The story behind Glasgow cookie makers Chulo's Bakes

Perfectly decorated, obscenely chunky and selling out within hours at every market they're brought to, these bakes could easily be the work of a professionally trained pastry chef.

What's surprising then, is the fact that Chulo's Bakes is an independently owned, local business started only six months ago baking enthusiast Rebecca Paterson and her partner Jordan Rankin. 

It's been a whirlwind journey for the couple from leaving their long time hospitality jobs behind in June to now selling over 1000 cookies a week through local markets and suppliers.

We caught up with Rebecca to hear their full story so far and what the future holds for team Chulo's.

Pictured: Rebecca Paterson and Jordan Rankin of Chulo's Bakes

She said: “We always knew that we had it in us to start our own business but problem was we weren't sure of exactly what we wanted to do.

“I was making loaves every day in lockdown and initially our plan was to open a café or a sandwich shop.

“We went back and forth thinking of ideas for a few months before we realised that first off, we didn’t really have the money and secondly, we didn’t really know anything about making sandwiches.

“I’ve always been really into baking sweet things so I knew that that was something that we could do well, but to be honest we had never planned on starting so small with just cookies.”

The thing about Chulo’s Bakes cookies? They’re definitely far from being ‘just cookies’.

Pictured: Chulo's Bakes are no ordinary cookies

Joyously un-dainty, these massive mounds of dough are filled until almost bursting with everything from crushed Oreos to whole Ferrero Rochers.

Dare to imagine a dessert, filled with another dessert, topped with one last dessert for decoration and you'll begin to understand the appeal of Chulo's Bakes.

Just looking at them gives us toothache in the best possible way.

Rebecca said: “So the whole premise for them is that they’re stuffed cookies. That’s our thing.

“But beyond that, we make sure that we really put a lot of thought into our flavours.

“For example, I always knew I wanted to do a chocolate orange because it’s one of my favourite combinations, but we then started to think about all the different elements we could use.

“The finished cookie has orange smarties, white chocolate spread and a jaffa cake stuffed into it.

“The dough itself is 130 grams so with all the extras on top and the decorations they’re really hefty.

“It takes us a long time to make sure that we have it right, but when we finally get a flavour we’ve been working on for months perfected it's just the best feeling.

“It’s stressful sometimes but that’s my favourite part of the whole process, coming up with what kind of cookie to bring out next.”

Pictured: The massive Jaffa stuffed chocolate orange cookie

Having perfected their recipes, Rebeca and Jordan began to sell and deliver boxes filled with colossal cookies through a postal order service like many of the other independent baking businesses which were started during lockdown.

Unlike these other businesses, what proved to be even more challenging for the couple was when restrictions gradually began to ease in May.

Suddenly, they were faced with returning to their full-time hospitality jobs at a time that was make or break for the industry

Rebecca laughed: “ I guess we started at a silly time to be honest. We might have been better off getting going at the beginning of the pandemic rather than just as we were all heading back to work.

“It feels so long ago now, but it was definitely harder for us at the start because we were both still working in the restaurant.

“It was at the time when places weren't quite back to being fully open yet so at first we managed to work baking for Chulo’s around our shifts.

“We knew it was worth the extra effort but we were definitely still learning.

“There was one week where a batch of cookies went wildly wrong and I was up until five in the morning trying to fix it before going into a staff meeting at nine the next day.”

Pictured: Rebecca and Jordan take the time to develop each flavour

No strangers to hard graft, Rebecca and Jordan took the challenge of juggling a work-work balance in their stride.

However, it was their first experience of selling their cookies face to face that truly pushed them to go all-in with Chulo's Bakes.

She said: “Our first event was at Erskine Farmer's market and we had absolutely no idea what to expect.

“We went along with 200 cookies and we were so scared that they were all going to be left sitting on the table at the end of the day.

“It only took an hour and a half until we were completely cleaned out.

“It was such a different day to what we were used to and it felt so good to be out chatting to customers in person instead of just taking our boxes to the post office.

“Because we both have that hospitality background, service is what we know.

"Getting the chance to meet so many new people and having them give us such lovely feedback totally changed everything for us.”

Pictured: The Chulo's market stall on tour

It’s arguably this background in the industry that has given way to the duo's meteoric success.

While some readers might wince at the thought of a 12-hour shift after baking until five in the morning, many others will understand that years spent working in a bar or restaurant are guaranteed to leave you ready for anything life has to throw at you.

And if you have a team like Rebecca and Jordan's ex-colleagues at popular city centre diner Buck's Bar behind you? Taking on a whole new career path is a piece of cookie.

Pictured: The couple make more than 1000 cookies a week

Rebecca said “The hospitality scene in Glasgow is so important and has such a nice community feeling to it.

“The restaurant we worked at could not have been more supportive, I think mostly because it’s independently owned. 

"It was actually our boss who was telling us to go for it because he had been in almost the exact same situation before.

“Both Jordan and I have worked in hospitality since we were 18 and the amount of knowledge you build up as well as what you learn from your co-workers is unbelievable.  

“All our colleagues at the restaurant were so supportive from the get-go.

“To be honest Buck’s Bar is to thank for where we are with Chulo’s Bakes today.

Pictured:Expect to see the Chulo's stall at markets all over Glasgow this winter

Looking forward, the Chulo’s team are planning to take Glasgow's festive market circuit by storm and hope to finally open a permanent shop in early spring next year.

Rebecca says that it’s not just the support from their former colleagues, but the enthusiasm from their customers, that keeps them moving forward.

She said: “We’re blown away by the number of people who actually take time out of their day to comment on our social media posts and tell us that they’ve enjoyed our cookies.

“It’s probably such a small part of the person's day to drop a message saying it was their first time trying Chulo’s or how much they enjoyed them but for us, it means the absolute world.

“We work so hard for it all but at the same time we both get to wake up to do what we love every single day, and we get to do it together.

"We feel so lucky.

“Add that to the fact that people seem to love our cookies and keep coming back for them, what more could you ask for?”

For more information on Chulo’s bakes, click here.