Cake Break, a new video series by Fisher and Donaldson, will bring some well-known people to the bakery’s social media channels.
One of Tayside and Fife’s biggest brands, Fisher and Donaldson, is launching its own video and podcast series discussing all things cakes and bakes with some famous faces.
Cake Break will begin on the bakery’s social channels tomorrow, Friday April 9, as sisters Chloe and Jade Milne, who are part of the family behind the business, take to Zoom to interview some Tayside and Fife celebrities.
Chloe, who is also the bakery chain’s marketing manager, is the mastermind behind the idea.
She said: “At the start of the year, on my first few days back at work, I was coming up with a few ideas of fun things I wanted to do this year and get stuck into. The Cake Break series was one of the ideas.
“I just thought it would be nice to invite different, interesting people on to a podcast where we would send them some cakes ahead of the chat. Then just sit down over Zoom with a cup of tea and eat a bit of cake and chat a bit about what they’ve been getting up to during lockdown. It’s been really interesting.”
Famous faces
So far, Dundee-based designer Nikki McWilliams, comedian Josie Long and author Val McDermid have taken part. Nikki’s interview is the first one to appear in the series.
She continued: “The series is in video format – we’ll chat on Zoom and then the plan is that we’ll put it up on YouTube but also put it up on podcast streaming, so that if someone wanted to listen to it they could.
“We’ve recorded three so far and it’s me and my sister Jade, who is in the family business as well, who sit down with a guest each time. There’s been Nikki McWilliams who is in the first episode. She’s a Scottish designer and designs a lot of biscuit-themed cushions and homewares.
“She’s really cool. She studied in Dundee, so I got in touch with her. The first few guests have got a connection in some way to Dundee, Fife or us as a business. Then we chatted to Josie Long, she’s an English comedian, and she was a really good sport and really nice to talk to.”
Val McDermid
One of Tayside’s most famous residents, crime writer Val McDermid, has also taken part in the series.
Chloe added: “The most recent one we recorded was Val McDermid. It was her and her partner Jo (Sharp), who’s a lecturer at St Andrews University. The chat was meant to only be half an hour but it ended up being a hour-and-a-half. We could’ve spoken to her all day, they were just so interesting to speak to.
“As Nikki had studied in Dundee, she was obviously aware of the bakery and had visited it while she was studying at Duncan of Jordanstone. Josie Long is someone we met at least 10 years ago via Fence Records in the East Neuk.
“When they used to do music festivals we used to cater them and we would sell our baked goods there. So we’d met Josie through that and have been pals with her for a while, so she had also tried our cakes before.
“Josie has also recently moved to Scotland so that was cool we were able to chat to her and send her some cakes. And Val has written a book that’s set in St Andrews, which is going to be made into a TV series, and a book based in Dundee. She spends a lot of her time working with the forensics department at Dundee uni, so she and her partner spend a lot of time in Dundee, St Andrews and along the East Neuk.”
Favourite treats
To take part in the series, the celebrity guests were asked to pick some of their favourite baked goods that were then sent to them by the bakery and become the main topic of conversation.
Chloe said: “The chats are centred around the treats that we’re eating. We ask them what they picked and why, then they try them and tell us what they thought of the cakes. As a lot of people took up baking in lockdown, we ask the guests about whether they do home baking or if their parents did a lot of baking growing up.
“We also chat a bit about what they’ve been doing in lockdown and what they’re looking forward to when lockdown eases.
“Once we’ve managed to get in touch with them we ask them what sort of cake they would like, depending on where they live. For Josie, we had to post the stuff to Glasgow because we don’t have a van that goes there, but luckily she picked stuff that could be shipped by post.
“For Val and Nikki, we were able to drop theirs off ourselves so it was a bit easier and they could have a wider choice. It was really interesting though, as Val and Josie both have wheat intolerances so they tried our gluten-free fudge doughnuts.
“We also make florentines and that was one of Val’s favourite treats. My dad has tweaked our recipe so it’s now gluten-free and apparently they’re as good as the real thing and they went down a treat!”
Uploads
With more guests to be announced in coming weeks, including stand-up comedian and farmer Jim Smith, and the series to be a regular feature on Fisher and Donaldson’s social channels, fans are encouraged to keep an eye out tomorrow for the first episode of Cake Break.
Chloe added: “The main video will be on YouTube but we’ll share bits of it on Facebook and on our blog on the website.”
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