His sweet career

DU N DE E’S ow n Wi l ly Wo n k a h a s h a d a rema rkable 60 -yea r ca reer i n t he s we etmaking industry, as he cont i nues he lpi ng to produce tasty treats at the age of 73.

Confectionery consultant Derek Shaw started out working for a sweet-making firm in his native Kent at the age of 13 as an odd-job boy, eventually marrying the owner’s daughter Gloria.

His career continued with a move to London when he was 21, and then to Dundee in 1981 to work for the famous Keiller’s factory until 1989.

He then set his own firm up, Shaw’s of Dundee, which he ran until 2002, before becoming a consultant, which has seen him work in countries all over the world offering expert advice

and providing recipes products.

After giving up flying following a recent bout of ill-health, the grandfather-of-four provides expert advice to sweet-makers in the UK.

“I started off as an odd-job boy in Kent i n for Marderum’s,” Derek said.

“I was 13 and they were wellknown in the area for making boiled sweets, coconut candies, chocolate clusters and a load of other products. It gave me a good grounding.

“We would make sweets Monday to Wednesday, on Thursday and Friday we would prepare for the markets, then we would sell sweets at the weekend. It was terrific – I loved it.”

His career then took him to South Norwood, where he was production manager for Crusader

for

Confectionery before moving on to the role of production director at Butterkist.

“I worked for Callbow Confectionery, they were one of the smaller companies but that was better, I found, because it allowed me to be more hands-on and learn so much.

“We were competing with Barratts, Trebor – some of the biggest names in the industry. I learned a lot more because I had to do everything.

“These days I will get a call asking me ‘ can you make us some almond sweets or boiled sweets’ and I can because I learned to do it all.

“Eventually the company which owns Butterkist bought us over and I was phoned by Keiller’s.

“Nestle were i nterested i n taking Keiller’s over and I was brought in and told I had three options; save, sell or shut down the factory.

“Thankfully the Okhai family bought it and we came up and it gave us a good few years in Dundee with them.”

Derek decided to move into his own factory, Shaw’s, in 1989 in Wester Gourdie Industrial Estate, then on to premises in the former Keiller factory’s bakery.

Eventually Shaw’s was wound down and closed by 2002.

Derek said: “Dundee has been great. We were really made to feel welcome and be part of the community.”

But the big question is, have Derek and his family benefited from his particularly exciting job?

“I do get asked it a lot and yes I do have a sweet tooth myself.

“My favourite is probably chocolate.

“The joke was that I would always have samples in my office and the grandkids were told not to ask me for sweets, but they would always manage to get some out of me.”