Meet the chef behind the sweet treats company
As part of our Meet the Chef series, we're talking to some of Cumbria's finest about their lives in and out of the kitchen. This week, it's the turn of Martin Frickel
What is your current role, and what does it involve? I'm the owner of Kendal-based Sweet Treats By Martin Frickel (STBMF), baker, chef and problem solver. With a background as a pastry chef and in fine dining, during lockdown I turned my focus to developing a next-level, postal sweet treat box for family, friends and followers on social media. It all started with weekly menu drops on Instagram and Facebook. Once all the orders were in, it was time to bake, bake, bake away to send out sweet treats around the UK for a lockdown pick me up! Day-to-day life involves the production of our award-winning, amazing brownies, blondies, cookies and filthy treats, trialling new products, selling our treats at local farmers' markets and food festivals or delivering our orders to the post office or wholesale customers.
How long have you been a chef? Twenty years now...wow.
How did you first get into cooking? I started with a love for cooking from a young age, working alongside my parents and grandparents at home cooking, then admiring the rise of Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay back in the day, making being a chef fashionable and lighting a spark in my brain.
Where did you learn your craft? I trained at Kendal College under chefs Richard Axford and Yannick Lequitte, then progressed to work around my native Cumbria in some fine establishments before starting STBMF in 2021.
What was your first job in hospitality? The Lakeside Hotel in Newby Bridge had a training academy in Ulverston for apprentice staff to learn their craft from their senior team, so I started as a Saturday commis chef there at 14 and never looked back.
(Image: Josh Campbell Photography)
What is your signature dish? We have created a few signature items at STBMF. I would say our award-winning Black Forest Brownie is 'the one' - 2024 winner of Britain's best cake, 'Best Free From' cake. Taking inspiration for my family's German/ Dutch heritage and love for cherries, this gooey fudgey brownie is loaded with morello cherry compote, sour cherries and white chocolate to give that nostalgic nod to the classic.
What's been your worst cooking disaster? There has to be a few. Forgetting to put baking powder or bicarb of soda in the bakes and mistaking salt for sugar in a recipe can both be easily done.
What are your culinary ambitions? To continue to grow and spread the sweet treats love across the county and nationwide.
What do you like to eat? Simple classics such as homemade chicken Caesar salad or beef shin ragu pappardelle.
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