Member of the Month
Congratulations to Slattery. The CBA have been impressed with their innovation of outstanding products and success within the marketplace, the way they adapt to changes in consumer habits and of course for the continuous long-standing support to the Craft Bakers.
With 10 members of one clan working under the same roof, cake and chocolate destination Slattery is a sweet spot in more ways than one.
Slattery, based in the town of Whitefield, just north of Manchester. This true family business has eight immediate relatives and two more members of the extended clan working together on the same site, with a proud three-generation history going back more than half a century.
But Slattery is very much of the 21st century, with over 100,000 followers on social media and more than a dozen OK magazine appearances under its belt thanks to wedding cakes it has supplied to celebrities.
The business was started by husband and wife Bernard and Margaret Slattery back in 1967, with the original bakery opening on June 30 that year in Crumpsall, a northern suburb of Manchester, along with a smaller shop in nearby Higher Broughton. It was a family affair from the start, with John’s younger sister Ann and her husband-to-be Stephen Barnes later joining.
Slattery prospered during the 1970s and 1980s, with John, Ann and Steve being named UK Bakers of the Year four years in a row. During this time Slattery shops also operated in first Salford, then Prestwich. Bernard and Margaret retired in 1991, and at this point Ann and Steve took over the Crumpsall bakery, while John opened his own shop in Whitefield.
John’s eldest daughter Kate later joined the family trade, working at both Crumpsall and Whitefield. Her younger sister Laura also joined in 2002.
After Ann and Steve’s children Sarah and Anthony got involved, the two sides of the business reunited in 2012, with a two-year refurbishment programme to allow the site in Whitefield to accommodate everything. The Crumpsall bakery closed after 45 years on June 9, 2012. The final member of the third generation, Jo, joined the business in 2014.
Slattery closed its doors the first time in 53 years in 2020, when Covid-19 hit. After three weeks closed, the family got back up and running with a home delivery service for afternoon teas, sharing platters and £10 mystery boxes. As restrictions eased, staff members from outside the family returned to work to help with click-and-collect sales.
John said: “Slattery is now in its third generation. Two members of the next generation currently have Saturday jobs in the business, and are working their way up as all other family members have done. Hopefully the business looks safe to continue to a fourth generation in the not-so-distant future.”