A top baker has been honoured for his “outstanding contribution” to the Welsh food and drink industry.
The accolade was bestowed on Robin Jones, who has led the Wrexham-based Jones Village Bakery through a period of spectacular growth, at the Wales Food and Drink Awards.
The glittering ceremony to recognise the best of the best in the sector was held at Venue Cymru in Llandudno and was hosted by respected former BBC journalist and TV presenter Sian Lloyd, who also hails from Wrexham.
It was the latest in a long line of awards Robin has received having previously been named Baker of the Year at the bakery industry Oscars and winning the Enterprise category at the Welsh Government’s annual St David’s Awards.
Last month the Village Bakery was given a King’s Award for Enterprise after achieving record overseas sales over the past three years.
According to Robin, receiving the Outstanding Contribution award was special because he was among his peers in the Welsh food and drink industry.
He’s a third generation master baker at the Village Bakery which was bought by his father, Alan Jones, and his grandfather, Harry Jones, in 1964.
As a teenager, he helped out at the bakery every weekend and in the school holidays and after qualifying as a baker he joined the firm full time, later becoming managing director.
He and his brother Christien, an engineer by trade, formed a formidable team, at the top of the company as it expanded rapidly over the past two decades.
Robin said: “The outstanding contribution award came as a big shock. We went there to celebrate the success of one of our apprentices, Tilly Squire, who was one of the finalists, which was fantastic.
“I was quite humbled because the success of the Village Bakery isn’t down to me per se. It was an award for Christien, for Dad, all the staff and everyone who’s worked at the Village Bakery and has put a lot of effort in.
“We’ve worked very hard with some amazing people and we’ve seen the bakery grow but without Christien we wouldn’t have built such a successful business. .
“We’ve got complementary skills. He’s the engineer and I’m the baker – I think that’s the ethos of a small business when it comes to growth. We make a good team.
“My Dad always said to me that you don’t create a legacy by standing still and I think we have created a heck of a legacy thanks to everybody involved, past and present. It’s been one hell of a journey.”
Among the major highlights for Robin was the opening of their ground-breaking gluten free bakery in 2008 and the opening of a new, state-of-the-art bakery in 2015 by the then Prince of Wales, and the then Duchess of Cornwall, now Queen Camilla.
But tough times lay ahead when their flagship bakery was destroyed by a devastating fire but, most importantly, all the staff evacuated the building without anybody being hurt..
Robin added: “The fire on the 19th of August in 2019 was a terrible shock but I think it showed what was in the DNA of the people at Village Bakery.
“We turned it around. We’ve gone from strength to strength and have never looked back. Our darkest day became our finest hour.
“I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved. The Village Bakery is now recognised as one of the best bakeries in the UK.
“I recently attended a bakery exhibition in Germany and we had a lot of positive feedback from people across Europe which was great.
“We have built our business on innovation and sheer quality and we have more exciting plans in the pipeline so the company keeps evolving and growing – it’s great to be part of that.
“The secret of our success is that we never stand still – it’s one of things I insist on and that will be in our DNA forever.”
Liz Brookes, co-founder of the Wales Food and Drink Awards, said: “ Robin Jones has not only helped drive incredible growth in the family firm over the past thirty years, he has also inspired others through his passion to upskill local young people and his contribution to the wider Welsh food and drink sector.
“Jones’ Village Bakery is now one of the biggest employers in the Welsh food and drink industry and its successful export story is flying the flag for Wales.”
