A cake maker is set to go to Hollywood – by teaming up with one of TV’s top celebrity chefs

Traybakes, which is based in Redhills, Penrith, is producing a range of cakes to be sold in the shops of Paul Hollywood, star of The Great British Bake Off.

They will also be sold under the name of the small screen cook, best known for being a judge on the show.

The company has been approached to supply its products to Wimbledon for this year’s tennis tournament.

Tennis fans sampled almost 40,000 of its baked goods at the event last year.

The firm’s conquering of both the worlds of celebrity and sport is a far cry from the company’s origins on a farm near Haltwhistle in 1990.

Founder and managing director Justine Carruthers is delighted to have such high profile customers.

She said: “We are just about to launch a range with Paul Hollywood.

“They will have the branding Paul Hollywood baked by Traybakes or something similar.”

She did not reveal the full range of cakes which will be included in the range – but did say one would be a salted caramel brownie.

“They will be sold in Paul Hollywood retail outlets but we are still discussing how many and where,” she added. We have just launched a new granola bar and are doing a special one for him.”


Justine Carruthers The firm has also worked with celebrity chef James Martin in the past.

“This new range will be launching at the same time as we go to Wimbledon,” Mrs Carruthers, 45, said.

Last year the company was contracted by the organisers of the tournament at the All England Club to provide 20,000 cakes.

These were all eaten by the end of the first day, which meant that the firm had to provide more for the rest of the tournament. This year they have been contacted again to be a supplier.

While she admitted to not being a huge tennis fan, Mrs Carruthers said: “It is a very British event and we are a very British company.”

Traybakes was set up by Mrs Carruthers when she was a teenager and lived in a farm.

She then moved to an outlet in Haltwhistle before moving to the company’s current home in 2013.

The firm employs more than 20 people, produces in excess of 1m cakes a year and counts up-market supermarket Waitrose as one of its customers.

Mrs Carruthers has always insisted that the Traybakes brand name appears on all of its products and once turned down the chance to produce cakes for department store Harrods because they would not carry the branding.

She said: “That work could have improved turnover and profits but it would not be growing the Traybakes brand. It was a tough decision.”

Mrs Carruthers is still involved with product development but does not bake regularly any more.