It’s Chunk's 20th Birthday!!

Celebrating 20 Years Of Chunk of Devon

Can you believe it… this year, Chunk of Devon turns 20!!

Twenty years of pies, pasties, sausage rolls, pork pies, awards, early mornings, late nights, new ideas, challenges, triumphs and more pastry than we care to think about. It's been quite the journey…

So, seeing as it's our birthday, we thought we'd take a look back at the story so far!!

2006: The Adventure Begins

Chunk started life in Ottery St Mary, Devon...

Back in 2006, Simon and Suzi left their background in Fish & Chips to take over a small bakery in a little Devon village with a simple belief: food should be special, tasty and natural!  No shortcuts, just proper food made properly.

 In fact, one of their first dates involved pie and chips on a Devon quay!

The goal was never to become one of Britain's most awarded pie makers. The goal was simply to make pies and pasties that tasted fantastic!

2008: Our First Awards

A couple of years in, we decided to see what the judges thought.

We entered our first Taste of the West Awards and, if we're honest, were just hoping not to embarrass ourselves!

Winning awards is lovely, of course, but what really mattered was the feedback. Independent judges telling us what worked, what could be improved and where we could get even better.

Even today we're trying to improve on our recipes everyday - some things never change! That first award gave us the taste for it. You might even say we got a little carried away...

The Years That Followed

Over the next decade, Chunk steadily grew!

More products joined the range. More customers discovered us. More awards found their way onto the wall.

Our Steak & Ale Pie continued picking up accolades, using the same award-winning Otter Head Ale from our neighbours at Otter Brewery that helped earn one of our first awards back in 2008.

Meanwhile, our Roast Veg Pasty became one of our best sellers and went on to win numerous awards of its own!

Throughout all of this, we stuck to the same philosophy we'd started with: use great ingredients and let them do the talking!

We also grew a fantastic team over the years, in both the kitchen and the office, to help us on this journey. Our Hunks at Chunk have come and gone, but we are so grateful for their hard work over the years!

2019: A Very Good Year For Devon

One of our proudest moments arrived in 2019. Our Steak Pasty was crowned Britain's Best Cornish Pasty. Again!!

As a Devon bakery, we may have enjoyed that slightly more than we should have.

Let's just say some of our Cornish friends weren't quite as delighted as we were…

That same Steak Pasty has now amassed an incredible collection of awards, including 16 Great Taste Awards. It's become something of a celebrity around here!

Early 2020s: From One Bakery to Two

When the pandemic hit, we started selling our bakes online! And as Chunk grew this newfound audience, we started noticing something...

There were plenty of gluten free products on the market, but not many that delivered the same comfort, flavour and satisfaction you'd expect from a proper pie, pasty or cake!

Too many seemed to be relying on customers lowering their expectations.

So in 2022, Simon and Suzi acquired an established gluten free bakery in nearby Honiton and brought it into the Chunk family!!

Many customers knew it as Baked to Taste. As of 2026, it's Chunk Gluten Free!

The aim wasn't to make gluten free products that were "good for gluten free". The aim was to make products that were simply good. Full stop. 

2026: Two Bakeries, One Chunk

Today, Chunk operates from two completely separate bakeries, just seven miles apart.

Our Original bakery in Ottery St Mary continues to make the pies and pasties that started it all, while our dedicated gluten free bakery in Honiton produces everything from gluten free pies and pasties to cakes, quiches and scones.

The bakeries don't share ingredients, production areas or staff. Gluten free needs that level of care, and we're proud to provide it!!

The result is that customers can now enjoy both Chunk Original and Chunk Gluten Free products from one website, while still having complete confidence in how everything is made!

Thank You!

For all the awards, growth and milestones, the best part of the last twenty years has been the people!

One of our favourite things about attending food festivals, county shows and food events is meeting customers face to face. Some of you have been buying from us for years - before we even had an online shop!!

Like any business, we've had challenges along the way. Things haven't always gone to plan. There have been bumps in the road, lessons learned and moments that tested us!

But the important thing is that we're still here, still baking in Devon, still obsessing over flavour and still trying to make the best pies and pasties we possibly can.

From all of the Hunks, thank you for being part of the last twenty years. We can't wait to see what the next twenty bring!!

Go on - Take a Chunk!