A MUM-of-three transformed a love of baking into a career.
Now, just over a decade after founding her Three Little Birds bakery business, Rebecca Severs has expanded the product range.
She has introduced hot puddings – and they are going down a treat with customers.
Rebecca set up the business in November 2015, and it has grown from a home kitchen to a shop – which opened in Cavendish Street, Keighley, in May, 2023.
She said: “I live locally and am passionate about running my business in Keighley.
“I know it might seem like an unlikely place in some ways to have a high-end, luxury-branded cake shop, but I want to be part of a positive change for the town.
“There is a lot of negativity around, but I think Keighley is great.
“I’m originally from London and the state of some of the streets there is far worse. But Keighley isn’t just great because other places are bad. It is genuinely great because of the people and its history.”
Rebecca added: “There is a general atmosphere of doom and gloom surrounding small business generally at the moment, especially in the retail and hospitality sectors.
“The last few years have hit the economy hard, and thousands of businesses across the country have been forced to close.
“But here in Keighley we have a strong and beautiful community of small business owners. And I am so proud to be one of them.”
Speaking about the introduction of her new line, Rebecca says initial feedback from customers has been hugely positive.
“We are already passionate about cakes and offering high-quality products to our customers so the new line in hot puddings is an exciting step forward for us,” she said.
“All our sponges are handmade in the bakery using our premium ingredients, and we are proud of our fresh custard made with real vanilla bean paste.
“Launching a new product in January and in the current economic climate could be seen as a bit of a risk, but once more our lovely customers have been ‘small business heroes’ – we have totally sold out every time our hot puddings have been on the counter.
“We can either heat the puddings for people to eat straightaway, or customers can take them home to heat up and enjoy later.
“The puddings are on the counter on Fridays and Saturdays and we have different flavours every week, so make sure you keep an eye on our Facebook and Instagram pages to see our latest menu.”
