charity, which provides training and work opportunities to people disadvantaged in the jobs market due to disability, ill health or social circumstances.
Shaw's Kitchen is one of the charity's social enterprise businesses, which aim to provide real work and training opportunities to disabled people.
It has a team of five creating, a mouthwatering range of cakes and puddings which are supplied to cafes, restaurants and businesses throughout the South West.
All the recipes use free range eggs and locally sourced ingredients where ever possible and are freshly made to order. Any surpluses will be ploughed back into Shaw Trust, which worked with over 60,000 people last year.
For Master Butcher Gary and Judy - who farm rare breeds of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats and poultry and sell some of the finest meats in the country at the shop - selling cakes was not on the menu until Shaw's Kitchen's account manager Jackie Russell called in.
"I asked if he would take some of our cakes and he agreed straight away, which is great for us," she said.
"I wanted to get them in there as I know
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"We sell to a lot of coffee shops and farm shops, but he's the only supplier for our retail range in the
Gary admitted it didn't take him long to decide to supply Shaw's Kitchen cakes at the shop, a gold award-winner in the Taste of the West Food and Drink Awards for two years running.
"I decided to stock them right away because I like the ethos of Shaw Trust and was prepared to try the cakes," he said.
"They then had to prove themselves to our customers and they did. They're a lovely product, sensibly priced and packaged."
Customer feedback had been very favourable, he added: "All of the cake flavours we stock are very popular. The favourites are: coffee and walnut, carrot and the chocolate fudge brownies, which are my favourite!"
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. For further details, please contact Marketing Communications Manager Tony Noble on 07971 794404 or PR Officer Becky Gammon on 07779 784901. Or you can email: crucialpr@shaw-trust.org.uk
2. Shaw Trust is a national charity, formed in 1982, which helps people with disability or disadvantage to find work and achieve independence. We do this not only by delivering government programmes, but also through our own self-funded initiatives, and by campaigning to change attitudes at all levels.
3. Across the
