Baker Rises to the Challenge of being his own Boss with help from Business Gateway

Taking voluntary redundancy provided Barry Batchelor with the finance he needed to fulfil one of his five life ambitions – to open his own bakery.

The 61-year-old, from Newburgh, decided to take severance from Telford College, Edinburgh, last September after spending 37 years teaching students patisserie and bakery.

As well as creating four part-time jobs, the former chef has ploughed £80,000 of his own money into renovating premises at 108 High Street, Newburgh.

And thanks to advice from Business Gateway Fife, which helped him secure a £1000 grant to buy top of the range ovens through Fife Council’s Fife Investment Fund, Barry opened The Wee Bakery on July 9th.

He said: “It’s every chef and bakers dream to open their own place and taking severance from the college allowed me to fulfil my own ambition. I’d always had my eye on the premises, which was a bakery before I took it over, and bought it last October when I decided to keep its name - The Wee Bakery.

“I’ve road tested a number of my products in my wife’s local café, Café Bite n Blether, and my newly invented loaf, which has a bit of a cheeky name as it looks like a bottom when baked, has gone down a storm. There’s a high percentage of elderly in the town and they don’t want to buy a full-size loaf so this loaf, which can easily be split in two, has not only raised a few giggles and but proven popular.”

He added: “Business Gateway helped my wife when she launched her cafe so it felt natural to go back to them for advice as laws, regulations and rules all change over time. My adviser’s support, and the information gained from the finance and marketing workshops, helped refresh my knowledge; while the £1000 Fife Investment Fund grant proved invaluable as it helped me purchase ovens that will cope with the forecasted demand ahead of schedule.”

Charles Doeg-Smith, Business Adviser, Business Gateway Fife said: “Redundancy provided Barry with the perfect way to fulfil a dream. He’s an experienced baker, selling breads and traditional cakes made from scratch, who has create local jobs and is looking into the possibility of taking on an apprentice shortly. Although he knows a lot about baking he realised that we could help keep him up to date on the ins and outs of running a business as well as sign post him to potential funding streams. We’re delighted our help has proven useful and allowed him to purchase equipment.”

Having worked in a number of small restaurants, as well as in a top hotel in London’s West End, Barry originally wanted to open a restaurant with his dad, who is also a chef, in the 1970s. However, the postal strike put paid to that dream as the hotel never received their offer and he fell into teaching.

He said: “A love of cooking and baking runs in the family as my dad, who is 94, is still a professional chef, my wife runs her café and my daughter is the pastry chef at the Fairmont Hotel in St Andrews. My son is the only one not in catering, but he’ll still be making things when he starts work as a manufacturing engineer for Jaguar this summer.

“It was disappointing not to get the hotel but the dream never left me and I added opening my own place to my list of life ambitions. The Wee Bakery means I’ve completed four out of five of them now; having already built myself a car, a house and moved to Scotland to live and work. There’s just one left and I hope to build my own boat sometime in the near future.”

For more information on how Business Gateway can help your business grow and prosper visit www.bgateway.com or call 0845 609 6611. Alternatively contact your local office on 01592 858333.