Baking and biking is a new way of life for former teacher Matt Townley, from Hale. He invites you to rise to the challenge.
A former teacher has risen to a new challenge in life with the launch of One Mile Bakery. Matt Townley, a passionate cook and baker, will be baking and teaching at his home in Hale, near Altrincham. He also delivers by bike within a mile radius of his home and teaches OMB classes in his kitchen.
Elisabeth Mahoney launched the first One Mile Bakery in Cardiff. Inspired by her mother’s home cooking and baking, the former journalist launched the concept of a hyper-local delivery service within a mile of her house, delivering homemade bread, soup and jam to subscribers by bike.
Matt hails from a big farming family of passionate cooks. He lives with his wife and daughter in Hale, and continues the tradition of putting food at the centre of family life.
Matt said: ‘After meeting my wife, Suze, we settled in her home city of Manchester. We have a four-year-old daughter, Olivia, and we moved to Hale two years ago.
‘Put simply, I love food and I love to cook. When I was younger I was told by a wise person: “If you want to show somebody that you really love them, cook them a good meal.” I have lived by this mantra. I have cooked pretty much every meal from scratch for the last ten years - but I won’t go into detail about my diet of Pot Noodles and beans at university! I am always looking for healthy, tasty meals that Suze and Olivia can enjoy. I love discovering foods from a particular region (at the moment I’m into the Near and Middle East) and I can turn my hand to most things.
‘I love taking my daughter to our allotment, and watching her enjoy how vegetables grow ready for the table. I find myself most at peace when I’m cooking and preparing food. In my spare time, I play rugby for Bowdon RUFC, spend time with my family, work on my allotment and I love to read, brew my own beers and cook.
‘I set up One Mile Bakery specifically for hard-working people who would enjoy having a home-made meal delivered to their door once a week. The baking classes are a fun, inspirational day away from the stresses of busy lives, and I’ll be uniting some of my passions in classes unique to OMB Hale, starting with a bread and beer class.’
The OMB Hale deliveries include artisan loaves and local, seasonal produce in soups and preserves. Matt’s classes teach basic baking skills in an informal atmosphere around a kitchen table. While the bread rises, Matt serves lunch with wine. Everyone gets their baking to take home, with recipes and notes.
To arrange a delivery locally or for details of baking classes with Matt in Hale, email info@onemilebakery.com or call 07939 211809.
