“I got into baking quite late,” Jackie Woods admits, “but I kind of got swept away with it all…”
In baking terms, that’s something of an understatement. Jackie, her husband Alistair and sister Vicki now helm two busy Bakehouse stores - in Birkenhead and West Kirby - selling their magnificent sandwiches, salads and cakes, and showcasing the region’s other superstar bakers. Solo bakery in Argyle Street South, and Liverpool-based Butterholics’ amazing patissier.
“Alistair and I loved Middle Eastern foods, and were just hobby chefs really,” Jackie says. “We decided to have a go at farmers’ markets and it really went well, so we hired a little unit off Cleveland Street in Birkenhead and, well, it sort of took over our lives.”
And then, as these stories seem to go, lockdown happened. Only, for Jackie, it kind of didn’t.
“Our unit became a special magical place,” she says. “We’d have queues out of the car park. It wasn’t a shop, just a place where people could order their weekend treats. It was so lovely. Everyone wanted to support us through it.”
After lockdown came shop number one, in West Kirby - Jackie and Alastair now joined by Jackie’s sister Vicki - soon followed by Birkenhead’s busy Argyle Street branch.
“People are really invested in buying from local independent businesses,” Jackie says. “They appreciate that quality and care that goes into a handmade product. But it’s also the simple joy of meeting the person that made it. There’s a real connection there. I’ve made so many friends doing this, I absolutely love it. We all do.”
When she’s not at the busy stores with Vicki, or concocting - with Alaistar - a million new brownie recipes (“We’ll always have twelve varieties,” she says) Jackie’s to be found taking to the water.
“I lived away for a while,” she says. “I think that allows you to look at a place with fresh eyes, and not take things for granted. One of the first things I did when I returned was complete the Wirral Coastal Walk. It was like a whole new world had opened up. Now I swim and paddle board too - the things you can do here, it’s just an incredible place to live.”
“You have to be very committed to the business,” Jackie says, admitting the three of them all dived into it with their eyes closed. “Yes, we’ve had our ups and downs, but our communities have taken us to their hearts. What more do you need?”
Are you asking us? We’d say just one more chocolate orange brownie, thanks.
Image credit: Pete Carr
See Jackie’s delicious treats on the official Bakehouse Instagram channel
