Sisters behind popular Cheshire bakery open a second location
When Millie Walter first embarked on her baking business, she relied heavily on a small red book filled with recipes.
This well-worn and slightly stained culinary guide contained the essential steps for creating what are now her best-selling treats. From Oreo and Nutella Brookies - a decadent blend of brownie and cookie - to Cadbury Caramel Blondie and Cookie Dough Brownies, if you can name it, Millie has likely baked it.
Over the past five years, since she began crafting her recipes and selling her homemade goods at local artisan markets in the North West, the recipe book has been replaced by a sleek, laminated folder. This is still used religiously at the flagship bakery she runs with her sister Lydia, Buzzy Bee, located in Wilmslow.
Nestled on Hawthorn Lane in the picturesque Cheshire town, the bakery opened its doors in 2021 to widespread praise, largely due to the evolution of Millie's brookie recipe. With an impressive range of 20 flavours such as Milky bar, Galaxy Caramel, Chocolate Orange and Raspberry White Chocolate - just to mention a few - they quickly became a sensation, with regular queues snaking down the street outside the shop.
Millie's love of baking took root in her childhood, with fond memories of holding a whisk and cracking eggs to whip up "amazing edible treats". Fuelled by her passion, Millie advanced to professional training at the renowned Leiths Cookery School in London, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Following that, she sharpened her pastry chef skills in acclaimed kitchens across London, Australia, and Cheshire.
During an Australian adventure with her sister, Millie's aspiration to pursue her baking dreams intensified. Working at a local cafe and cake shop, she found her calling.
"We travelled all around and worked in this sort of cafe and cake shop and I loved it, so I've been manifesting all of this," Millie recalls with a chuckle.
With a successful establishment in Wilmslow and a dedicated customer following secured, the duo is excited about their latest venture - a new shop in Manchester city centre. Perfectly located on Church Street in the lively Northern Quarter, they claim neighbours such as Bird and Blend Tea Co and Afflecks.
Despite its very apt Manchester moniker, the name's connection to the city is a happy coincidence. "We found the site about a year ago but due to all the paperwork it's taken a while to finally open. Funnily enough, the name does tie in with Manchester but it's actually a bumble bee rather than worker bee so wasn't intentional as such."
"I always wanted to name it something linked to nature and my mum is obsessed with bees, so she'll only plant things in the garden that attract them. That said, it was almost called something linked to butterflies and then Lydia came up with Buzzy Bee when we opened the first shop."
After making her mark at artisan markets in the region with her brookies, cookies, brownies and donuts, pictures of Millie's bakes went viral online with hundreds of thousands of views on social media. Lydia came on board in 2019, bringing with her a background in sales and marketing, and Buzzy Bee as it's known now was born.
While the pandemic brought its challenges, online postal orders boomed for the pair, as they worked tirelessly to meet nationwide demand for their sweet treats. The success of the online business meant the sisters could also save up to open their first bakery, which came to fruition in 2021 - a dream Millie says she has had since she was eight-years-old.
"It's crazy how many people from the start of Buzzy Bee have become regulars," she adds, reflecting on the last five years.
"That's also a reason I was excited for us to open a second bakery in Manchester. Many will be people passing through town or tourists experiencing our bakery and our bakes for the first time."
"Rent is cheaper here than other places in Manchester too and, with this second shop, I've been allowed to create a different vibe to Wilmslow. There's more neutrals and calming elements to the design, and I also didn't want it to be bright pink like lots of places you see online now."
Upon entering the Manchester branch, visitors are greeted by a neon yellow bee, setting the tone for a distinct atmosphere from the flagship store. The interior boasts a fresh and open feel, with white tiles adorned with bee illustrations on one side, complemented by rattan-style lampshades and an abundance of green plants hanging from above.
The centrepiece is the inviting brown and cream countertop, where Buzzy Bee's array of baked goods are displayed under a clear glass top, tempting customers with a variety of cake slices, blondies, brownies, and brookies loaded with chocolate and cookie dough.
Adjacent to the main counter is a recessed ice cream station, offering those with a sweet tooth the chance to enhance their desserts with scoops of birthday cake or white chocolate and raspberry ice cream.
Upstairs, the glass-fronted bakery is nearing completion, promising patrons the opportunity to observe Buzzy Bee's bakers at work, crafting the treats right before their eyes in the coming weeks.
While the selection at the new location mirrors that of the Wilmslow store, Millie insists this is to maintain their high standards and "make sure the classics are done just right".
Buzzy Bee Bakery is delighting customers with a tempting array of baked goods and desserts, including tiramisu in an assortment of flavours such as Biscoff, Nutella, and Kinder Bueno, alongside pistachio-flavoured and Jammy Dodger cheesecakes starting from £6.50.
The bakery has priced its treats with brookies at £4, brownies and banana bread at £4.50, cookies for £3.75, and cupcakes cost just £2.75, all complemented by a selection of hot drinks available for both sit-in and takeaway.
The owner shared their pricing policy: "I'm keen to not charge more than £5 for our bakes, because I just think that's too much for people. And I also think it's about getting the classics right."
They added, "As we bed in, I'll experiment a bit more and I want to have little cakes that people can come and collect and more desserts, something like banoffee pie. For autumn, we're looking at toffee apple brookies and sticky toffee flavours for our bakes."