Here is our little piece, hope you like it!
Allow me to introduce myself; I am Amanda Perry, Owner, Founder and devotee of Fancie. in Sheffield.
I first decided to rekindle the baking skills I had finely honed in some of the best kitchens throughout the UK in December 2007. Whilst at my parents over the Christmas period, I looked around at all the various boxes of chocolates that had been left by well wishers and family members and became slightly daunted at the variety on offer.
Buying a box of sparkly, foil wrapped chocolates had become as second nature to the average consumer as a bottle of bubbly. So why wasn’t that the case with cake?
And so I set out creating a ‘box of cakes’ at home in my kitchen. I managed through trial and error, to make a selection of miniature versions of British classics - Victoria Sandwich, Coffee, and Lemon - all moist and as fresh as if they were from your Grannies tea tray.
Next, I had to think of it from a commercial angle - if this were to be a feasible business (I must have been watching too much Dragons Den at the time!) then I would need to make the cakes a lot less fiddly in order to accommodate volume sales. And so I arrived at cupcakes - the perfect solution. A compact, individual cake that could encapsulate any flavour, colour or style combo your heart could possibly desire! It was so obvious - so why was no one else doing it?...... Little did I know that at the very same moment, SJP, Kim Cattrall et al. were hitting the big screen devouring the very same thing from the little known Magnolia bakery in NYC - and so began ‘Cupcake Britain’!
You can barely mention the word Farmers market these days before you hear the donning of pinnies across the country as the world and his wife start thumbing through cupcake recipe books. So what makes Fancie. different?
Well, for a start in the 18 months we have been trading in earnest, we have opened three shops and number four is on it’s way (watch this space). Fancie. is a brand, but what use is a brand without a decent product - style without substance, or, all fur coat and no knickers, if you will.
With my bakery training in a variety of top pastry kitchens combined with my passion for baking and uncompromising eye for detail - nothing is missed. OK, so I’m not saying we haven’t had complaints. ‘Dry’ cake seems to be the scourge of the 21st century, and of course, taste is entirely subjective. However, whether it’s a wedding, corporate event, party or just tea and cake in the shop - we are never short of crumbs flying from the mouths of our customers as they lavish praise on our mini (or not so mini) creations.
They helped Nick Clegg through Election Day; Eric Clapton sent his daughter a box for her birthday and Paloma Faith enjoyed hers so much, she ordered some for her guitarist’s birthday. We have been featured on the BBC, Channel 4, in Vogue Magazine as well as the Guardian.... I could go on but that would make me sound like a media crazy name dropper - when all we are really interested in is real, freshly baked, lip smackingly good CAKE.
It’s exciting times for Fancie. and we are continuing to grow. We have lots planned for the next 12 months, so - stay tuned, keep enjoying our mini masterpieces and watch this space!
Find us at:
Fancie.| Sharrowvale Road
Fancie.| The Winter Garden
Fancie.| Sheffield Student Union
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