It's hard to get a Welsh cake that beats the ones made by your mum or nan, fresh off the bakestone, from a top secret generations-long family recipe. And while that may be so, there's one "world famous" Welsh cake shop, whose humble begins started over twenty years ago in Pontypridd, that lies in the heart of Cardiff Market whose warm, fresh, fluffy and utterly divine Welshcakes are a pretty delicious contender - as cemented by the long queue that forms outside it's windows each day.
Bakestones was started by Jamal El Tagoury two decades ago in Pontypridd as part of a cafe and bakery before he turned to focus solely on Welsh cakes using a recipe that had been passed down to his wife and co-owner Gaynor from her mother - and her mother's mother.
The popular Welsh cake shop soon became a family business with the couple's son Adam and daughter Layla getting involved, managing shops in Bridgend, Aberdare, Caerphilly (which have since been sold), and stalls in Merthyr Tydfil - Trago Mills and St Tydfil Market - and the ever-bustling Cardiff Market.
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And you only have to take one look at the small stall, which opened in the middle of the market over ten years ago, at around midday to see just how successful and popular its Welsh cakes are. They are made fresh every morning and cooked before customers' eyes, with a constant queue that travels down the side of the stall and past its end. But the wait is well worth a taste of that fresh Welsh cake.
Adam, who also used to own the much-loved vegan restaurant Anna Loka on Albany Road in Cathays, tells me that each day, Bakestones makes and sells up to (approximately) 1200 Welsh cakes - and up to 1500 on a day like St David's Day, with flavours including traditional (of course), lemon, jam and chocolate chip. And rather than getting to the market to make the mix, prep the orders and bake the first batch at the usual hour of 6am, staff are making sure they have plenty of time to prep for day which celebrates Wales' patron saint (on Wednesday, March 1) by getting up at 3am.
"There's all the orders [to prepare for]. We'll come in at three o'clock in the morning and just crack on, and bang them all out. Normally we start at six but tomorrow, we'll start at three," said Adam. When it's busy, three staff members will start the day - an example Adam gives me is: Gaynor bags orders that have been placed for that day, Adam rolls Welsh cakes and Jamal, who started the business all those years ago, does what else needs to be done to get the stall ready for a day of Welsh cake wonder.
The rush then starts at around 11am - on a normal day - before queueing begins at midday. But tomorrow, March 1, Adam predicts there will be queues from 9am meandering out the market doors all day.
Adam explains: "They're queueing because we're cooking them fresh and they're waiting for those fresh Welsh cakes. It takes 10 minutes to cook a Welsh cake. So you can only cook so many at the time. So the queue is actually people waiting for hot Welshcakes. Happiness is warm Welsh cake."
And this happiness has enticed customers from not just Wales but countries like America and China too, who have heard about their little Cardiff market stall in magazines.
"I think what's been a boost to us is, we've had a lot of people from [for example] China and other Asian countries as well as American countries and we've been blown away because they've been bringing in magazine articles with us featured in there [in a list of] things you must do in Wales if you visit.
"It's mad to see. They're telling us that that [section of the magazine article], in Chinese writing, says our stall. So, that's been quite far out. We can now say they're world-famous Welsh cakes now," Adam chuckles. "[From a] little family business in Pontypridd!"
But what's in these Welsh cakes that are so moreish and keep the customers coming back for more - and more?
"[The recipe's] been in the family for years. We've never deviated from it. We keep it traditional. It's our secret recipe!" A recipe shared with only a few people who work at the family business - its team consists of "a couple of people who roll and bake. And then we have a couple of people who serve or are in the middle." One of whom is Jacqueline Morgan, whose story can be read here.
What's great to see, Adam explains, is how after Covid, consumers' mentality shifted and the desire to support independents has increased and business - and Bakestones' queues - has got busier and busier: "100%, it's crazy." He adds: "2020 was a bad year for everyone. The market was closed and you've just got to get by. But fortunately, as things opened up again, one thing people weren't holding back on was coming into the market, supporting independents. Buying Welsh cakes, buying their fruit and veg...
"People, I think, after Covid realised 'hang on a minute, all these big conglomerates and big businesses were benefiting financially and the independents were the ones that suffered. And I think there was a mentality shift, where people thought 'we're going to support and shop at at the independents. They'll always get by - the big businesses. So it's nice to see and hear that."
Bakestones can be found at Cardiff Market and in Merthyr Tydfil at Trago Mills and St Tydfil Market.
For more information, see the website.
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