Cafes / bakery
The entrepreneur who swapped stethoscope for oven gloves to follow her dream
A biomedical scientist who ditched her stethoscope to follow her baking dreams is embarking on a new chapter of her fast-growing business.
Hannah Edgerton, known as Edgie to her friends, has already built up a strong reputation in the two years she has been running Edgie Eats as a wholesale bakery, supplying the likes of Bath Rugby, Almondsbury Garden Centre, Bath Spa University, UWE Bristol and the University of Bath, as well as a number of cafes.
The 23-year-old entrepreneur is now putting the finishing touches to a premises on North View in Westbury Park that will open as a cafe on March 30, serving hot and cold drinks as well as her signature cakes and bakes.
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“It’s mad really. Incredible. I’m still having a hard time processing this,” says Hannah, showing excitement, and maybe a twinge of nervousness too, as she prepares to open the cafe she has long dreamed of.
Hannah started baking in 2019 while studying biomedical sciences at the University of Bath. When Covid-19 hit the country, most of her normal education patterns were disrupted, hence she ended up moving back with her parents. It was there that she started making ‘lockdown brownie boxes’ for people in isolation.
Within two years of running her business, Hannah has been finalised for five major regional awards. She has also been shortlisted for Bristol Life’s, New Business in Bristol 2024 award, with the winner being announced on March 27.
“It was completely unexpected,” Hannah tells Bristol24/7, speaking about the decision to launch her own business.
“When I took a gap year right after my degree to focus on starting and continuing my baking business, lots of people didn’t see where it was going. But self-employment kind of suits my personality, so I went forward with it.”
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Hannah continues: “It was quite challenging at first. I have to say that there were a few times where I felt quite overwhelmed by the process of managing a business. But people like Tim Starks from Picnic Coffee Shop in Bath were kind-hearted enough to share some wisdom and learnings with me when I really needed it.”
Thanks to a vacant property grant from Bristol City Council, Hannah was able to secure and transform the old plant shop in Westbury Park into a fully working commercial kitchen. She also won a further grant from the South Western Enterprise Fund, which enabled her to kit out the shop with a customer counter, allowing for a café to be possible.
All other renovation works Hannah undertook herself with help from family and friends, and Edgie Eats will employ ten local people across the bakery and café, with the previous general manager of Spicer & Cole joining the team.
Hannah has faced challenges in her life and says this is partly why she was undeterred from starting her own business.
“I was born with a quite rare hormone deficiency; basically at the age of seven I just stopped growing and. developed quite serious health issues,” she explains.
“It took a few years of tests to work out what was wrong and some long stays in hospital, but since the age of 11 I’ve been giving myself daily injections of growth hormone, which saved my life. I will need to continue to do this every day of my life, but it’s manageable and actually could be a lot worse so I’m grateful for my good health at the moment.”
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Looking ahead to the opening of the new cafe, Hannah adds: “I’m looking forward to a new start.
“It’s worth every bit of work, because I get to share my passion and dreams with people who feel the same way about baking.”
Main photo: Pippa Volans
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