‘At 61, I’ve ditched my design career to make artisan biscuits’
Who says only the young and fresh-faced can launch a new business? Yes, that may be the generally received opinion but the reality is that the 60-plus crew can – and do – get the start-up bug too. And I should know: last year my partner, a former literary assistant, aged 62, relaunched himself as The Scone Man and now turns out 2,000 of the teatime treats a week for London restaurants, delis and cafes. He is well and truly smitten by what’s both a passion and an outlet for his creativity, as well as an income-generating necessity. (It’s infectious too; even I find myself waking up thinking about new ways to help grow the business).
He’s not alone. Here, seven mature food entrepreneurs reveal how they’ve brought a lifetime of experience and wisdom to the table. All agree that their change of direction has given them a fresh lease of life and deepened their love of food, as well as giving them new skills, friends and communities – which, now that they’re facing more early starts and physical challenges than their original careers ever involved, is a delicious payback.
‘It’s the best thing I ever did’
Karobi Hayden, 60, founder of Karobi’s Ghee
“I could never have anticipated the incredible full circle my life has taken, from initially training as a chef aged 18, a brief spell as a cook in a children’s home, to a lifetime career in child social services. Now, I am an artisan producer of ghee – and winning accolades,” laughs Karobi Hayden, with evident satisfaction. Founder of the Cotswolds-based Karobi’s Ghee, she won a three-star Great Taste Award in her first year of entering the prestigious Guild of Fine Foods competition.
“Initially, I just made ghee for friends at weekends, who insisted I did more with it,” she explains. “It is very different from the ghee I grew up with”. Hayden’s dad was from Calcutta and the ghee he bought from Asian shops in the UK tasted to her young palate like rancid butter. I use only the best ingredients: grass-fed butter and organic herbs. Fortunately, my timing has been good as there is a lot more interest in ghee from a health perspective. Ghee is essential for keto and paleo diets.”
Hayden had previously helped a friend sell raw-milk cheeses at farmers’ markets in Stroud and Cirencester. She loved the vibe, shared wisdom and friendship of fellow stall holders and now sells her products at the same events.
Hayden’s sales strategy is simple: “As 80 per cent of my customers have never tried ghee before, getting them to taste is key and farmers’ markets are perfect [for it].” She’s developed a range of flavours that she encourages people to sample: roast garlic is hugely popular. Her latest innovation is chocoghee made with organic fairtrade cacao and raw honey from a local beekeeper. You can use it as a spread on waffles or pancakes, or as a sauce for ice cream.
Starting on an absolute shoestring with no investment, Hayden took on a lodger to help out. She’s now been able to invest in some new kit: double filter equipment, larger pans and more fridges. She still happily works from her home kitchen and is surprised by her boundless energy now she is her own boss. “It is the best thing I ever did.”
‘It felt like now or never’
Leroy Williams, 61, founder of The Pattyman
His father’s heritage, as a Jamaican of the Windrush generation who fell in love with Wales, was the impetus for Leroy Williams to start his food business: creating a range of sauces and condiments that feature ingredients from both countries. His speciality is the Jamaican red pepper jelly his dad had always loved, as well as freshly baked patties. “I wanted to find a way to honour Dad and to channel some of my grief into something positive,” explains Williams from the work unit in Cardiff that he shares with a jam and chutney producer he met when sourcing jars.
What makes Williams’ red pepper jelly, based on a cherished family recipe, different from many hot chilli relishes is its fresh, clean flavour that’s both sweet and sour with an addictive “ting” of heat from Scotch bonnet peppers.
Way back, Williams had worked as a baker, but bouts of serious ill health meant that he needed a less physically demanding job and left him driving a taxi for 15 years. His wife, a nurse in a children’s hospital, supported him financially for a year to give his idea a fighting chance. “It felt like now or never, and I am thrilled by the way it is working out.”
A year ago, The Pattyman supplied only one shop – now Williams has garden centres, farm shops, even a local airport, lined up to sell his products. He is a regular at local farmers’ markets such as Caerphilly, although his future focus is on wholesaling. Winning a Great Taste Award for his hot pepper jelly in his first year has been a boost: “It’s a real mark of endorsement that’s recognised everywhere. Hopefully it will help me realise my dream of getting my hot pepper jelly into a prestigious London store.”
‘I approach challenges with a confident attitude’
Carol Dean, 61, founder of BisQuotes
“With BisQuotes I’m getting back to what first drew me to design, the really creative everything-drawn-by-hand stuff,” enthuses Carol Dean who makes customised artisan biscuits. Dean settled in the UK from the US in 1995 and has worked for leading design agencies for the past 35 years. Her new culinary career is quite a departure.
It was a trip to Japan with her family some years back that really piqued her interest in baking. She found a cute biscuit kit in a store in Tokyo that came complete with cutters and a couple of sets of typeface letters, and once back home, cranked up the oven.
One of seven children, Dean remembers her mother as a 1950s domestic goddess who baked constantly. “I am enjoying fine-tuning Mum’s recipes such as her definitive shortbread, as well as creating my own flavours for the biscuits – Earl Grey and orange zest is a favourite.
It has been a huge learning curve, especially now Dean has bespoke orders with clients such as The Globe Theatre in London. “The benefit of age is that I approach new challenges with the confident attitude that there has to be a solution.” Recently, she installed low-output heating lights in a cupboard so she could dry her biscuits. “Really it is more like a linen cupboard, but it does the trick in speeding up production.” Like other mature entrepreneurs, she agrees that her new business has been reinvigorating and has “put the fire back in her belly”.
‘I’d had enough of being accountable’
Steve Gorst, 68, founder of My Gourmet Mushrooms
“Being a primary school headmaster became more and more like running a business,” reflects Steve Gorst. “I’d decided I’d had more than enough of being accountable to so many different people with ever more regulations, so I took early retirement and we moved to Cumbria from Tunbridge Wells. Now I can allow my more entrepreneurial streak to shine while enjoying learning new skills. It is incredibly satisfying.”
Riding the crest of the culinary funghi boom, at first Gorst started growing his own, but lockdown and the closing of restaurants scuppered his plans of selling them. He admits he’s always been more of a cook than a grower so his focus shifted to creating products, which has given him a more sustainable business.
He buys in fresh giant oyster mushrooms from Lincolnshire and turns them into marinated antipasti using very special extra virgin olive oil he buys from two Umbrian brothers who live local to him and import it directly from the Italian producer.
Gorst remains a one-man-band: as well as creating the products, he designs the jar labels and the website, runs My Gourmet Mushrooms’ social media channel and attends local farmers’ markets with his wife, Angela. Gorst has recently added some new lines too: a mushroom jerky, spicy curry pickles and porcini dust seasoning.
‘I find baking scones very therapeutic’
Stephen Cottage, 62, founder of The Scone Man
Having lived in Suffolk all his life, Stephen Cottage had always been surrounded by tea shops. Yet he often found the scones were horribly heavy. “I’ve always loved scones, and found myself noticing that whenever I mentioned scones to people, invariably they had two reactions: the first being ‘I love scones,’ and the second, ‘it’s always so hit and miss when I make them.’ So I decided to set about making the best scones as consistently as possible.”
Cottage had been working as an amanuensis for a profoundly disabled writer and broadcaster. As he reached his sixties, Cottage felt he needed a new challenge and wanted to work for himself again. He admits that, initially, it was merely a personal challenge, but as he worked on his recipe, he developed a distinctive lamination technique that produces scones with a great rise, making them exceptionally light and fluffy.
A chance conversation at a party led to him supplying his first customer, a cafe in Chelsea. Since then The Scone Man has gone on to supply a number of delis and cafes in London and recently landed a deal to supply scones to fashionable Mayfair restaurant Sketch – he’s even name-checked on the menu. Friends and clients even greet him as The Scone Man rather than Stephen. “I find the process of baking scones therapeutic, especially as I’ve always got BBC Radio 3 on in the background.”
‘It is all so good for my mojo’
Claire Mellor-Hill, 61, founder of Delicious Dauntsey
Moving to a new home in the rolling Wiltshire hills from London’s Chiswick was a time for Claire Mellor-Hill to reassess her work/life balance after running a PR consultancy. She wanted to engage with her new community as well as embracing her inner foodie by making time to cook.
“It feels such a nourishing thing to be doing and uses different parts of my brain,” enthuses Mellor-Hill of the chutney and jam business, Delicious Dauntsey, that she set up in October 2021. “We’re using the fruit and vegetable gluts of our neighbours as well as local farmers – from damsons and quinces, to courgettes.” She is fortunate to have an outbuilding in her home which she has kitted out as a practical kitchen. “We give the profits back to local causes, such as the school PTA. It is pleasingly circular and feels like I am truly contributing to our community.”
Mellor-Hill confides that she finds all the chopping and stirring meditative and good thinking time. She loves coming up with unusual combinations such as a celeriac relish, quince and rosewater jam, and – her latest invention – pickled balsamic onions.
Mellor-Hill finds managing all the logistics an enthralling new challenge. This year, she wants to ensure that she uses her time more effectively by selling at the most profitable and time-efficient farmers’ markets – including the monthly Cheesewick Market, held in Chiswick where she brought up her family. She also plans to attend some larger food festivals such as Blenheim Palace and start selling into local businesses as well as focusing more on online sales. “It is all so good for my mojo.”
‘A lifetime of learning comes in handy’
John Brown, 68, founder of Cheese on the Wey
John Brown had always had a passion for cheese and after spotting a run-down dairy at Pierrepont Farm, close to his home in Surrey, the idea of turning his enthusiasm into something more substantial took root. As his career had been in sustainable construction, Brown had the knowledge to turn his vision into reality, helped along by several cheesemaking courses he’d taken as a hobby. “Everything I’ve learnt in a lifetime of work still comes in handy,” he says.
Cheese On The Wey fulfils Brown’s dearly held ethos of local sourcing: all the cheese is made using milk from the farm just 200 metres down the road. He also ensures that water, materials and energy use are kept to a minimum across both building work and cheesemaking.
Among the cheeses are Millie, a medium-hard cheese similar to Caerphilly that’s named after Brown’s granddaughter; and Alfred’s Yellow Jersey, a nod to King Alfred’s Way, a cycling route that goes past the dairy. As well as supplying local butchers and farm shops, Brown plies his wares at Cheesewick and a daunting number of farmers’ markets from Guildford to Weybridge.
