From Homebase to home bakes as Shropshire husband and wife live their dream

It was in his last role at Homebase in Market Drayton, that he was faced with the threat of redundancy.

Faced with a dilemma of what do to next, it prompted a career change and a new partnership with wife Mel.

You are, after all, never too old to learn something new. He became a baker, inspired by Mel, who was already growing a brilliant reputation in the field, and neither of the couple have looked back since.

"I had managed bakeries, in the sense of overseeing those inside a supermarket," said Darren.

"But I had not done the nuts and bolts role of being an actual baker.

"Mel was the skilled baker, with an eye for detail and incredibly good at decorating.

"She is the creative genius who has become renowned for her bakes, having previously run a team room called Victorious Sponge in Wem.

"She taught me a lot. I have since developed my skills through her support and individually as well. So now I do a lot of brownies and blondies, as well as cookies and it has become a real passion.

"I try different things. Some can be a disaster and others are great but I have got a real buzz for baking and I know Mel has that too.

"We have created this business and, from the feedback we get, people enjoy what we do and there's nothing better than when you receive a compliment."

Darren and Mel are reaping the rewards of the hard work they have put in – to the point they have just opened their first shop in Drayton Road, Shawbury.

The pair have managed The Gourmet Brownie Company for four years and have enjoyed great success with their sweet treats, attending seasonal and artisan markets as well as food and music festivals.

But this is their first move towards the 'bricks and mortar' of a shop and Darren says the opening few weeks have been a whirlwind.

"It has been absolutely superb," enthuses Darren.

"We have been received wonderfully well by people in Shawbury and beyond. It feels like we have become a destination for some people from further afield.

"It's hard work and involves lots and lots of baking but we are really enjoying it and have built up a sizeable following."

The pair had already got support from their roles travelling around various events in Shropshire, the wider West Midlands and beyond.

“We will carry on with the events side of things as we have made it a success and still like those," said Darren.

“We both enjoy the element of getting out and about and travelling to all areas of the country."

“But we thought now was the right time to move into high street premises so that we have an ongoing business rather than just a seasonal one. We kept the branding of The Gourmet Brownie Company as we are known as that. We have made it a success but we plan to expand and create a much larger range of products."

One of the things that Darren is most proud of is their 'free from' products.

“We produce more than 80 different variety of brownies and blondies now, half of which are gluten free and that's something we are proud of," he said.

"We now have a range of dairy free cakes too and I love the variety of products we have.

"We get a lot of comments from people about them. We seem to put smiles on faces of customers when they ask if we do free-from products and we say yes!

"We want to add more sweet treats – flapjacks and cupcakes – and all sorts of weird and wonderful goodies, moving forward. We are hopeful the move to a shop will be the success we are dreaming of."

Life hasn't been without its challenges since the pair set up business but Darren believes the difficulties have all been worth it.

"We have had to deal with a pandemic and we have a cost of living crisis now," he reflects. "But I look at it and think, if we had given up at any point we would probably be in jobs now which we wouldn't enjoy as much.

"We have stuck with it and our supportive families have helped us through any emotional crises we might have had.

"And here we are now, with a new store and we love it. We have become business partners as well as life partners and we just hope to keep enjoying what we are doing and, hopefully, keep the projects coming.”