Mum finds a recipe for success after ditching animal products
AMOTHER-OF-THREE has launched a new business making vegan cakes just a year after turning her back on animal products.
Rachel Burns, 51, from Bwlchgwyn, near Wrexham, was inspired to become a vegan herself by one of her sons, who has strong views on the subject.
She set up Rachel’s Vegan Cakes in January and supplies her homemade products to a network of local restaurants and bars across the region.
Ms Burns said: “There is a real need for vegan-friendly food.
“And not only for vegans, but people who have an intolerance to dairy products, too.
“When I go out for a meal I can usually find a vegan starter and main, but rarely, if ever, find a vegan sweet.
“I know other vegans feel the same way, and the vegan and vegetarian market is growing every year.”
Ms Burns became a vegan herself so she could be sure to cook suitable food her 29-year-old vegan son Matt when he came to visit.
She said: “I wanted to ensure I always had something to offer Matt that he could eat when he called, and looked at how I could make cakes and sweets.
“For me it was more of a scientific experiment.
“I looked at things like chocolate brownies, cherry almond slices, carrot cake and Victoria sponges, and wondered how I could make them so they tasted really good using only non-animal or dairy products.
“I use ingredients such as flax seeds, apple sauce and egg replacement powders and I also make some gluten-free products, too.
“I’ve always worked in catering, but baking products for vegans made me realise just what you can do with different ingredients. We don’t need to use dairy or animal products to make good food, and that led me down the path towards becoming a vegan myself.”
Ms Burns works as a school catering manager, but has always harboured a desire to run her own business.
She said: “It’s something I have always wanted to do.
“I worked for many years in school catering with a man called Clive Smith and we’d talked of running a business together.
“We looked at various pubs, restaurants and cafes around north Wales.
“Sadly, before we could set up a business, Clive was diagnosed with terminal cancer and quite quickly passed away.
“I promised him before he died I would carry on with the plan to start a catering business of my own.
“Then Matt asked me to make some cakes suitable for vegans that he could take to his office in Chester where he works.
“People tried them without knowing they were for vegans and loved them, so I thought, This is what I’ll try to do as a business.
“My middle son, Jonny, 27, who lives in Staines with his wife Sophie, designed my website and customers are placing orders quite regularly online, and I also have customers who have simply heard about me by word of mouth.”
One of her customers is Chris Spray, who is the proprietor of The Boathouse at Chirk, and lives in Chester.
He said: “We sample locally-produced food as often as we can, and I’m delighted to say we have a growing reputation when it comes to the vegan and vegetarian-friendly food on our menu.
“However, we won’t buy a product just because it’s for vegans, it has to taste good and we want the best products made from the best ingredients.
“Veganism is growing and Rachel has launched her business at just the right time.”
Ms Burns has been invited to exhibit at the Llangollen Food Festival on October 14 and 15.
The event is considered one of the highlights in the UK’s culinary calendar and has been described as one of the top 10 food festivals in the UK by the Daily Telegraph and Independent newspapers.
She said: “The organisers were offering a few free places for new producers to celebrate the festival’s 20th anniversary.
“To be honest I never thought I’d have a chance and was amazed when I heard I’d been granted a space.
“As a new business it’s exciting and I’m really looking forward to it. I’m nervous but in an excited way. I’m absolutely convinced my business can work.”