I was delighted to be joined by Carol Myott, the visionary co-founder of Flapjackery, a brand that has transformed the humble flapjack into an award-winning, luxury treat, to get to know a little bit more about her. What began in 2015 as an “accidental business” in her Devonshire kitchen, born from Carol’s personal “love of baking” and a shared frustration with the quality of existing flapjacks, has blossomed into a thriving national brand that has recently celebrated its 10th birthday! Originally co-founded with Sally Jenkin, who has since retired, Flapjackery is renowned for its handmade, entirely gluten-free flapjacks, crafted with high-quality, locally sourced ingredients, and offering an extensive, quirky range of over 25 flavours, all while maintaining a commitment to ethical production.
What does your Monday morning routine look like?
My Monday morning starts when I get to work around 8:30 AM, and I start my morning with a cup of coffee. After that, I scan through what’s been happening over the weekend in our shops, at shows and online. Then, we have our weekly management strategy and logistics meeting with all the different departmental staff. This is to focus on for the coming week, where deliveries need to go, what’s happening in production, and to catch up on marketing and so on. All our flapjacks are made centrally in Tavistock, and we use our own vans to deliver to all our shops every week.
What did you want to be when you were young?
My parents had a restaurant, and we lived above it. I always wanted to be involved in food, though I didn’t really know what area exactly. I loved working in the restaurant and loved being in the kitchen. My parents eventually wanted to retire, so that path didn’t open up for me. But yes, I’d always wanted to be in food and always loved food and always followed food. I would have liked to have had a career in the restaurant business.
If you could build a house anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Probably on the coast somewhere, down in Cornwall or on the Dorset coast. I just love being by the sea. I dislike the heat, so I wouldn’t particularly want to be abroad, in a hot climate like Spain, Portugal, or Italy during the hot summer. I was a redhead, so I only have to look at the sun for five minutes and I’m bright red! So yes, the coastline, or the mountains for skiing. I love skiing, having had many great times in the mountains!
What has been the best moment in your career?
I don’t know, I’m still waiting for it to happen…Retirement!! No…I always wanted to achieve a turnover of 1 Million pounds. When we achieved that, with the help of the whole team, that was significant.
What has been the worst moment in your career?
The worst moment was being made redundant many years ago. That was hard, and quite difficult at the time. It feels very personal, even when it’s not your fault, so I think that was the most difficult moment. But that’s when I decided I was never going to work for anybody else, so I became self-employed.
If you could time travel and have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be and why?
It would be Steve Jobs. I think he was an incredible entrepreneur, quite inspiring, and an amazing marketer. I started my career just as the first Apple products came out. I grew up using PageMaker for desktop publishing, which nobody’s ever heard of nowadays, but it was just incredible—the change it brought about, enabling one to do all those sorts of things on a computer. Previously, everything was done manually. To be able to create a page of artwork and text on your computer was incredible. At the time, I was working in marketing and media. I think what he did transformed that industry making it dynamic and inspiring.
I now feel so old now asI don’t understand AI at all! I’m way behind the curve in that respect. I keep thinking, “Oh, all these people can write really good emails,” not realizing AI has done everything. I’m still trying to rewrite my own emails and thinking, “Oh God, that sounds terrible.”
What’s a hidden talent or skill that most people don’t know you possess?
I was talking to my brother about this, and he said he thought it was my creativity, because most people wouldn’t think of me as being a creative person when they meet me. I think it’s probably my creativity, and my ability to think outside the box that are my real talents. I’m dyslexic, and I come from a family of dyslexics, but it makes you think about problems in a more creative way to most people. I think that’s probably something people don’t realize about me until they work with me.
(Carol’s brother, Hugh was sitting on the other side of the screen and chipped in here!) “I think she has a real vision for food…the combinations of flavours and textures, and how it should be presented. She has that ability to take it to another level. I believe, in another life, she could easily have been a top chef!”
What’s your go-to karaoke song?
Oh God, I can’t sing! I’m tone-deaf. When I first went away to school at the age of nine, I was asked to mouth the words and not sing. I have never sung since. Consequently, I’ve never really been interested in music. I listen to classical music, but it’s a background noise; I’m not going to be singing along to anything, not even on my own!
If you were a superhero, what would your superpower be and why?
Seeing into the future. It would make everything so much clearer, wouldn’t it? You’d be able to avoid many difficult situations. I think it would just make life so much simpler.
What job is the favourite you’ve ever had and what made it so special?
My favourite job was probably when I was about 15. My dad loved sailing and would go away every week in the summer for racing. Believe it or not, he used to leave me in charge of the restaurant. To put his trust in me to run the restaurant while he was away, and for me to do front of house and have the respect of the staff—that was amazing. I think that was the best job I ever had. It was an incredible experience, and for him to have trusted me to do that was just amazing and gave me great self-belief.
What is your favourite cuisine OR is there a cuisine you’ve never tried but would like to?
My favourite cuisine is probably Italian. I love the simplicity and flavours of Italian food. It’s about taking really good quality ingredients and keeping them simple to create something amazing. Another, I’ve never really experienced properly but would like to is Japanese cuisine.
What’s the most adventurous thing you’ve ever done?
I don’t know if it’s particularly adventurous, but I suppose it was going off traveling on my own in my 20s for about four or five weeks off the back of work. I went to all sorts of different countries, from Hong Kong to all around that area, and Singapore, all on my own. So yes, that was probably at that time the most adventurous thing I did. But now looking back setting up Flapjackery was pretty adventurous.
What is your favourite food/drink product on the market right now and why?
Salcombe Gin. I think their gin is head and shoulders above everybody else’s, particularly Four Seas gin which is designed to serve with a sprig of rosemary. It’s really good. I did their gin-making class when they very first opened, which was quite a few years ago now. I got the experience as a present from my sister. It was great fun, and on the back of it, I bought my own still, so I make my own gin at home! Nobody knows that…Actually, it’s really good because you just buy any vodka and then distil that with whatever flavours you want. I experiment with all sorts.
What would your last meal be?
Probably scallops and crab, followed by a really good chocolate tart.It stems back to my childhood. We lived above the restaurant, and it sounds weird, but we used to crave ordinary food because we normally ate restaurant food! As children, we’d go down to the kitchen and have the pick of scallops, crab, whitebait, or roast beef. We didn’t think anything of it; we thought that was ordinary food. At that time, my parent’s restaurant was in the Good Food Guide (Michelin stars weren’t a thing then), doing quality food when it wasn’t commonly available. Things like avocados, scallops, and fresh fish my father bought from the fish market were everyday things for us. We used to crave white bread and peanut butter! Sandwich spread was the other thing we never got. We used to wake up to the smell of fresh bread every morning because we were above the kitchens, and homemade ice cream all the time, whereas we’d prefer Mr. Whippy!
What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?
I have eaten bugs – I tried crickets, which were crunchy and not particularly pleasant. While on a French exchange, I remember going and catching eels in the river, then skinning them and having them served up for lunch, which was pretty unpleasant at the time. The other thing we did was catch frogs at night with torches, and then we had those for lunch the next day. We had to shine the torch in their eyes and then grab them!
What is happening in your life that you would like a shout out about?
I want to say a huge thank you to all my staff and to all the customers who have supported Flapjackery over the last ten years. We wouldn’t be here today without all the support from customers, but also without the team around me that does all the work, because it’s not me that does it anymore. So, I want to shout about the people around me and just say thank you to them.
You can contact Carol on LinkedIn and find out more about Flapjackery on their website and follow along for their latest news on Facebook and Instagram.
