OUR STORY
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 baked freshly 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)
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.
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 Jamie Symons our Office Manager based in the Head Office at Cattedown. Here’s what Jamie has to say:
“I started working for Friary Mill in May 2018 after previously being employed as a bar supervisor at a local nightclub, where I worked for four and a half years; I then worked for another bakery for six months as an admin assistant before applying for Friary Mill. I wanted a change of scenery and knew Friary Mill had an amazing reputation within the city; I always loved their products growing up as my gran would always take me for a pasty as a kid.
As the Office Manager, my main focus is the customer and the customer service we provide, and I like to make sure every customer gets a warm and friendly service and a first class experience with us. My role is to ensure the smooth running of the office function, acting as a pivotal link between the customer and production. My role includes receiving and processing orders accurately from stores, wholesale customers and retail vans in preparation for the production team to meet demand and deliver accurately and on time. I am responsible for organising office resources to meet the needs of the business, maintaining an accurate database and records, monitoring product availability and keeping the team informed to remove any issues that may get in the way of a smooth end-to-end supply chain.
My favourite thing about working for Friary Mill is the people – I know it sounds cliché, but it is like one big family. I also like how much passion goes into the quality of the service and products. My favourite Friary Mill product is the Chicken Curry Pasty. I play pool every Friday at a snooker club with an old school friend where we have a weekly catch up. I also enjoy travelling and went on my first solo holiday last year.”
Keep an eye out for our next featured colleague – coming soon!
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: