Profile: Alison Wright

Alison Wright (1986, PPE)

Alison Wright (1986, PPE) is the owner of Fitzbillies, the beloved Cambridge bakery famous for its ultra-sticky Chelsea buns, which Alison saved from closure in 2011. To celebrate the 100th birthday of the bakery in 2020, Alison wrote a book (with her husband, food writer Tim Hayward), Fitzbillies: Stories and Recipes from a 100-year-old Cambridge Bakery (Quadrille, 2019). They opened a third branch of Fitzbillies in King’s Parade, Cambridge, last year.

Could you tell us a little about the history of Fitzbillies?
Fitzbillies first opened its doors on 4 October 1920, just in time for the start of the autumn term. The founders, Ernest & Arthur Mason used their demob money from the First World War to fit out the shop with the beautiful art nouveau façade it retains to this day. With its location amongst the colleges and departments of the University, it soon became a favourite of town and gown alike, famous for its sponge cakes, sausage rolls, and of course, the ultra-sticky Chelsea buns.

What inspired you to rescue it and what were you doing before?
I grew up in Cambridge, so I knew Fitzbillies as a child. I cycled past it on my way to school and my 18th and 21st birthday cakes came from there. I hadn’t been back for years, but when in February 2011, quite by chance, I saw a tweet from Stephen Fry lamenting its closure, I was seized with the desire to act. I was 20 years into a successful career in advertising and marketing, rising to be Marketing Director of Prudential, but I’d always loved baking, beyond the normal “home baker” level, attending lots of courses and making wedding cakes for friends.

I immediately leapt into action. Plenty of people would have liked the space so we had to go through a lengthy proposal process, which ended with a presentation to the Bursar of Pembroke. I think he was won over by the combination of a rigorous business plan with lots of spreadsheets and a particularly delicious Bakewell tart.

Alison Wright – image courtesy of The Cambridge Independent

How has Fitzbillies changed over the years? What is your favourite thing on the Fitzbillies menu?
Running a business with as much history and love as ours is all about what you keep and what you change – finding the balance between respecting tradition and staying up-to-date. When we first took on Fitzbillies, we sat down with a list of everything the bakery had made before it closed and split it into three columns: keep, improve, drop – some things sadly had to go. My personal favourite is the timeless classic: a cream tea with sultana scones, raspberry jam, and clotted cream.

In recent years, we’ve focused on meeting a wider range of dietary requirements, without compromising on deliciousness. One of our most recent launches is an amazing lemon polenta cake that is suitable for vegans and those avoiding gluten (and you definitely wouldn’t know it).

How has the company changed since the pandemic?
We were fortunate to bounce back quickly after the pandemic. We’ve grown our bricks-and-mortar business, and our online business has also taken off with hampers and gift boxes full of buns, macarons, brownies, and cream teas being delivered across the UK.

Who do you collaborate with, and how do they inspire you?
It’s a true family business and I collaborate with my husband Tim and increasingly our daughter Liberty. Tim is a food writer, so he’s great on market trends and recipe development. Liberty is studying Design Engineering at Imperial, she’s a great baker herself and a tireless visitor to many of the finest bakeries in London. During the vacation, she helps with anything from process improvement in the bakery to the ecommerce business and 3D printing cutters. And she can be relied upon for an honest opinion on product quality.

What is the most enjoyable aspect of your work?
I most love hearing customers’ stories of Fitzbillies. Cambridge Alumni Weekend is one of my favourite times of the year as we get visits from loyal customers of all vintages.

What are you currently working on?
Currently, we are looking for a new home for our production bakery. We’d like somewhere customers could come to buy the product or have a meal and see the bakers at work. It’s fascinating to watch and reminds everyone that it’s an artisan process – our buns and cakes are made with love and attention.

How do you think Univ shaped you?
The most important thing it gave me is a great network of life-long friends. The next most important is intellectual curiosity – as a business owner you have to rapidly diagnose problems and learn new things all the time.

What is your most treasured memory of Univ and Oxford?
Winning blades in Summer Eights in my final year. I’d never been good at any sport and the camaraderie and sense of achievement were amazing.

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