Heysham mum marks first anniversary of Lancaster cake shop

Rebecca Russell opened Russell’s Celebration Cakes a year ago this week in part of the former Gorrills shop in Penny Street.

A pastry chef since 19, Rebecca began her business at home during lockdown before deciding to open a shop.

“It started off extremely busy but then I had a quiet summer which was really tough and I nearly lost the shop so I put a plea out on Totally Local Lancaster and people just started coming in,” Rebecca said.

“There was so much community support that I was humbled by it and from then on, I’ve gone from strength to strength.”

Rebecca couldn’t bake or cook until she was 19 so was the butt of her friends’ jokes when she enrolled for a catering course at Lancaster & Morecambe College.

However, she loved the catering industry and worked at various venues including the Lancaster House Hotel, Barton Grange and the Lakeside Hotel at Newby Bridge.

The mum-of-three from Heysham now bakes around six celebration cakes a day as well as running the shop with the help of her dad, David Shaw.

And after her first successful year in business, she has ambitious plans for the future including buying a chiller van to increase her delivery service especially further afield, writing a book about running a business, teaching her skills to others and possibly opening a second shop.

To celebrate the shop’s first anniversary, Rebecca will hand out free brownies to passersby today, Friday, and tomorrow, Saturday.