Mina Said-Allsopp, 42, from Meanwood has been baking gluten-free goods for the community since 2013
Mina Said-Allsopp has owned Wildcraft for 13 years (Image: Mina Said-Allsopp)
A woman from Leeds is determined to turn her garden garage into a micro-bakery after being forced to leave her beloved cafe.
Mother-of-three Mina Said-Allsopp, 42, from Meanwood, started baking 13 years ago when she was studying her PhD at Leeds University after she found out she would need to stick to a gluten-free diet.
Mina said: “I have always loved baking since I was a kid, and when I was doing my PHD at Leeds University, I started picking wild plants and making preserves, and then when I realised I was gluten-free, I really struggled to find high-quality bakes in Leeds. Baking is not just my job – it is a core part of my identity and where I find peace.”
Starting out in her dining room, Mina eventually opened her Wildcraft bakery unit in 2016, but despite “battling” through hardships – including opening another café unit during lockdown – Mina has been forced to make the devastating decision to leave her beloved premises.
Mina said: “I couldn’t believe I was writing those words that Wildcraft was closing.”
“Baking is not just my job – it is a core part of my identity and where I find peace”(Image: Mina Said-Allsopp)
Mina explained that in 2024, someone approached her about buying the café’s lease. At the time, she was already in negotiations with another buyer and was close to signing contracts. Around the same time, the break date in February 2025 was approaching, allowing Mina to exit the lease without any penalties.
Mina said: “I realised I wasn’t ready to say goodbye and I owed it to myself to try one last time to refit the café, give Wildcraft everything I had, and see if it could truly work in the six months I had left on the lease. If it didn’t, I could always use the break clause and step away.”
However, the buyer kept asking Mina to reconsider, reassuring her “month after month” that everything was going ahead. Mina let the break clause pass, turned away other buyers, and stayed committed to the offer.
Unfortunately, “out of nowhere,” the buyer pulled out. Mina said: “By then, we had fallen into arrears on the café unit.
“When we signed the lease back in 2020, we didn’t have the funds for a large rent deposit, so my bakehouse stood as guarantor. Two weeks ago, the landlord forfeited the café premises, and his next step will be to come for the bakehouse to cover the debt it guaranteed, but we simply don’t have the money.”
Mina explained that the last four years have been “incredibly difficult” with “every penny” from her savings being poured into keeping Wildcraft alive.
Mina said: “I fought to claw my way out of the worst autistic burnout I have ever experienced. Peter left his stable engineering job to support me through everything and fought harder than I have ever seen anyone fight to keep everything together when I couldn’t even leave the house. Mountains of therapy and support allowed me to start to recover, and I got better.
Now at the “healthiest and strongest” she has ever been, Mina is ready for one last battle to save her beloved bakery.
A 40ft garage at the bottom of her garden would provide the perfect space for baking – but there is a catch. Ensuring the space is food space, insulating the area, and installing running water are set to cost around £10,000.
“I couldn’t believe I was writing those words that Wildcraft was closing”(Image: Mina Said-Allsopp)
Mina has turned to the community, fundraising through GoFundMe for one last “fight” to save her dream.
Mina said: “We are also lucky that our kitchen is full of dried goods and there are lots of community pantries around Leeds that have helped us keep food on the table. Once our basic needs are secured, all remaining funds will go toward setting up the microbakery.
“I know this is a lot to ask but I believe in this community. Leeds has walked beside me every step of the Wildcraft journey, through growth, challenge, and change, and I am asking for the community to please walk beside me one more time.”
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