Member Article

Manufacturer makes major career change to create new jobs at startup Huddersfield bakery

A Huddersfield businessman has turned his back on a successful career in automotive manufacturing to open up an artisan bakery in the village of Farnley Tyas, Huddersfield.

Farnley Bakehouse is the first of multiple ventures planned by Stephen Harrison and his wife Simone which will sit under the umbrella brand of Farnley Market.

Initially it has set created four new jobs with more planned as the business grows. The aim is to create further jobs for local residents while supporting local food producers by selling their produce in their stores.

Stephen was co-owner and operations director of Birkby’s Plastics based in Liversedge, a plastic injection moulding company serving a wide range of sectors including automotive, electronics, and other high reliability industries.

Stephen sold the business in 2008, and joined the world of mergers and acquisitions where he teamed up with the ex-head of BDO’s North West division and became part of CHA corporate finance, a boutique corporate finance business based near Manchester.

Stephe said: “I saw a framed newspaper clipping on the wall which explained the difference between bread made in commercial bakeries and supermarkets compared with that made in small artisan bakeries situated around the country”.

“Moreover, this highlighted the fact that most commercial bread is packed so full of additives and other chemicals to make it perform in a high-speed production environment, that it can actually be harmful to health.

“What alarmed me most was the fact that none of these chemicals are required to be specified on the label because of their classification as ’processing aids”. This single event sparked an interest that has gone from a hobby to a fully fledged business.”

After experimenting with ‘proper’ bread-making at home using organic ingredients, wild yeasts and authentic recipes, Stephen completed an advanced baking course at the Artisan School of Cookery at Wellbeck in Nottinghamshire and is now looking to develop his skills further by baking real bread every day.

Simone’s career to date has been in the retail sector and she has recently graduated as a mature student with a first class BA (Hons) in Managing Performance at the University of Leeds.

Speaking about the launch of the bakery Stephen says: “We are so excited to have launched this new venture in our home village.

“It ticks so many boxes for the both of us and we’re really looking forward to being part of the artisan food movement as it gathers real momentum against a back-drop of supermarket domination”.

Following the launch, the Bakehouse is now open six days a week and as well as selling daily baked fresh bread, offers a range of hand-baked pastries, cake and coffee, as well as everyday items such as milk, locally sourced free range eggs, cheeses and other dairy products and preserves.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .