Yes, every Saturday morning I offer free delivery to addresses within 20 miles of Stroud for a minimum order of £15.

Get in touch via the contact form (you can find it by clicking on the yellow bubble at the top right corner of your screen) or by Direct Message over on Instagram or Facebook. State which Saturday you’d like to order for, what products you’d like (and how many) as well as a delivery address. That’s all you need to do initially and I’ll be in touch ASAP.

Yes, of course – this simply swaps a delivery service for a collection service. I need at least 7 days notice with a minimum order amount of £30 – just get in touch via the website contact form or social media DM and we can talk out the specifics you require. Collection is available Tuesday (from 10am) to Saturday (12pm cut off).

By either PayPal or a secure payment link supported by Zettle.

Not currently.

Unfortunately, no. Cake decoration is not my wheelhouse.

Being vegan means abstaining from eating and buying animal products.

Nope.

Yes – I don’t use ingredients that contain any part of the wheat plant e.g. wheatgerm or wheat bran. I also exclude barley, rye, spelt, couscous, durum, semolina, farina and graham flour from my bakes.

Buckwheat is a grain that’s naturally free from gluten and therefore safe for consumption by coeliacs and people with gluten sensitivities. It’s an ingredient in the gluten-free flour blend that I use in my bakes.

I worship at the altar of Shipton Mill who have a beautiful gluten-free facility a few miles from Stroud. Their Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour is a blend of Organic Brown Rice Flour, Organic White Rice Flour, Maize Starch, Tapioca Starch, Organic Maize Flour and Buckwheat Flour.

I’m pleased to say that all my packaging is not just recyclable, but can be commercially composted. 90% of the packaging can be popped into your cardboard recycling, and the baking paper and small ‘plastic’ windows on the cake boxes can be put into your small food waste caddie to be composted by the council (no, fear, they’re obviously not plastic! They’re made from cellulose and are commercially compostable due to it achieving EN13432 criteria).

Yes. At the moment my Bakewell Tarts, “Cheese”cake, Pecan Pie and Pecan Cookies are sweetened with a variety of agave nectar, date syrup, maple syrup and coconut sugar.

Yes, my “Cheese”cake.

Apart from the Pecan Pie, everything is free from soya.

Yes, everything freezes incredibly well except for the Pecan Pie and Bakewell Tarts (although customers have told me they froze them and had no issues). For optimum taste and texture preservation, either keep the products in their original packaging, or pop them into a tupperware box to prevent them taking on the taste of the freezer.

From chilled, the savoury tarts should be heated for 15-18 minutes at 160℃ fan oven and the potato cakes for 10-12 minutes @160℃. From frozen, you can pop both in the oven for 22-25 minutes at 160℃.

I can provide 9” round cakes in my regular flavours (Carrot, Chocolate, Ginger & Passion Fruit, Coffee & Walnut) for £22.50. These feed between 10-12 people depending on the size of the slice and are topped with a simple vegan/dairy-free icing. I need 7 days notice from when you place your order and date of collection.

No. Being the sole baker, retail seller, administrator and marketing officer, it can take months for a product idea to finalise. I’m picky with quality and by making every product vegan & gluten-free, the development process can be filled with setbacks. I develop recipes in my own time, to my own high standards.

I’m pleased to say that all my packaging is not just recyclable, but can be commercially composted. 90% of the packaging can be popped into your cardboard recycling, and the baking paper and small ‘plastic’ windows on the cake boxes can be put into your small food waste caddie to be composted by the council (no, fear, they’re obviously not plastic! They’re made from cellulose and are commercially compostable due to it achieving EN13432 criteria).

No, but there is a reason! The refined sugar I use (caster and icing sugar) is produced by British Sugar. Sugar beet grown by farmers in East Anglia and the East Midlands is used to produce this sugar which thereby reduces the air miles of the sugar and subsequently lowers its carbon emissions.

Shopping local is the act of everyday consumers making the decision to buy produce, clothing and day to day items from a local business instead of going to a large retailer. This clearly focuses on how customers buy from Jack Bakes, but I try as much as possible to order ingredients, packaging and marketing materials from local Gloucestershire businesses as well.

My regular haunt is Stroud Farmers Market on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month between 9am and 2pm. I’m inside the square but for a more exact location just copy in ///reporters.shock.recover to the what3words app on your device.

Jack Bakes is run by just one person, me! I’ve found that due to being such a small operation that works irregular hours, it’s best if all communication is done through email at info@jack-bakes.uk

My kitchen is situated in my home in King’s Stanley, but watch this space for exciting New Premises news!

Not just a bird! A Jackdaw. Because Jack Bakes 😉