Donna has spent 36 years at McGhee’s Bakery. From starting straight from school to her current role in the confectionery team, she’s spent decades hand-icing and finishing some of the bakery’s most loved biscuits.
“My life has always been built around early mornings,” Donna says. “I’m often in for six or seven, and if it’s busy and there’s work to get finished, you stay a wee bit longer and get it done.”

Donna joined McGhee’s on a YTS scheme after leaving school. She’d already worked in a bakery, and a cleaner she knew put her name forward for the role. At the time, McGhee’s was still based on Murano Street.
“I went for the interview with the McGhee family and asked for a week’s notice so I could leave my other job properly,” she says. “And I’ve stuck with it ever since.”

When Donna first started, everyone did a bit of everything. Staff took turns at every stage of the conveyor belt, learning the full baking process from start to finish.
“There were a lot of older people working there then, and you just got on with whatever needed done,” she explains. “Over the years things have changed, and roles are more specialised now. I work in the confectionery team, which suits me fine.”

After more than three decades, Donna says the reason she’s stayed is simple.
“It’s a good place to work, and they’re a nice family.”

Her day-to-day role focuses on icing and finishing — empire biscuits, doughnuts and ginger cakes in particular.
“That’s my favourite part of the job,” she says. “I like doing the finishing touches.”

There’s something almost meditative about it.
“It’s therapeutic. You get into a rhythm, even when you see all the racks of biscuits lined up waiting. Sometimes you’ll look at one and think, ‘No, that’s not right,’ and you do it a wee bit better.”

Seeing the finished product never gets old.
“You look at it and think, ‘Oh, that looks nice.’ Icing the biscuits can be really satisfying.”

The job hasn’t always been easy, especially with early starts and busy periods, but after so long, Donna knows exactly what’s expected.
“There’s a pride in doing your bit properly and making sure everything that leaves the bakery looks and tastes as it should.”

After 36 years, it’s still a place she’s happy to walk into every morning.
“That’s why I’ve stayed.”

People of McGhee’s is a series celebrating the people behind Scotland’s local baker as the business enters its 90th year.