‘You’re a pathetic individual’: Welsh cake boss hits back at racist comments
Nation.Cymru Staff
The owner of a popular Welsh cake business has publicly called out a series of racist comments directed at his staff on social media, defending his employees and telling those responsible that they are not welcome.
“I love each and every one of them and I wouldn’t change them for the world,” said Adam, known online as ‘The Welsh Cake Man’, as he defended employees who had been targeted by racist comments.
Adam runs Cardiff Bakestones, a Welsh cake stall in Cardiff Market, and documents behind-the-scenes moments at the business, interactions with customers, and insights from small-business life.
However, after a humorous video in which Adam asked his staff whether they prefer margarine or butter attracted what he described as “some of the most disgusting comments” he had ever seen, he decided to respond publicly rather than simply delete them.
In a video shared across social media, he read out a series of comments questioning the ethnicity of his employees and challenged those responsible, defending his team’s right to work at the business.
Adam explained: “A lot of businesses who have moderators would delete these comments, but that’s just letting them get away with it.
“We’re not going to let these disgusting human beings get away with it. We’re going to call each and every one of these vile people out.”
Responding to a comment that ‘There [sic] called Welsh cakes not Chinese cakes’, Adam clarified that the business uses local producers and suppliers, and that it “doesn’t matter who’s making them”.
He continued: “I’ve got a fantastic team here, who I’m extremely proud of. And I wouldn’t be so proud of your body if I was you. I would delete your profile picture because you are an embarrassment. Get down in the gym. You need a few Welsh cakes to get the bulk up a bit.”
Other comments questioned ‘Why is everyone Asian?’, ‘So he couldn’t find any Welsh staff to make Welsh cakes?’, and ‘Why are they all Chinese?’.
“We have plenty of Welsh staff here, thank you very much. Most of our staff are British,” Adam said. “We ain’t prejudiced here.”
“If we think you’re suitable for this job, and you prove to us that you’re hard working and you’ve got a right to work here, then we’ve got a right to hire you. And if you don’t like it, people like you, we actually don’t want you buying your Welsh cakes here.”
Later in the video, he continued: “You’ll actually see our foreign staff are a minority here. Yes, we have a few of them here… Four in total out of 15 staff. That’s a minority.
“So, your opinion counts for nothing. You’re a pathetic individual. We never want to see you at Cardiff Bakestones.”
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‘Is that a Chinese takeaway?’ another commenter asked, to which Adam replied, “Terry, you probably live on Chinese takeaways, mate.”
The Welsh Cake Man asked his followers whether he should get a moderator to delete such comments, or “continually address them and call these individuals out?”
He finished by saying: “I am super proud of our team. They are some of the greatest, most hardworking people that I’ve ever come across.”
Commenters praised Adam for coming to his staff members’ defence, with one writing: “It’s vile behaviour. I couldn’t care less who makes them because they clearly do a stunning job.”
Another added: “Always pop to Bakestones when I’m in Cardiff. Best Welsh cakes going. Glad to see they’re standing up for what’s right in these troubled times.”
Cardiff Bakestones was set up in 2001 in Pontypridd by Welsh-Egyptian baker and entrepreneur Jamal El Tagoury and his wife Gaynor, before they moved into Cardiff Market. They now also have locations at Merthyr Indoor Market and Trago Mills in Merthyr Tydfil.
They use a recipe passed down through Gaynor’s family, and cook the Welsh cakes on traditional bakestones “exactly as they used to be made in every Welsh home many years ago.”
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When i started reading this, my defensive chip activated and i thought ‘who do i need to boycott now’? Nothing of the sort i’m delighted to say and suffice to say, if i could clone 50 of me, the wonderful Adam and his staff would have a massive queue at their stall. Not only are he and his staff standing against hate simply by getting on with it, he has struck a blow for good. Adam, you have won my heart and my custom and it’s high time i visited Cardiff market again. Da iawn i chi.
Farage and BadEnoch. They know what they are doing.
Yes. Obviously the former and if the latter thinks that she doesn’t have more purging of her swamp to do, she becomes him so needs to think on. Timothy, Patel, Philp in particular but i have another name in mind. Problem is, it’s hers, the one who needs to do the purging. Will she do the decent thing and have the decency to follow them out? Do not hold your breath.
Cardiff has a long history of cultural diversity and fusion food and long may it be so.
Cardiff Market does it well
Racist comments have grown in the last few years,No coincidence with Reforms rise. Now we hear that with their millions of dodgy funding they intend to launch not only glossy leaflets through all letterboxes., but an unregulated tv channell. All because they claim that mainstream media don’t cover them favourably! We must all beware the nasty, racist commentary that s coming our way soon.
Top man for calling this out and not simply ignoring it.
Gosh imagine being so precious about being confronted by people who don’t look like you. If only we could deport them to somewhere racially homogenous. Like North Korea for example. I’m sure they would love it there.
I love your idea but do the long suffering people of North Korea deserve them?
What is wrong with idiots like these? Fair play to Adam for making a small but substantial stand in this way. I’m a Gog, as is my Mam, although my Dad is a Barri kid and hasn’t been to Caerdydd for maybe 5 years or so; I know nothing about this shop, and Wesh Cakes don’t do a lot for me anyway, but next time I am there, Cardiff Bakestones will definitely be a stop with my family to get some food and to speak to him and the staff if they aren’t too busy. As a side, it’s not… Read more »
Wi’n cytuno da chi abythi’r bara brith bod yn onest haha
I bet all those bigots and morons making racist comment are likely using mobile phones manufactured in China, eating food grown and processed in a plethora of countries with people with beautiful black or brown skin.
More power to the welshcakeman’s elbow and his hardworking dedicated staff. I don’t care who or where you come from. Keep making those delicious Welsh cakes. He, they, represent what’s good about Wales, and those idiots, all that’s bad. Good will always triumph over bad.
I cannot get this picture, constructed only in my mind and never seen, out of it. After a long hard day at a Tinpot Tom hate rally calling foul on all the Ns & Ps, they all disperse, feeling a bit peckish, to the Indian, Chinese & Turkish takeaways – obviously because, just like hypocrisy, you can’t beat it.
There instead of their shows how stupid these people are. Ignorant, illiterate. But they have no idea of their stupidity, probably because everyone they know is thick too