Customers have travelled hours to Glynneath to queue for the artisan masterpieces from Ben and Sam Sherwin’s doughnut emporium. But when they welcomed an extra-sweet new member to the family last summer they came to a crossroads – continue to grow That Doughnut Place, or scale down and simplify? Keren Williams spoke to the couple.
Ben and Sam Sherwin have come a long way since they started out making doughnuts in a makeshift kitchen at Sam’s stepdad’s chippy. With no previous baking background, the popularity of their idea blew their minds. “It’s our own original recipe that we created ourselves,” says Sam. “All made from scratch with no preservatives, which is why we say they’re best eaten fresh on the day.”
The couple quickly expanded into a hole-in-the-wall shop in Glynneath, named That Doughnut Place, and have since grown even further, upgrading locations twice before settling in a high street building named The Square. However, despite their incredible success, the difficult decision to scale down and close as a regular doughnut shop has been made. With a baby boy now in the mix, Ben says, “We needed to make sure we had the right balance for us as a family.”
“We could push ourselves to the limit when it was just us,” adds Sam, “but because we have him now, we were like, ‘why are we doing this to ourselves?’ It was just getting so busy, growing, and going in the right direction, which was great – but with all of that came a lot of weight on our shoulders.”
This, though, is very much not the end of That Doughnut Place. Ben and Sam are taking a less-is-more approach for the sake of their son, themselves and the business alike, and regarding the latter, the big focus for 2025 is the launch of an exciting new product: hot, hand-stretched doughnuts they’ve called Doh Bois. This new street food went down a treat at the soft launch back in January, after being on the backburner for three years.
A Doh Boi’s dough is stretched, fried and rolled in sugar, before being smothered in some truly tasty toppings. Served warm, TDP recommend it’s eaten straight away, and is sure to have people following the duo from food market to food festival across Wales. And this isn’t their only street food – Ben and Sam also make deconstructed crumble and custard. But what about their craft doughnuts?
“We’re doing less doughnut days,” says Ben, “but giving better opportunities for people to get exactly what they want.” Customers will be able to get their doughnut fix twice a month at The Square which, as well as being the home to TDP, is also a functional event and pop-up venue available for hire; it’s got a fully stocked wine and cocktail bar and makes a point of championing other Welsh vendors.
The first pop-up will be a pre-order-only event via the TDP website that will align with special occasions, such as Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and Easter. And the second pop-up is a walk-in only Saturday exclusive, where doughnuts will be served on a first-come-first-served basis.
Doughnut consumers, be they avid or aspiring, can also expect to find TDP pitching up at Swansea Bay Market on the first Sunday of each month. Here, some of the flavours may include Bueno (their overall best seller), birthday cake (Ben’s favourite), white chocolate and raspberry (Sam’s favourite), something the pair brand Not Milkybar (my personal favourite) and sprinkles (Homer Simpson’s favourite).
As for The Square, it’ll be hosting pop-ups with new food vendors, giving sweet-toothed folk of the Neath area a chance to sample other talented foodie creators’ wares. Swansea-based Famished Bakehouse recently took over the kitchen for a day serving freshly baked cookies and ice cream, and the sell-out success has guaranteed their return.
That Doughnut Place, The Square, Glynneath.
Info: thatdoughnutplace.co.uk / visitthesquare.co.uk
words KEREN WILLIAMS
