RAISED IN RAMPTON

Dear All

Having had time to reflect during my first ‘real‘ holiday since COVID and following a crazy two years running with the adventures and opportunities that Raised in Rampton has brought to me, I have decided to take a step back from full-time baking.  

I have been incredibly lucky on this journey as being a full-time baker/ small business owner has never been a planned occupation or business venture, it just so happened that I grew a sourdough starter during lockdown that created some extremely tasty bread, people were (and still are) kind enough to stock and buy my products and I ended up in a position where I could give running a small business a real go.   

There have been some incredible highlights: 

• Raised in Rampton sourdough at Pixie Lot’s wedding at Ely Cathedral as part of one of their starters created by Puddini Caterers & Ben Sulston; 
•  winning best new COVID business in Cambridgeshire/Suffolk at the Muddy Stiletto Awards 2021; 
•  making one of finalists as best drinks/food producer in Cambridgeshire/Suffolk at the Muddy Stiletto Awards 2022; 
•  being contacted by the Head Chef and attending Trinity College Cambridge to present my bread and receiving their amazing feedback;
•  working with some incredible fellow small businesses; and 
•  meeting some incredible people along the way. 

There are plenty of reasons behind the decision to continue on a much smaller scale both, commercial and personal, and although I have been very tempted to continue as is and just run with it to see where it takes me, the sensible decision is to finish on a high and to continue Raised in Rampton more as a hobby.  

One of the questions I have been asked since Day 1 has been, where do you see yourself in five years which in all honesty I have never been able to answer because I just didn’t know.  It took until now (and visiting various larger scale bakeries) to figure out that baking on a large(r) scale as I do now, growing bigger and employing more staff is not what I would like to do. 

Over the time I have worked out that I enjoy being creative, coming up with different products (that aren’t always easy to sell, package and store when popping up in various locations) and that my dream is owning a bijou bakery/cafe (that isn’t in my own house). 

However, in the current economic climate with rising fuel & energy prices, prices of ingredients rising and the potential of flour/grain prices sky rocketing due to the Ukraine/Russia crisis and the extremely hot weather causing UK harvests expected to be minimal, the risk of recession and customer’s pockets being squeezed due to the rise of cost of living, that is not a step I am able or prepared to take at the current time. To protect myself and my family, I am returning to employment with a regular income, set hours, holiday and sick pay.  

On a personal level, I am excited to get my kitchen back and get back to enjoy cooking dinners etc, get more sleep, spend more time with my family, have a social life and wear heels and nice clothes again whilst not being covered in flour for most of the day.  

I won’t elaborate further on my reasons why I have taken the decision but felt it important to give you an explanation of the most important. 

My last week of wholesale deliveries will be w/c 29th August 2022. 

If you are interested in the return of Raised in Rampton sourdough on an adhoc basis or as part of a weekend event or market - please let me know as I am taking weekend bookings.

There will also be the opportunity to place private orders in the future however, I am yet to figure out how this will look going forward. In the meantime, and until I have come up with a plan, there will no longer be an online shop on my website.  

Thank you for all the fantastic opportunities and your trust in my small business. 

Much love, Alice x