A top baker has been honoured at the first ever St David’s Awards.
Robin Jones is the Managing Director of the Village Bakery, Wales’s fastest growing company.
He received the award in the Enterprise category at the glittering ceremony at the Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff.
The St David’s Awards were set up by First Minister Carwyn Jones to recognise and celebrate the exceptional achievements of people in Wales.
The accolade caps an exceptional period of success for the Village Bakery which is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year.
Their success at the recent Wales Fastgrowth 50 Awards was founded on developing new products and increasing sales to well-known supermarket and high street brands across the UK allied to exports across mainland Europe and as far afield as Singapore.
Robin was crowned Bangor University Businessperson of the Year at the Daily Post’s Wales Achievement Awards.
The family run firm has three bakeries in the Wrexham area and employs more than 250 people.
The Village Bakery are particularly proud of their local sourcing policy that has been in place for many years.
They know exactly where the meat for their pies comes from every week and they can name the individual farms who supply them.
According to Robin, a Master Baker, they pay a premium for their meat because they want their customers to have the best quality possible.
A delighted Robin said after the ceremony: “This is a very proud night for me and I I accepted the award on behalf of the whole team at the Village Bakery.
“Our record is testament to the quality and hard work of our Village People. We also have some excellent customers so it’s a winning combination.
“We have a desire to continue this rapid growth and have an appetite for expansion.
“We believe it is important for us to generate home-grown talent. Most of our bakery managers and supervisors started out as apprentices and we want to build on this tradition.
“We are celebrating our 80th anniversary this year and receiving this prestigious award is the perfect birthday present for the whole team at the Village Bakery.”
First Minister Carwyn Jones said: “The winners of these awards are exceptional people. They have done extraordinary and inspiring things and I’m proud that the Welsh Government has been able to recognise their achievements through these first-ever St David Awards.
“As well as acknowledging the winners, I’d like to recognise those finalists who did not receive an award. They have moving and motivating stories and are a credit to themselves, their families and communities. Just to be short-listed for an award such as this is a tremendous feat in itself.
“I would also like to again thank the people from across Wales who nominated individuals and groups for the Awards, without them alerting us to these stories of inspiration and success; we may not have been able to recognise these remarkable people.
“Finally, I’d like to acknowledge the support of the Awards’ sponsors, who have helped us to stage such a positive event.”
