Member of the Month
Congratulations to Fellows Bakery!
We have been impressed with their exceptional commitment to the craft baking industry, the CBA and to the wider community.
Fellows Bakery, of Ardingly in Sussex – a village mainstay run by the appropriately named husband-and-wife team of David and Melanie Bunn. Fellows serves as something of a hub for its community, and also covers much of the county with its wholesale offer. The team, which includes six full-time bakers, also provides specialty products such as bespoke monogrammed breads to order, gluten-free breads and handmade cakes.
The Fellows story goes back to 1880, with David coming into the picture just under a century later, when he began work as a 16-year-old apprentice in 1979. In 1998, when Fellows came up for sale, he raised the cash to become the owner – and through long hours, hard graft and stubborn dedication, he remains there to this day.
David said: “As many bakers know, that’s a hard achievement over two recessions, a pandemic and ever-increasing prices. I decided back in 2010 to branch out into the artisan field, of which we are very proud. We are aware of the fact you must keep up with the trends, and never be too anxious about new products. We are always keeping an ear out for what our customers like.
“We are a small village bakery and many have said we are the hub of the village. We open five-and-a-half days a week from our shop, and we also produce wholesale, which covers a good part of the county. Our best line is the artisan and traditional bread, continental lines such as focaccia, handmade with love – which we wholesale to our Italian customers. One of our customers we supply is a substantial farm shop in Sussex, which takes our bread and cakes. We wholesale fabulous cakes, and will be striving to do more wholesale of these.”