In Their Footsteps

For 25 years, The Burdon family have managed Jervaulx Abbey Tearoom, one of the largest privately owned Cistercian abbeys in the UK. This book celebrates the wonderful cakes, bakes and chutneys they have become famous for, from classic bakes such as their fruity tea bread to cakes with a modern twist like their legendary red velvet cake.

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For 25 years, the Burdon family have managed Jervaulx Abbey, one of the largest privately owned Cistercian abbeys in the UK. This book celebrates the wonderful cakes, bakes and chutneys they have become famous for in that time, all sold from the neighbouring Jervaulx Abbey Tearoom.

From classic bakes such as their fruity tea bread to cakes with a modern twist such as their legendary red velvet cake, the loaves, tarts and tray bakes to emerge from the oven at Jervaulx have kept guests heartily fed for 25 years. Alongside these, they have also become famous for their range of relishes, jams and chutneys, which include a sumptuous Wensleydale beer and apple chutney, while their raspberry and almond cake was named Best Free-From Product at the Deliciously Yorkshire Awards in 2017.

The tearoom is run by Ian Burdon and his wife Carol, and their two daughters Gayle and Anna, but it was Ian’s father, Major Burdon, who bought the land and what remained of the twelfth century abbey as a place to return to his Yorkshire roots in 1971. The abbey’s significant restoration project was managed by his sons, Rae and Ian, before in 1993, Ian and Carol repurchased part of the estate and converted a couple of greenhouses into the Jervaulx Abbey Tearoom, with daughters Gayle and Anna joining the business 15 years later.

By making and selling a range of freshly made food since then, using ingredients sourced locally from producers around Yorkshire, the Burdons have not only bought a great deal of joy to their customers over the years but they have also followed in the footsteps of the monks who originally lived and worked within the abbey’s walls.

This book is a must-have not only for fans of the abbey and its tearoom, but for cake aficionados everywhere.