Friary Mill was founded in Plymouth in 1988, by Philip Gardner and Karen Milner. Their vision was to provide the finest quality, handmade baked goods, at the best possible value to our customers, with the warmest and friendliest service. These founding principles still represent what Friary Mill stands for today.
As our reputation grew, we needed to expand to accommodate the growing demand for fresh, locally made products. To meet this demand, we relocated our production to a new site in Cattedown, Plymouth in 1998. We now have a total of thirteen Friary Mill stores across Plymouth and Ivybridge and operate seven retail vans. We are recognised as the destination of choice for handmade Devon pasties, freshly filled rolls, breakfast baps and hand crafted cakes and sweet treats.
We are proud of our local heritage and all of our fresh products are made right here, in our beautiful Ocean City, by our highly skilled team of Craft Bakers. We believe our team are the friendliest and most helpful team that you will find anywhere.
our history
our VALUES
Despite our growth, we remain as committed to our values as we did on day one.
We are passionate about the quality of every product we make.
We will always strive to offer the best value for our customers.
We love our local communities and promise to give our customers the very best standards of service
Our people are our business and we are loyal, caring and compassionate.
At Friary Mill, we are passionate about our products and strive to ensure that only the best ingredients are used for our pasties, cakes and savouries.
We use local suppliers where possible and our fresh ingredients are delivered to our bakery daily. Our greengrocer brings us potatoes pulled straight from the ground; quality meat comes directly from a local butcher; and our pastry is handmade at our factory in Cattedown. Every single pasty is hand prepared and freshly baked every day to ensure you get the best possible product.
Some of the awards our products have achieved include:
Our Curried Vegetable Pasty (suitable for vegans) came 3rd in the World Pasty Championships in 2019
Our Danish Pastries, bread and pasties won “Best in Class” at the CBA Western Bakery Championships (2018-2019)
our produce
To create the best tasting products, not only should we use the best ingredients but we also need the best people to help us serve our loyal customers. We credit our success to the support and commitment of each and every member of the Friary Mill team.
We’re dedicated to supporting our colleagues, and recently launched the Friary Mill Academy – an in-house training scheme designed to improve the leadership and management skills of our team to help create our future leaders.
We believe that learning is an ongoing process and a number of our colleagues have undertaken apprenticeships whilst working with us so that they have the opportunity to earn while they learn. One of our apprentices, Emma Milner, won Champion Apprentice at the Western Region Bakery Championships in 2023.
our PEOPLE
We want you to get to know our team, so we have started our Featured Colleague section to introduce you to a different member of the Friary Mill family each month.
This month’s Featured Colleague is Molly, who works in our Pasty Room. Here’s what Molly has to say:
“I started working for Friary Mill in August 2024. The work environment at Friary Mill is what attracted me to the position. I had heard it was a good p[ace to work and the team was like family (this proved right!) Previously, I worked as a manager at McDonalds and in multiple jobs in private healthcare.
My day-to-day role is to assist in the Pasty Room within our production factory. When I come in, it’s right to crimping pasties to be delivered for the first round of shops. After this, we all rotate between stations, from prepping the dough, to weighing pasty fillings (my favourite thing to dip is cocktail pasties), to traying up the pasties - before I know it, it’s time to clean down ready for tomorrow!
My favourite thing about working for Friary Mill is the work itself! I really enjoy the work - I find crimping so satisfying, nothing like doing a perfect crimp! I also love the people, from factory floor, to shops and offices, everyone is so friendly and made me feel like part of the team from day one. I love a peppered steak pasty, but my current obsession is our carrot cake!
Outside of work, I love Lego - I have over 25 sets displayed in my living room. I am a huge Formula 1 fan and even got to go to Hungary to watch the F1 at Hungaroring with my fiancé. A couple of random facts about me – as a child, I learnt the bagpipes; though I don’t think I could still play. I was also in a Gaelic choir as a child; I grew up in the Highlands of Scotland if you can’t tell - in Fort William, a small town at the base of Ben Nevis - the tallest mountain in the UK..”
Keep an eye out for our next featured colleague – coming soon!
our featured colleague
our community
We love our local communities and promise to give our customers the best standards of service. We support many local charities with fundraising efforts and provide our products for events. Any unsold products at the end of each day are donated to Help for the Homeless Plymouth at The Garage Cafe
We are also proud sponsors of:
Theatre Royal Plymouth
Plymouth Argyle FC
Olivia Francis – Plymouth Argyle Women FC Player
Devonport Services RFC
Green Taverners
