Aidan Monks‘ love of bread began in Ambleside, in the heart of the Lakes, where his grandfather baked traditional loaves for locals and visitors. That early, hands-on experience set him on a path through commis chef training, hospitality management at Blackpool College, and a scholarship to the Boston College of Culinary Arts, where he rediscovered his passion for bread. He went on to study alongside craft bakers at Les Grands Moulins de Paris, and has never stopped learning since.
In 2010, Aidan founded Lovingly Artisan Bakery with a clear purpose: to make hand-crafted, slow-fermented sourdough from natural ingredients with outstanding flavour and texture. Alongside his wife and co-owner Catherine Connor, he has built a business that now bakes 15+ varieties) loaves of bread daily using a sourdough starter more than 30 years old. It trades through two retail stores at Plumgarth’s near Kendal and Altrincham, a mobile bread van, ‘Florence’, at farmers’ markets across the northwest, and a webstore serving customers nationwide.
Raising industry standards
What makes Aidan an industry champion is his determination to raise standards for the whole sector. He champions transparency, sharing each bread’s backstory, its ingredients and their impact on wellbeing. He is at the forefront of the growing movement towards ancient grains, whole-grain, multi-grain and functional (purposeful) breads, and constantly introduces new techniques such as scalding seeds, roasting malt and crumbing grains to improve flavour, shelf life and sustainability.
His commitment to provenance runs through the supply chain. In 2024, Lovingly Artisan partnered with Cumbrian farm Eden Yard and wheat specialist Dr Andrew Wilkinson to grow a pioneering crop of heritage rye in the Eden Valley, sowing just under eight acres in autumn 2023 and harvesting around 12 tonnes. In early 2025, the bakery opened Cumbria’s first new flourmill and a bakery in Burneside, and its first flour collection launched in April 2026. Flour is now available to businesses and the public, strengthening a short, sustainable, locally rooted supply chain. Most recently, the milling by-product of semolina has become the basis for a 24-hour fermented sourdough pasta, completing the bakery’s sustainability journey.
Aidan and Catherine are equally committed to people. He and Catherine have created an environment of continual learning, sharing knowledge and giving their team opportunities for personal growth, while benchmarking every loaf daily for quality, consistency and flavour.
Previous recognitions
The industry has taken notice. Aidan and the bakery have been named Baker of the Year in the Olive Chef Awards, the Farm Shop & Deli Retailer Awards and the Baking Industry Awards, and National Bakery of the Year in the National Bakery Awards. They have been named Best Artisan Bakery in the UK for four consecutive years (2023-2026), and in 2026 won gold awards at Britain’s Best Loaf for Rye Berry Sourdough and Wholemeal Barber Wheat Sourdough.
Aidan’s goal is simple: to put bread back at the centre of the table, and to show the industry that quality, health and sustainability can go hand in hand.
