One of Scotland’s oldest bakery firms has rescued a regular treat for an autistic Tayside youngster to keep normality in the life of the 10-year-old during lockdown.
The 123-year-old Goodfellow and Steven business came to the aid of Montrose youngster Connor Lawless after receiving an email from his mum who feared her son might miss out on his weekly Belgian biscuit.
Mum Louise is a regular at the firm’s High Street shop in the Angus town and told the company: “This may seem rather trivial during the current climate but it is very important to my son.
“He is 10-years-old and has ADHD and autism, and every Friday I go to my local Montrose store and buy him a Belgian biscuit as a treat.
“He is now panicking as we might not be able to get one this week.”
Louise asked Goodfellows if they could help her out with a recipe for the cinnamon biscuit so she could try to make them at home until the pandemic passed.
However, the company’s production director Rob Sinclair went one better to ensure a special weekly delivery to keep Connor supplied with his top treat.
“Rather than just send her the recipe, we made a very small batch of Connor’s favourite and now we send her two Belgian biscuits to the shop each week so that he can continue with his routine.”
Belgian biscuits had been one of the products temporarily dropped from the firm’s pandemic production list, but Mr Sinclair said: “It’s important during these difficult times that we must not forget that for some people it’s the very small things that matter.
“If we can help a 10-year-old boy who may not be fully aware of what is going on in the world today and keep a little bit of normality in his life then it’s a win for everyone.”
Mum Louise said she could not thank the shop staff enough for their special effort.
“I look forward to my Friday trip to collect his Belgian biscuits and have a wee blether with (shop manager) Helen. It is very much appreciated.”
Founded in Broughty Ferry in 1897, Goodfellow & Steven has kept open its shops across Tayside during the crisis, as well as maintaining supply contracts with Scotmid and Co-op stores.
Mr Sinclair said every aspect of business, from production to delivery, had been reviewed to ensure the safety of staff and customers.
“All these procedures are under review daily and I will change as and when required to ensure we are all safe,” he added.
