About

Mark and Steph are pudding partners.

Mark is an ex-chef who has lived in Oakham for most of his life and has cooked in kitchens all over Rutland including The Grainstore Brewery and Barnsdale Lodge. Mark first started to study cooking when he turned 16 and realised he’d wasted most of his school-life socialising instead of studying and had basically no qualifications! So he thought he’d better get himself a skill that matched his love for food, and ‘Mark the Chef’ was born.

Steph is quite the opposite. Steph spent most of her younger years hiding from people and studying so that she could be a lawyer or an accountant or a vet, but soon came to realise that a life spent with nothing but books makes for a person with absolutely no social skills, meaning Steph is good with numbers and words, but unfortunately, horribly awkward with people. However, having no social skills meant Steph could stay at home and create lots of pudding recipes!

Which means they make the perfect team!

Steph and Mark met back in 2015 when Steph braved her annual outing and agreed to a date with Mark, who took her to the zoo, and has henceforth been known as ZooMan.

Things went pretty well. Steph stopped Mark from making terrible decisions, and Mark encouraged Steph to occasionally leave her home and interact with other human beings.

They travelled all over the place together, mostly eating delicious foods and visiting amazing places, taking disgusting selfies and embarrassing other tourists.

Fast Forward 4 years and Steph was a debt counsellor who, although she enjoyed her work, felt like she just wasn’t in the right place. Mark was building sheds and delivering for a local butcher but something was missing.

So one day, on a whim, Steph quits her job and decides she’s going to do something with her one hobby – baking.

With the last of their savings, Mark and Steph opened Rutland Cakeaway, a delivery service bringing delicious puddings and a friendly face to the people of Rutland. We’re best known for Mark’s jolly personality and Steph’s Banoffee Pie and we hope we make everyone we serve just a little bit happier when we knock on the door.

The Team

Mark

Mark is the guy everyone knows, with his big jolly face and his crazy hairiness, he’s probably the man who’ll be knocking on your door. He's kept in line by his mum – Lynn.

Lynn

Lynn’s the big kahuna and keeps everything in check and organised when we’re serving, including managing Mark and his fiancé – Steph.

Steph

Steph’s the one responsible for keeping everything ticking along. She’s a natural-born recluse and is most comfortable in the kitchen or the office, talking to herself, tweaking recipes and baking until the early hours, assisted by - Ella

Ella

Ella’s our weekend girl! She’s an absolute lifesaver, reducing stress by approximately 8bn percent and helping with all the things we’d never get around to if she weren’t here to rescue us all.

Team and Food Photography by Gina Fernandes Photography