Engel Family Born And Bred To Run Bakery
Newcastle Herald
Saturday May 13, 2006
THE Engel's are a dynasty of bakers with a tradition stretching back more than a 100 years.
Now fourth-generation baker Richard Engel is taking a fresh approach to making bread, pastries, pies and cakes the old-fashioned way.Richard and his wife Louise went back in time for the re-launch of their new-look bakery at Westfield Kotara.Their store, Loven Oven, will reopen on Monday with new branding inspired by an era when bakeries were a cornerstone of family life."The family's traditional ways of baking and original recipes have been handed on from father to son down through the generations," Mrs Engel said yesterday."When we did the renovations we were keen to retain that long history in our branding, and Richard's grandfather, Eric, has become the new face of Loven Oven."The timeline began in 1888 when George Engel established a bakery and general store at Tea Gardens. The family also ran store boats transporting the bread and goods to surrounding communities.George's son, Eric Engel, worked in the family business before opening his own bakery at Williamtown, delivering his products to the area and the nearby RAAF base by truck.Later he sold the Williamtown business to establish his Cottage Bakery in the newly-opened Kotara Fair shopping centre, which is now Westfield Kotara.Mr Engel also had bakeries at Jesmond Shopping Centre and The Junction.His son Ralph, who did his baker's apprenticeship at Williamtown, opened Swiss Cakes at Adamstown with his wife Margaret in 1972.Six years later they bought the bakery in the Kotara shopping centre, renaming it Loven Oven.Richard began his apprenticeship at Loven Oven in 1984 at age 14, working continually for his parents until 2000, when he and his wife Louise bought the store.Mrs Engel said the store was closed for two weeks for renovations and a number of celebrations were planned to mark the reopening.
© 2006 Newcastle Herald
