A Burton baker has shown she knows the recipe for success after she announced plans to open her fourth cafe- less than three years after setting up her first business.

Tracey Heap, 50, said all she ever wanted was to "make cakes for a living" and never imagined her business Summerhouse Bakery would become so popular.

Tracey, opened up the Summerhouse Bakery, in Burton Market Hall, in November 2014, and thriving sales meant she was able to open a second site, next door, just 12 months later.

She has since gone on to open another stall in the hall and is now getting ready to open the doors on her latest venture - a café at Shobnall Marina.

Tracey, who lives in Tutbury said she has to pinch herself when she realises how far she has come as she admits she still can’t believe her "pipedream" has become a reality.

Tracey Heap will open the doors of the Summerhouse Bakery Cafe on October 9

She said: "It started out as a soup and a teacake sort of business but you have to go with what your audience wants and their requests have led me to where I am now with the business going from strength to strength.

"It is unbelievable how busy we are. I never thought it would be like this I just wanted to make cakes for a living!"

When Tracey was approached by a customer about an empty unit she jumped at the chance to expand the business.

She said: "A customer asked me if I was interested in the café at Shobnall Marina and I didn't realise at the time but its previous owner was also a customer of mine. It will be a change but the marina is lovely and I definitely think it can be used more.

"There are only 24 seats at the marina whereas we serve 100 people at lunchtime on a Friday but the scenery is beautiful and there has been lots of questions and excitement from customers who can’t wait to go down there and sit outdoors and have the same great food but a nice change of scenery."

The self-confessed "workaholic" will share her time between the marina café and the market bakery and is really excited for the new venture.

She said: "I must be mad but I love what I do. I think it will be brilliant and I am really excited. I will be working at both units and I have hired two new staff for the Shobnall Marina café.

"I want customers to be getting exactly the same experience as they do here, except for a more condensed menu, which we hope to grow with time."

The café, which will open to the public on October 9, is currently being stripped out and rebuilt to give it a vintage feel, which has become a trademark of Summerhouse Bakery.

Tracey, who said she already has other things in the pipeline, said her "passion for baking" and her "vision" have fuelled her success.

She said: "It all began at home really. Baking has always been a passion and I have always worked in food management so the dream was always there.

"I have got a summerhouse brick kitchen at home and I started making cakes there to sell on stalls when I was starting out. Then the venue came up at Burton Market Hall and I never looked back."

Tracey said she is still overwhelmed by how popular the bakery is. She said: "I never believed I could achieve this. I always had a vision but I didn’t realise I could make it a reality.

"The tea room was a dream, but lots of people who make cakes aspire to have their own tearoom and it is not easy to be successful. I think I was in the right place at the right time.

"If you asked me if all this was possible three years ago I would have told you that you were mad. I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't this; it just goes to show that hard work does pay off."

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