UK’s ‘Best Family Run Luxury Baker’ award for Lynsey in Ballyholme

Baker Lynsey Bleakley had just finished creating 600 luxury brownies for one of Belfast’s biggest international technology companies last week when an email told her about the award.

“It was a total surprise that I certainly hadn’t been expecting,” Lynsey, who is based in Ballyholme, says.

She was the only Northern Ireland enterprise listed in the annual awards which recognise outstanding achievement especially by smaller and family owned enterprises.

The artisan bakery, founded and run by Lynsey, a former nurse, in 2019, named in the awards, now in their sixth year, is a specialist in luxury cakes and other baked products especially brownies, biscuits and traditional traybakes for corporate and private customers. The bakery is now a popular choice for many local companies and also for businesses in Britain seeking to recognise the support of customers and staff.

The awards, according to organiser Holly Blackwood, encompass “a multitude of exciting and vibrant businesses and industries from all over the nation”.

The citation for Bumble and Goose continues: “In the face of unprecedented hardship and uncertainty, UK business owners have demonstrated the upmost

dedication and innovation in the ways that they have not only adapted but weathered the Covid-19 storm to ensure the survival of their businesses.

“The UK Enterprise Awards looks to honour the leading SME’s, whatever their size, across the nation.

“The UK Enterprise Awards are judged purely on merit. In order to determine worthy winners, our in-house research team carefully analyse the information that is available both online and in the public domain as well as any materials supplied by nominees. This is a fantastic achievement for Bumble and Goose and a true marker of the hard work and commitment invested day to day.”

Lynsey (46) adds: “I am thrilled, of course, to receive this important and immensely encouraging recognition from such an influential organisation. I wish to thank whoever decided to nominate my small business based on the quality of our bakes and the exceptional service we provide.”

The small bakery was launched by Lynsey on the back of 18 years in frontline nursing and a further 12 as a health visitor.

“While I loved my career in the NHS I felt the need for a change and to do something completely different. I had been baking with my mother from my childhood and continued as a hobby during my time in the NHS,” she says.

Friends and colleagues encouraged her to think seriously about setting up a small bakery.

“While baking was an obvious choice for me, it’s a very competitive sector in Northern Ireland. I had to carry out extensive market research to pinpoint opportunities for my skills. In addition to baking for the public, I decided to offer my services to corporate clients here,” continues Lynsey, who has also picked up a number of awards including as the baker of ‘The Best Luxury Brownies in Northern Ireland’ by the international Luxlife magazine.

Her personalised biscuits proved to be extremely popular as a gift particularly during the pandemic.

“Customers used our boxes to send goodwill messages to family and friends throughout the UK and other parts of Europe,” she explains.

The Luxlife award was not the first accolade that the talented Lynsey has won for her luxury home bakes. She also won Theo Paphitis’s #SBS (Small Business Sunday), which had “a huge impact on our digital presence”, she adds. And the Rev Richard Cole, a star of a recent Strictly Come Dancing series and once a member of the Communards, a chart topping band of the 1980s, described Lynsey’s creations as the ‘king of brownies’ on his radio show.

Lynsey describes her business as “a luxury bakehouse, delivering gift boxes of happiness across the UK and Ireland”.

“We bake and gift box our treats for doorstep delivery across UK and Ireland as well as local delivery for cakes,” she continues. “We love sending out virtual hugs in the form of our delicious treats as birthday gifts. They’ve also become popular with corporate customers as wellness hampers for clients and staff. Corporate clients now account for around 50% of our order book.

She puts the popularity of her creations down to high quality ingredients from local suppliers such as Root & Branch Coffee in Belfast and Donaghadee’s Copeland Distillery, an award winning producer of gin, whiskey and rum, in creating novel products. Other suppliers include Northern Ireland’s Dale Farm for dairy products, Neill’s Flour in Belfast and a local free range egg producer.