In Helsby's quiet residential streets, there is one kitchen that is a constant hive of activity, the air perfumed by freshly baked cakes, cookies, pastries and bread.

That kitchen is the home of Big Belly Bakery, a new local business delivering baked weekend treats to people in Frodsham, Helsby and beyond, with the help of its resident sourdough starter, Donald!

With creations ranging from popular classics like lemon meringue tarts to innovative flavours such as beef dripping, onion and stout buns and rum and raisin scones, these bakes are sure to surprise and delight in equal measure!

I spoke to Big Belly Bakery founders, Liam and Harriet, about the makings of their home-baked business.

"We met seven or eight years ago while working at Nunsmere Hall Hotel," Liam says, "and we both decided that one day we wanted to start our own food business together.

"At the time we were unsure what exactly we wanted to do, but over the past year, like a lot of people, we have had a lot of thinking time and realised how much we love baking and – more specifically – baking together!

"So, we thought: "this is it. This is the food business we have always dreamt of."

"After baking non-stop to perfect our recipes and then spending months baking for our friends and family, we decided to go for it and create Big Belly Bakery."

"We developed our menu simply by trying different recipes and ideas over the years," Harriet adds. "We use ingredients we love to eat ourselves and enjoy experimenting with flavours.

"My favourite bake would have to be our cinnamon buns or our olive sourdough, which Liam also enjoys making, because there are so many steps you have to get right while using only a few ingredients.

"Meanwhile, his favourite thing to eat is our 50/50 sourdough and our stout, chocolate and malt cookies!"

"We both love making people fresh, delicious food and seeing people enjoy it," says Liam.

"Food is there with you when you're happy, sad, celebrating or just refuelling and we love being a part of that."

As they develop their bakery, Liam and Harriet are keen to support other local businesses along the way. They therefore source much of their flour from Walk Mill in Waverton, turning to Hales of Frodsham for their fresh fruit.

Since Big Belly Bakery launched at the end of April, Liam and Harriet have been thrilled by the public reaction to their sweet, savoury and sourdough recipes.

"We have been amazed and overwhelmed by the response we have had so far," they said. "It's been really busy and we are so happy to see people's enthusiasm for fresh baked goods.

"We are absolutely loving every minute of it!

"In the future, our plan is to move into a unit or a shop where we are able to offer a bigger variety of daily bakes and have capacity to supply local shops and local cafes whilst still providing a community bakery."

Follow Big Belly Bakery on Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date with their weekly menus, which are released every Tuesday. To order a delivery for Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday, just use these pages to send a message to Liam and Harriet.

Big Belly Bakery deliver free of charge to Frodsham and Helsby residents. If you are based a bit further afield, a small delivery charge will be added to your order.

Liam and Harriet have also started offering collection from Me & Mr Jones on Frodsham Station.

They are currently operating on a cashless basis due to Covid.