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''I had planned everything, other than for it to succeed like it did!''
Cooking and baking have always been a massive part of my life. Both of my Grandmothers were keen bakers. Whenever we visited them, they'd bake a cake for tea, and I'd always push a chair over so I could stand on it to help them. I say help, but I doubt they saw it that way.
At 15, I got my first part-time job in a butcher's. Soon after, I got a job as a kitchen assistant in a restaurant that we supplied with meat. The thrill of working on the line in a busy kitchen was just brilliant. And, of course, being around all of the food. I graduated from Aberystwyth University in 2015 with a degree in Childhood Studies, completed my Teacher Training in 2016, and became a full-time teacher. I LOVED it! Children are young comedians. They have the power to make you smile and laugh without trying.
It was 2023; I was a full-time primary school teacher on summer holidays. Before the new term started, I had a trip to Las Vegas planned to watch Adele at her residency at Caesars Palace. I visited all of the most popular food locations, as I do every time I go away. While visiting food places, I always have a little voice saying, 'You should open something like this.' And it never goes away. After the best weekend, it was time to head home. It was the middle of the night, and we suddenly had a BBC Breaking News notification. That news was headlined 'The Day Air Traffic Control Went Down'.
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A fortune cookie I got the day before leaving Vegas
Stuck in Harry Reid International Airport for nearly 20 hours, it was a challenge. Our flight home would appear and get cancelled over and over. After a few hours, the boredom kicked in. With 30 dollars left, I visited Relay to spend it. I bought a notebook and some American snacks. I started listing the food I would sell if I ever owned a café or restaurant. One idea led to another. Numerous pages of planning. Business ideas, logistics, name, logo. As unrealistic as it may sound, I had no intention of doing anything with these pages. They were purely to pass the time.
It was September. I'd unpacked my suitcase, framed Adele's poster and shelved the notebook from Relay. However, the idea and possibility of using the pages hadn't. During my lunch breaks, I would share my latest diet with my coworkers, but I had the food business idea in the back of my mind. Towards the end of September, Welsh Whisk was a solid business idea.
By October, Welsh Whisk was born.
The one page I hadn't planned in my notebook was, what on earth was I going to do if Welsh Whisk succeeded?! Soon after starting Welsh Whisk, word of mouth was playing a crucial role, and orders for Celebration cakes were coming in faster and faster. By Christmas break, I needed to re-assess how many orders I was taking on with Welsh Whisk. I was getting to the point where I was dreading putting the oven on and all the washing up! A hobby of mine was becoming a chore. I decided to close my diary and stop taking orders.
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The story behind Welsh Whisk
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Burnt my nose on my homemade caramel, so went as a scarred Ron Weasley for World Book Day.
By February 2024, Welsh Whisk was still on hiatus, and I was only fulfilling orders I'd taken on before closing my diary.
That calmness soon came to an end. I received a message from Rhys from Llwynbanc Dairy Farm. He wondered if I'd be interested in stocking their vending machine with my brownies. My mind went into overdrive. How was that going to work? Within seconds, I'd replied to him, ''I would love to!!!!''.
How? I wasn't sure, but I had just the notebook to plan it. I told Rhys to leave it with me, but we agreed to get the first batch in for the end of March. I had a month!
Over the next month, I drew, designed, planned, and ordered everything to supply to the vending machine. Supporting other small businesses, the packaging, stickers, and labels were all made by small businesses.
Soon after getting back into the swing of baking, I re-opened my diary. My messages went bonkers! I knew there was a demand, and I felt a strong sense of love and fondness towards my little business.
I had made a decision.
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It was August 2024, exactly a year to the weekend that air traffic control went down. I was in Munich watching Adele. I was a week away from running Welsh Whisk full-time.
I now supply to the best suppliers and have a busy diary. And the vending machine? What started as five slots has now increased to 10. What began as 45 brownies a week has now grown to 360+.
Welsh Whisk has become something I never imagined.
Education has such a big part in my heart and always will. I have so many funny stories and fond memories that I will cherish forever. It's a period of my life that holds so much meaning for me.
But right now, Welsh Whisk is my priority, and I'm riding this amazing wave.
Maybe one day, I can have a cake shop in Vegas.
It's been a crazy 2 years! Here's to many more!