Julia Bryce finds out how a wooden box full of goodies ended up as fridge which would attract the attention of people across the globe.
When Lynn Johnson first placed a box of bakes in front of her croft near East Burrafirth, Shetland, in 2012, she never envisioned that she would end up coming up with the isles first cake fridge, or have her own tea room a few years later.
Fast forward to 2021, Lynn now runs her own 20-seater tea room and says that up until the pandemic, The Cake Fridge was a tourist attraction in itself, welcoming hundreds of people to the site.
The concept
Housing a whole range of treats, Lynn is adamant that the support from locals and tourists go hand in hand, and is grateful to all of her customers who continue to support her honesty fridge business while the tea room is closed due to the pandemic.
She said: “I launched it as The Cake Fridge in 2012. It was born through my crofting activities as I have a croft and used to sell a lot of vegetables and eggs. The baking side of things just really complemented that and I used to go to farmers’ markets to sell my produce but they sadly died a death in Shetland which is a real shame.
“The baking took off and it began life as a wooden blanket box, then I updated it to a wardrobe, and then I got a fridge. That was the ideal situation to protect everything from the weather. It is really quite famous all over the world now.
“We are lucky that we are situated in a very rural but beautiful place in Shetland and we have a waterfall nearby. There were a lot of tourists that fell upon it too, as well as locals, and everyone just loved the concept.
“They couldn’t’ believe there was a fridge full of cakes which they could access 24/7. We used to have a butter dish for the money for our honesty box but I’ve had to update that now, too.”
Honesty box
While Lynn has seen great success with The Cake Fridge, it wasn’t before long that other businesses across Shetland and Orkney had taken inspiration from her business which allowed customers to access goods at all hours.
Running it on an honesty box system, she says the roadside business is easy to access for those up bright and early, or still travelling late at night as it is operational 24/7.
She added: “I’ve been a victim of my own success as the idea has been copied. I think there were 18 or 19 at my last count across Shetland and Orkney. The only reason why it works is we are in an island community. The risk of things being stolen is relatively low.
“I have grown the business and now have a little tea room in the cottage next door and I think they both complement each other. It is 50/50 visitors and locals. We have some locals who go out of their way to get the products. We have three or four traditional bakeries in Shetland, but I guess it isn’t the same as handmade small-batch bakes. I think people really love the bakes.
“I think people find the concept so quirky and it is right a the side of the road. I’m grateful the feedback from locals is that they say it is ‘the original and the best’, and that is what they say how I should promote my business.
“It is a joy to own The Cake Fridge. There is a huge following out there for it that I wasn’t really aware of. I work really long hours and I hope that come through in the products I make. I think people value that a lot.”
Baked goods
Offering a whole selection of baked goods every day, Lynn’s creations are adored by locals and tourists alike, and one customer travels 30 miles just to get her The Cake Fridge fix.
“There’s everything from traditional items like bannocks, scones, huffsies which is a Shetland term for a boiled fruit loaf, and then items like grub box biscuits which is an A5 sized sweet oatcake which is a bit freer than an oatcake – they are laborious to make but very popular and have one lady who orders 60 at a time, although she lives 30 miles away.
“We have cupcakes, traybakes like tiffin and a free-from range which is very popular. There’s gluten and dairy-free and vegan bakes. In the tea room we do lots of big cakes, and I also make celebration cakes after customers kept asking.”
Covid-19
With hospitality one of the hardest-hit industries during the coronavirus pandemic, Lynn has managed to diversify her business which has now seen her postal tiffin fly across the Atlantic Ocean to Canada and New York.
She added: “It was a long-term goal for me to open my own tea room, we opened it on May 30 in 2019. We were only open just under nine months due to the coronavirus pandemic lockdown happening in March 2020.
“We changed the business and started offering postal tiffin at the beginning of lockdown. It went all over the world to Canada, New York, Germany, Ireland and England – it was crazy!
I was posting up to 80 odd parcels a day. Lots of tourists who were desperate to come back have wanted to help the business and purchased goods. We’re still offering the postal service now.
“We started deliveries in Lerwick and everywhere in between. I’m very passionate about supporting other local businesses. I only use Shetland dairy produce for milk etc. Anything I can’t get here I get from Orkney or the Western Isles.
“I had 10 staff on the books before the pandemic so I am looking forward to getting everyone back to work when things start reopening again. The tea room can only seat 20 people – five tables of four – and the tea room is very oldy worldy with lots of old artefacts. It is a quirky place to come and meet and everything we offer on our menu is quite traditional. We have a big following and people just seem to love it.”
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