Icing On The Cake
Master baker Brian Cully has modernised his family business since he took over the reins, but insists on traditional methods being maintained. His efforts have just been rewarded by securing a listing with retail giant Aldi, writes Kathleen O’Callaghan
Brian Cully, Ireland’s answer to Mr Kipling, received exceedingly good news in September when one of his bestselling products secured a listing with Aldi. Cully’s Craft Bakery’s renowned Iced Cherry Log came through the Grow with Aldi programme, and his hero product will now take its place on Aldi’s shelves.
Having access to 152 Aldi stores really is the cherry on the cake for a small operation, says the businessman. “This contract is something a craft bakery likes us would only dream about,” says Cully, managing director of the bakery. “A lot of hard work went in from all our 17 staff to make it to the finishing line.”
Cully’s Craft Bakery has been going for 70 years. It was founded in 1953 by Brian’s grandfather, Michael Cully, in Arvagh, Co. Cavan, who built the bakery with its large coke ovens beside the established family grocer shop.
For years, Michael Cully’s shop was supplied by Spicer’s Bakery in Co. Meath. Their breads would be transported to the grocery outlet in wicker baskets by train and then onwards by pony and trap. Michael Cully saw how well the bread was selling and decided to get into the baking game himself. He had a few good family recipes up his sleeve and a network of potential buyers.
“Back then the biggest seller was the unsliced plain batch loaf, and it’s still one of the favourites,” explains Brian. “After my grandfather died in 1959, my grandmother Kathleen took over the running of the bakery, and my father Barney went up to Dublin to learn the baking trade. He learnt the craft by working as an apprentice to real traditional bakers, and came to understand the slow art of how to bake a range of high-quality breads.”
Brian Cully (39) took over running
the family firm from his father, though Barney still takes an active interest. Brian’s sisters Elaine and Jennifer are also active in the venture, making it a family recipe for success.
Traditional craft bakeries have a challenge on their hands as they compete against the marketing muscle of supermarket bread factories. Fast dough producers can shoot out as many loaves in an hour than Cully’s can do in a day. Yet discerning customers really appreciate the delicious taste and finer quality ingredients that go into creating traditional breads and cakes, according to Brian. They especially understand this after the home-making sourdough craze that occurred during the pandemic. The percentage of bread flop photos on Instagram was proof that this requires expertise.
Delicious dough takes time and talent to make. It has to be mixed well and fermented slowly. Then the proofing occurs before it goes into the oven. Brian Cully also adds that the extra baking time they allow also delivers that distinctive flavour and tasty crust that characterises the family bakery’s products.
“Our theme is Real Bread Baked Slow, as you can’t rush a good loaf. It takes time,” says Brian, who has the rustic patience to let the bread do its bit of magic.
T‘We stick to our core values to offer wholesome master craft ingredients’
he Iced Cherry Log that found appeal with Aldi buyers is a recipe that goes back to the 1950s. “My grandmother Kathleen and her staff would mould the cakes and loaves by hand before putting them into the oven with the long baking shovels,” Brian recalls. “She had to work very hard after her husband died, running the bakery and looking after the staff. My dad Barney took over from her in the 1980s and continued carrying the bread baton.”
In 2007, Cully’s Craft Bakery built a new facility down the road in Farrangarve with more powerful ovens and a lot more space. The distinctive Cully bread vans painted with blue skies and wheat fields can drive in and avoid the rain when they are loading up before heading off to hundreds of stockists in Monaghan, Armagh and
Tyrone, as well as shops in Leitrim and Longford.
“We put in new oil-based, plate ovens with four decks and circulating fans for an even cooking result,” explains Brian. “Our output increased and we also introduced some innovative product ideas. We stick to our core values to offer true quality and wholesome master craft ingredients.”
Brian Cully became a master baker himself in 2008 by completing a BSc degree in Bakery and Pastry Arts from the National Bakery School in DIT. He recalls that he was the only student on the course whose family actually ran a bakery.
One of his favourite Cully’s recipes is Spelt and Multi-seed Loaf, a robust bread with lots of fibre. “We are also making smaller batch loaves and half pans for consumers, as they tend to stay fresher for longer.”
So what’s the secret of the bakery’s longevity? Brian believes it is sticking to the traditional basics and popular products and never scrimping on quality ingredients or cutting corners on fermenting and proving time.
“The old ovens are still there in Arvagh and my uncle still runs the original grocery shop next door. We are planning to bring one of the old ovens down to the new facility and fire them up again.”