Louise
280 Bakes

So while I tell you why changes to my delivery policy have been introduced, take a look at some of my favourite local front doors (Thanks to a little help from my fave peeps on Instagram).

If you can prove one of these doors is yours, you can have a Victoria Sponge free!
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When 280 Bakes first started in 2016, it was a porch sale enterprise only, selling all manner of baked goods.
Within three or four weeks, it became a delivery service to all of Bristol as demand for cupcakes, birthday cakes and traditional homebakes got really high. From that first Autumn I employed a team of home bakers to help support my business, which, at its peak, had six bakers on board.
Then, in March 2019, the business closed temporarily when I had a baby.
​Now 280 Bakes is back, deliveries have changed slightly...
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(LOVE this bumble bee door knocker, I neeeeed!)

So, first off, I am now limiting deliveries to doors in the BS9, BS10 and BS11 postcodes. This is mainly because I bloomin' hated driving into central Bristol and further east to deliver in the past - it was once a two hour round trip to get to Kingswood and back! Traffic has been historically abysmal... Let's see what post-lockdown looks like in (hopefully) a few months, but I'd be reluctant to take on a wider area at the moment.
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I also have limited the patch I deliver to because I need and want to be home more. My baby is a total delight, and I want to spend time with her. I also have extra baby-related responsibilities - like the nursery drop offs - so I can't be too far away some days/times. That's fair, I think!

Lastly, CakeOD is no longer a 'thing' for 280 Bakes. I sold the trademark name for my same day service in the Spring last year and don't, as a rule, do same-day deliveries any more.
Saying that, if you're desperate and in my delivery zone, do try me - I may have a quiet day and a long baby nap to bake through! Please note, this is generally more possible for traditional homebakes than birthday cakes and cupcakes, but never say never!

So that's the reason why I've limited delivery of my delicious cakes to around a four mile radius. The Bristol Channel doesn't accept deliveries, obviously, but I cover Southmead, Westbury-on-Trym, Sea Mills, Lawrence Weston, Avonmouth, Henbury, Brentry... 

And of course, the deliveries are socially distanced. I leave the cake on the doorstep and ring the bell, standing back while the customer collects their treat.
 
Oh, go on then, one more wonderful door!

Louise
280 Bakes

Choose from all of the cakes available:

  - cupcakes
  - traditional homebakes (e.g. coffee, chocolate, carrot...)
  - buttercream birthday cakes 

​Vegan and gluten free available, as always, on request and at no extra cost. Keep an eye on my Facebook and Twitter to see which Bristol area will be next to save precious pennies on their cake orders!

Thank you for taking a look at my blog this week, it is much appreciated  xxx

Louise
​280 Bakes

We're working with Highways England and Sustrans to feed the community at this special event. Come and learn what's happening in the BS11 area of Bristol in terms of new cycle paths and sustainable transport options - and come hungry!

Our Catie and Louise will be there, and bringing some of the delicious home baked cakes we're known for. Do say hi and tell us you saw the post on our blog!

More event details on this Facebook event page. 

See you there!

The Team @ 280 Bakes

UPDATE: We will no longer be attending Badminton School's event. 

Find out more on the event website itself, or check out our Facebook page. We have a section with of all our forthcoming events there. 

We'll also be announcing a teaser menu just before each event, so keep your eyes peeled to see if your favourite cake will be featuring. We will always have a selection of vegan and gluten free cakes too, even if it's not a 'free-from' event. 

See you soon!

The Team at 280 Bakes
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First, we announced an expansion in our business!
From today, we have bakers based in Stroud, Gloucestershire, who are delivering our cakes in the town. Find out more here, including how to join our team of bakers.

Then, we actually WENT to Stroud!
Given the main part of our birthday celebrations was the above announcement, we decided to surprise a business in Stroud with a cake. This is where Spacehoppers Co-working came in - we delivered a 280 Bakes branded cake (see the logo and BRIGHT PINK nature of said cake in the picture below!) to three entrepreneurs who were at the time working in the shared office space. A complete surprise to all and a welcome tea break from their hard work!

We chose Spacehoppers because we've had previous experience in co-working environments and we love the vibe from entrepreneurs who work in such places. A big 'HELLO AND THANKS' goes to Ben at BeKagool who tweeted us a photo of the cake being enjoyed in the office after we left.

Finally, we popped along to St Andrew's Park, Bristol...
We had to celebrate on 'home turf' too, of course! Word got to us that the Bristol Vegan Parents Group was meeting with the kids for a half term get-together, so we took them some complimentary cupcakes to sort out a snack for that lovely lot. The meeting point was "by the coffee hut in the centre", so cake and coffee worked out perfectly!

A fabulous day - we feel well and truly celebrated!

Thanks to all our willing cake eaters and our hard-working team. Here's to another successful year at 280 Bakes!

Louise
Owner of 280 Bakes

The Foodies Festival is an annual event in Bristol (and around the UK), bringing chefs and foodies together over a fantastic weekend of talks, music, demonstrations, classes and food stalls.

Our Louise went along to speak at the cake and dessert stage in Bristol on the Friday afternoon (21st May 2018). She demonstrated how to make a vegan chocolate Guinness cake and shared samples to a willing and hungry crowd.

"It was so much fun, a totally different thing for us to be doing," said Louise.  "And I felt kind of 'Madonna' walking around with a head mic set on!"

Well done Louise, maybe this is a start of something HUGE! More demos please....

Missed out on trying a sample from the Foodies Festival? We've posted the recipe for the vegan chocolate Guinness cake on our blog so you can try it yourself. And if you don't fancy baking, just contact us to order one!

Big thanks to Charlotte White at Restoration Cake and the Foodies Festival team for inviting us along. See you again, we hope!

The Team @ 280 Bakes

Take a look at the amazing cakes the ladies took with them... and consequently sold to many, many hungry vegans! Everything from stewed plum cupcakes to gluten free gin and lemon cake, mince pie shortbread to a boozy Christmas cake - we had it all.

If you see anything you like here, we'd be happy to bake anything for you again if you couldn't make the event - just contact us!
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That was our final event for 2018, but we are starting to book on events for next year, so stay tuned for more information!
​The Team @ 280 Bakes
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We'll be bringing out all the favourites (like Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake, Victoria Sponge, various cupcakes, Carrot Cake...), including some gluten free cakes.  We'll bake some delicious new recipes for you, and festive goodies too. We start this weekend, so bring along your Tupperware and stock up!
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More information:

Headley Park - Headley Park Church, St Peter's Rise, BS13 7LZ
​Wiltshire Vegan Fair - The Neeld, Chippenham, SN15 3ER
​Gloucester Vegan Fair ** UPDATE ** Apologies, this one is now not an event we will be attending.
​Viva Vegan - Student Union, Richmond Building, 105 Queen's Road, Bristol, BS8 1LN

​See you there!

​The Team @ 280 Bakes
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