Consumer News
Posted by
Westloaf
Posted on
29 Apr 2024
After a 25 year career in adult education, Penny Westlake decided to do something different, follow her heart and create her own bakery – Westloaf!
If you’ve ever wondered about what motivates the people behind Devon’s small food and drink businesses, the common denominator has got to be passion. Here’s Penny describing why she set up her fabulous bakery and where you can get your hands on her products…
“I grew up in West Devon on a small holding and we had a Jersey house cow which was milked by hand, chickens, a donkey, goats and any number of stray and orphaned animals! With the milk from the cow, we would make clotted cream, butter and experiment with different cheeses (including a cottage cheese which was not very successful!). From these beginnings, I had always appreciated where good food comes from and discovered a love of all things dairy!
“Teabreads are the original power slice”.
“Teabreads are the original power slice and deserve more recognition for being wholesome and satisfying and I am keen to revive them, not just for afternoon teas. I use local ingredients where possible and this includes Devon butter, Devon eggs, local honey from the same valley as the kitchen and I now use a wholemeal flour which grows in North Devon and is harvested purely using horse power! It’s a fabulous flour and I am working on a recipe for a Devon apple and honey cake which will have all of the ingredients from Devon apart from the sugar!
“I love to experiment with different flavour teas to infuse the fruit and my favourite is a chai blend with a chai syrup drizzle which creates a perfect teabread.
“I have been making granola for many years and the original idea was from a family recipe book. I love the mix of organic oats, various fruits, whole nuts and seeds which are slow baked with local honey – it’s delicious and everyone comes back for more. I do a refill pouch and customers can also visit the kitchen to fill up their original jar.
“It is such an exciting time to be developing my kitchen and a real treat to use such premium local ingredients. I am looking forward to creating wonderful bakes and widen the range of granola flavours too.”
You can buy Penny’s premium loaf cakes, granola and more products online for delivery or they can be collected from the Westloaf Kitchen at Lewdown.
