Delivered desserts you will Adore!
A husband and wife team have launched a delivery only dessert business in honour of their biggest supporter, who lost his Covid-19 fight. RACHEL LAWTON reports
ACOUPLE are running a new delivery-only dessert business from their home in Stoke-on-trent. Adore Desserts was launched by husband and wife Mohammed Akif and Henna Ghalib at the start of the year from their Longton home.
They have extra motivation to make a success of their new venture – in honour of Mohammed’s late father, who supported them every step of the way but lost his battle with Covid-19 in December.
Mohammed, aged 26, said: “My wife is from Birmingham and we’d always go to dessert shops together there.
“This was about six or seven years ago, and we realised that there wasn’t anything here in Stoke-on-trent.
“It was always in the back of our minds to start our own dessert business, and Henna has always had a good eye for desserts.”
Henna, aged 28, added: “At the moment, the pandemic and subsequent restrictions obviously don’t allow for people to go out, so we wanted to provide people with a luxury experience from home.
“We’ve tried and tested everything on our menu and we’re definitely dessert lovers. You have to enjoy the product you’re selling and we are really passionate about it.
“We’ve engaged as much as possible with our customers through social media, and asked them what they’d like to see through Instagram polls. The biggest requests so far have been anything peanut butter flavoured, and mocktails.
“We’ve had really good reviews so far. We are only a small team at the moment, but we really enjoy what we do, and we take pride in all of it, from the preparation and hygiene side, to the delivery and customer service.
“It’s something positive and a real treat for people in these uncertain times.”
On the menu are a range of popular desserts – including waffles and milkshakes.
Mohammed said: “Quality is our main ingredient. We’re a small business, but we want to keep to a high standard.
“I take pride in making everything good, and I take pride in our customer service too, especially when doing the deliveries.
“Desserts have just become quite popular over the last few years, and these types of shops and businesses are still relatively new to the area. We’ve already got quite a few regular customers.
“We definitely want to expand and keep growing as we go. We’d love to get a premises where, when restrictions allow, people can come and sit in to enjoy their dessert.
“I’ve always wanted a franchise, so hopefully in a few months we can expand in another location or set up something else.”
Now Mohammed and Henna want to grow their business and make a real success of it in honour of Mohammed’s late father, Mohammed Sadiq.
Mohammed said: “In December we lost my father to Covid-19. He stood side by side with us whilst we were setting up the business.
“Without his support, it really wouldn’t have been possible for us to launch the business.
“The day that we were originally supposed to open was the day that he went into hospital.
“We want to continue the business and make it a success for him, and I want to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to everyone on Ward 222 at Royal Stoke.
“He was there for three-anda-half weeks and they were absolutely brilliant and cared for him so well.”