Osian Jones, born and bred in Blaenffos, the location of his and partner Catrin’s new micro-bakery, Crwst! Osian’s love for baking started at an early age whilst baking with his Mamgu, Mary, at her home in Blaenffos where the micro-bakery is now ironically located.
Traditional bakes such as welsh cakes, pancakes and all sorts of sponges would come from the kitchen. Today, alongside traditional bakes, Crwst ’s bread and patisserie style bakes are also being baked from the very same kitchen!
Osian gained most of his cheffing knowledge during his 3 years as a chef at Hammer House in Llechryd, a luxury country house with 2 AA rosettes. After then making the move to Cardiff, Osian became Head Chef at a 5* boutique hotel – Cathedral 73. The hotel opened on 2014 on Cathedral Road and has seen celebrities such as Ed Sheeran and Dougray Scott dining and staying. Osian took up quite a challenging role being the only working chef during the opening of the brand new restaurant & tea rooms, which was quite the responsibility! Despite the challenge, Osian was proudly named in Wales Online’s ‘Top Places for Afternoon Tea in Cardiff’ article, quoting – ‘If you’re looking for something a bit special, Cathedral 73 is the place to go.’
Before making the move back West, Osian became Head Chef at The Orchard in Radyr, winner of the South Wales Echo Best Coffee Shop award. Osian put his passion for bread making on the fore-front by baking homemade loaves for all occasions – including the sandwiches on his Afternoon Tea. Osian really got into his bread making and was perfecting his sourdough skills at home, even after a full day of baking at work! After months of perfecting his technique, Osian and Catrin decided to take the plunge and move back to Pembrokeshire to start their very own micro-bakery business.
They say that it didn’t take long to build the brand based on years of market research, scrap booking and planning. Their dream of running a bakery business was finally being put into place. Just before the whirlwind of establishing Crwst, the couple took out 6 weeks to follow the Welsh Football team at the European Championships 2016! This is what they had to say about it,
‘A truly unforgettable experience! And what better place to do some market research than France. The home of boulangerie, homemade bread and patisserie. Influences evident in Crwst’s bakes and ethos today!’
For more information about Crwst please visit: www.crwst.cymru
