John was raised in a family bakery and did every role before becoming Managing Director in 1990. Alongside his cousins John has evolved the bakery from retail and catering into a wholesale bakery with customers worldwide. John is passionate about scratch baking and innovation, occasionally lecturing at University on bakery business.

Qualifications and training include: Baking Company Direction, Road Transport Operations, Diplomacy, Managing Complexity and Uncertainty, First Aid, Mental Health First Aid, IT, HR, Health & Safety, Food Safety - generally skills helpful in running a bakery.

In his career, he’s chaired government initiatives around the food industry and employment. He appears often on regional TV and starred in the TV series Victorian Bakers. In the 1990’s he wrote for British Baker and won 5 baking industry awards. He has an Honorary Doctorate from Sheffield Hallam University, an MBE for services to unemployed people and is a Deputy Lieutenant for South Yorkshire.

John and his wife Elaine met at bakery school in Manchester; they have been married for 40 years, have two children and one grandchild. 28 years ago they lived for a year in a caravan whilst building their own house. John is a devout Christian; to relax he watches ice hockey and rides his motorcycle; he is a volunteer blood biker.