A bakery in a van has been taking the county by storm, with customers queuing to sample its selection of indulgent treats.

Sian Parkes, owner of the Queen of Tarts, which tours the county in a unique pink and white van, initially started baking as a lockdown hobby, posting all her creations to her personal social media pages. 

Soon after, she renovated her spare room and turned it into a commercial bakery, where the business currently operates from.

Ms Parkes left her civil servant job to pursue her bakery dreams.Ms Parkes left her civil servant job to pursue her bakery dreams. (Image: ROB DAVIES) "Friends and family encouraged me to set up a business as they loved all my creations that I was baking.

"I decided to leave my Civil servant job where I worked for the Ministry of Defence.

"This was 2.5 years ago and I’ve been building my business up since and it’s growing from strength to strength," she said.

Ms Parkes has quite the collection of accolades, winning the New Business of the Year 2022 award with Hereford Business Awards, and in 2023 she was nominated and became a finalist for Customer Service Provider of the Year 2023.

This year, Ms Parkes has claimed the title for the Midlands Enterprise Award for Best bespoke sweet treats bakery.

The business was the first to open a cake honesty box in Hereford.The business was the first to open a cake honesty box in Hereford. (Image: ROB DAVIES) "We attend Hereford High Town market on the first Saturday of every month, where you can buy all our sweet treats from brownies, cookie pies, blondies, cake slices etc and are always really popular where we sell out usually by midday".

The business is well known for its occasion-themed treat boxes, baking everything from sweet treats, celebration cakes, and wedding cakes, and catering for school events and workplaces.

Ms Parkes says she is the first cake business in the county to set up an honesty box, with a box now stationed on Venns Lane in Hereford, where customers can help themselves to a variety of baked goods, and post their cash through a letter box.

Queen of Tarts not only caters to individuals but also to wholesale and supplies local businesses in Hereford.

So far, the likes of The Coffee Cart Company, Eden coffee house, Play Planet, the Whole Moo World vending machines and The Sidings at Allpay, have been selling her delightful produce.