So, the name and whole initial concept of ‘Rawkies’ was all Adam’s idea, before we even met. Adam
has years of hospitality and events experience and always wanted to run his own business. He first
came up with the idea during the pandemic when he was made redundant from his role at Event
City.
We all love to lick the remaining cookie dough or cake batter from the bowl, don’t we?! Well, in
very small quantities, it isn’t a problem, but in large quantities it’s unsafe to eat due to the uncooked
flour and raw eggs. So, Adam researched how to make cookie dough safe to eat ‘raw’ and realised
that as long as the flour is heat-treated and we don’t use eggs, then it can be eaten in its raw
unbaked form – and actually, it tastes great!
I have loved baking for many years, my speciality was customised cakes – I even set up my own home
cake baking business (part-time) in 2019, called Sophie’s Cakes (I know, how original!). I found it so
therapeutic and I could spend hours on designing and creating the perfect cakes for my customers.
Alongside that, I was (and still am) a full-time Physiotherapist in the NHS. I guess you can say, I like to
keep busy!
Anyway, back to the edible raw cookie dough story! Adam thought he was the first person to come
up with this idea, however, after doing some research he realised he wasn’t and there were a small
handful of places in America that were already selling this dessert and even a few in the UK
(London). However, there was still a gap in the market (especially up North!) so thought he would
still take advantage of it!
By the time we met in early 2021, Adam had already created a full business plan for Rawkies. When
he was explaining it all to me, it looked so complicated but Adam made it sound so easy! He
certainly did a thorough job and made sure he didn’t leave anything out.
I remember Adam coming over to my place one day with a huge test batch of the Night & Day
Rawkies (dark and white chocolate chips) that he and a close chef friend of his had made. My word, I
had never eaten cookie dough before that day and after one mouthful, I was hooked! I ended up
eating most of it by myself!
The original signature flavours of edible raw cookie were Birthday Cake, Hazelnut, Salted Caramel
Brownie (vg), Night and Day (ngc), Rainbow, Chocolate Orange, Honeycomb and Eton Mess.
However, once we were more established, we soon decided to change some of these options! My
favourite was chocolate orange, so I was gutted when we decided to take it off the menu. I was
surprised that it wasn’t a popular flavour! However, I love our current selection of cookie dough – my
(new) favourite is the High Protein Peanut Butter Chip Rawkies; made with whey protein and honey
(instead of flour and caster sugar). Since I am the Executive Baker, I have full control over the cookie
dough recipes, and I am keeping this specific recipe under wraps!
When we first tested making milkshakes with blended cookie dough, we knew this was going to be a
winner and my word, having little pieces of cookie dough with every sip, tastes amazing! My
favourite is definitely the protein milkshake! If you like peanut butter, then you must give this a try!
Something for which I (Sophie) will take full credit for, is the sundaes – during our break one evening,
I randomly put together a dessert made of ice cream, cookie dough, sauces, whipped cream and
toppings. As soon as I started eating it, I told Adam that we must put this on the menu – so we did!
Unsurprisingly, they have become a big hit with our customers; perfect on a warm summer’s day!
Adam is a fantastic chef (I don’t know how he does it!) and not long after we opened, he was soon
developing the menu even further and coming up with even more delicious dishes to offer our customers! I must admit, I did enjoy being the guinea pig and testing out his new concoctions!
Being your own boss is great – we certainly love the freedom it brings to adapt and develop anything we
desire, without having to get permission from someone higher up!
A few months after opening, we had a visit from a lovely couple of customers (so sorry, I can’t
remember your names!) and they came up with a great suggestion of adding boozy milkshakes to
our drinks offering. This really caught our attention and after a few weeks of designing the recipes
and testing them out, we finally got them added to our menu. I think in total, we have re-printed our
menu about 10 times since opening!
The menu has come a long way since January 2023, and our latest editions; doughnut burgers and
Yorkshire Pudding wraps (sweet and savoury), again, all credit goes to Adam(!), we hope we have
something different to offer for everyone.
Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, the business isn’t picking up as quickly as we need it too, and
this is affecting us emotionally as well as financially. We need a plan and fast…
Next chapter coming soon……..