{"id":18616,"date":"2013-11-13T17:54:05","date_gmt":"2013-11-13T17:54:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?p=18616"},"modified":"2013-11-13T17:54:05","modified_gmt":"2013-11-13T17:54:05","slug":"cardiff-character-matthew-reardon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2013\/11\/13\/cardiff-character-matthew-reardon\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardiff Character: Matthew Reardon"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\"Matthew

 <\/p>\n

Cake-entrepreneur Matthew Reardon, 36, has an advantage over his competitors. Not only does he make all his gourmet cupcakes by himself but he is also responsible for the finances of his business thanks to his background in banking. \u201cBefore getting into cakes, I was a personal finance broker and dealt in mortgages and commercial finance,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

Keen traveller<\/strong><\/p>\n

When an opportunity arose for Matthew to travel the world, he left his job as a broker. Whilst living in Australia, he was inspired by a local cake shop in Melbourne. \u201cI was trekking on a very hot day and I needed sugar for energy. I saw a sign for a cupcake shop on the horizon. I bought a cake, sat outside the shop and thought that I could make and sell cakes myself,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Matthew\u2019s grandmother taught him how to bake when he was a child so he was already equipped with the necessary baking skills.<\/p>\n

A business is born<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2011, Matthew opened Cup and Cake Bakery, in Llanishen. He chose to base his business in Cardiff as he wanted to stay close to his Welsh roots. \u201cI\u2019ve travelled all over the world and lived in some amazing places. But I\u2019m from Cathays and nothing beats being back in Wales,\u201d he smiles.<\/p>\n

Alongside the bakery, Matthew sells his cakes on a weekly basis at Cardiff\u2019s trendy St Mary\u2019s Street Market. \u201cThe atmosphere is fantastic and it\u2019s a great way to meet people,\u201d he enthuses.<\/p>\n

Many businesses take their time to develop but Cup and Cake Bakery developed at a rapid pace. Matthew reveals: \u201cI thought up a business name, put a website together, signed up for my first market stall where my cakes sold out pretty quickly and the rest is history.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is easy see to why Matthew is so successful. Not only does he have a good business sense but he has a very approachable manner and friendly personality too. His enthusiasm knows no bounds and he loves nothing more than chatting to customers. He declares: \u201cIt\u2019s important to build a relationship with customers, I like to get to know them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Future plans<\/strong><\/p>\n

Due to the popularity of his cakes, Matthew plans to open a bakery and coffee shop in 2014 in one of Cardiff\u2019s old arcades. There will also be an onsite baking school which will teach all manners of baking. Matthew\u2019s advice to anyone thinking of opening a business is think about it carefully first. He advises: \u201cI would encourage anyone with an idea for a business to think it out and put it down on paper to see if it\u2019s viable and then give it 110%. Also, don’t get disheartened if it\u2019s slow to start.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite his own success, Matthew remains a humble character and believes that it is important to give back to the community. He regularly takes leftover cakes to homeless shelters around Cardiff. \u201cI\u2019ve been very fortunate in my life and I want to do whatever I can to help those who are less fortunate,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Cake-entrepreneur Matthew Reardon, 36, has an advantage over his competitors. Not only does he make all his gourmet cupcakes by himself but he is also responsible for the finances of his business thanks to his background in banking. \u201cBefore getting into cakes, I was a personal finance broker and dealt in mortgages and commercial finance,\u201d he explains. Keen traveller When an opportunity arose for Matthew to travel the world, he left his job as a broker. Whilst living […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":252,"featured_media":18825,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[3243,3244,3245,1053,3246],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-18616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food","tag-cardiff-bakery","tag-cup-and-cake-bakery","tag-cupcakes-in-cardiff","tag-llanishen","tag-matthew-reardon"],"yoast_head":"\nCardiff Character: Matthew Reardon - alt.cardiff<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2013\/11\/13\/cardiff-character-matthew-reardon\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cardiff Character: Matthew Reardon - alt.cardiff\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"    Cake-entrepreneur Matthew Reardon, 36, has an advantage over his competitors. 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