On our radar

 

From artisan cheese to queue-worthy sandwiches, a cult bakery founded by two former bankers and a high-street homewares store reviving the craft of upholstery and much, much more. 

 

Pinkman's Bakery

 

Recipe for success

 

PINKMANS BAKERY

85 Park St, Bristol BS1 5PJ

 

 

IT WAS A shortage of good sourdough and croissants in Bristol’s city centre that led Steven Whibley to open Pinkmans Bakery, now regarded as one of the UK’s finest artisan bakeries. With its modern interior – complete with hanging plants and industrial lighting – and open-plan kitchen, customers can see their brown & rye loaf, seeded ciabatta, or French-style baguettes being kneaded and baked before their eyes, just like an old-fashioned village bakery but on a larger scale. Pinkmans’ is the recipe for a freshness seldom seen in contemporary baking.

 

Whibley opened Pinkmans’ doors in October 2015, a time dominated by bakery chains and supermarkets, alongside head baker, Michael Engler, former head chef of two Michelin star- restaurant L’Enclume. He’d been inspired having spent seven years as operations and managing director at Le Pain Quotidien and then three years as operations director at Gail’s Bakery. Whibley says: “We wanted to find a model where everything is baked on site, so there is a real connection with the food.”

 

He also carefully selects all his ingredients and prioritises sustainability by sourcing his eggs, dairy and flour locally. “We’re blessed here in Somerset,” says Whibley, who doesn’t use any artificial preservatives in his kitchen.

 

At a time when we’re becoming more interested in the story behind our food, the open-kitchen not only emphasises the bakers’ craftsmanship but also ensures a better customer experience. “This is a big statement,” Whibley adds, “because people are prioritising transparency as to where their food is coming from.”

 

This quality-driven approach also extends to the menu, where Whibley chooses to do a few things really well. Pinkmans specialises in wild yeast baking, meaning the entire selection is 100 per cent sourdough. The country cob, a toasted barley porridge bread, is the most popular loaf, but the seeded sour is no slouch in terms of sales. There’s
a range of sweets and cakes, which includes Pinkmans’ signature doughnuts — ‘sourdough-nuts’ — which are individually hand- rolled and fried to give a super light texture, then piped with pastry cream and garnished. The flavours include honeycomb mousse, chocolate pecan brownie and vanilla cream & raspberry
jam, but there are also seasonal offerings — Whibley’s favourite is the lemon brulee shortbread tart.

 

Pinkmans is also a fully-licensed café, and offers a selection of breakfast, lunch, and dinner plates. The pizzas, cooked in a wood-fired oven, are legendary, as is the V.L.T, a crusty vegan breakfast sandwich made with mushroom, marinated aubergine and crispy coconut; as is the soup of the day, which comes accompanied with a chunk of
sourdough bread, of course. The coffee is sourced from Freehand roasters in Cornwall, and there’s also a selection of cold-press juices.

 

As word of Pinkmans’ excellence spreads, Whibley is now contemplating expansion – setting up a second site in nearby Bath is an option, as is opening another outpost in Bristol. But he is not rushing into anything, as maintaining their high standards across a larger framework is key. “We won’t compromise on what we’re already doing,” Whibley explains.

 

Pinkmans has grown the artisan bakery model with an open-kitchen that prioritises service and transparency. 

A baker's guide to a waste-free Christmas

 

CHRISTMAS EVE CANAPES

 

Cut sourdough bread into little triangles, or circles with a pastry cutter, drizzle with oil and toast in the oven until crispy. These make great bases for little canapé-sized
snacks when topped with smoked salmon and cream cheese, or Stilton and fruit chutney.

 

CHRISTMAS DAY LUNCH

Sourdough breadcrumbs help make a fantastic stuffing for the Christmas turkey. Use a cheese grater on leftover loaves to get the crumbs just right.

 

BOXING DAY BREAKFAST

Keep the feasting going with a Boxing Day brunch of epic proportions. Soak old bread slices (we recommend brioche) in a mixture of eggs, cream and a little sugar whisked together. Slowly fry the soaked bread slices in melted butter in a frying pan until golden and caramelised for a delicious French toast. Serve on its own, with blueberry compote, or, even better, topped with crispy bacon and maple syrup. 

Pinkmans

The Hackney Draper

 

Near and far

 

THE HACKNEY DRAPER

25 Chatsworth Rd, Lower Clapton, London E5 0LH

 

THE HACKNEY DRAPER is much more than the name suggests. The independent store, a charming two-storey spot on East London’s popular Chatsworth Road, brims with its coveted range of fabrics and linens, curated and carefully coloured in-house. There are also vintage options, such as Kashmiri crewel work, Kantha and Suzani, which have been sourced from some of the world’s most faraway corners.

 

In there too you’ll find a selection of household furnishings, from Moroccan baskets and rugs to organic soaps and scented beeswax candles. There’s also the highly popular plump velvet and Vietnamese cushions, and a range of eco-friendly artisan interior emulsion paints. It’s an interiors utopia that’ll absorb the hours if you’re not careful. What ties this vast collection together is that it’s primarily handmade and has been designed or sourced by Pat Giddens, a fourth-generation curtain and upholstery maker from Lincoln, England. From her workshop in Kensal Green, Giddens makes bespoke curtains and blinds for some of London’s most luxurious homes, but she decided in 2014 that it was time to set up an East London outpost that would encompass a shop where she could sell some of the products that had caught her eye on her travels. The aim is to become a one-stop shop for setting up a new home.

 

“The offspring of many of my regular clients were starting to buy properties in the fashionable and affordable East London. I would get calls from them or their parents asking me to come and help out because they’d grown up with my curtains, and I started to spend more and more time in the East End,” Giddens explains. “As we looked for properties, the model to provide a whole range of homewares, from clothes pegs and tea towels to bespoke curtains, was born.”

 

The store also serves as a passion project that allows Giddens to present her style while supporting a handful of artisan manufacturers reach a wider customer base. Some of these are based abroad: India, Turkey, Vietnam, Morocco, Mexico, and Hungary are well represented, but Giddens also buys a lot from upcoming British makers. “As well as carrying the old, we’re introducing the new,” store manager Tolani Moibi says. Giddens works closely with each manufacturer to ensure her stock is ethically sourced. She also tries to avoid plastic, over-packaging and harsh chemicals.

 

Bespoke design still forms the nucleus of the business. Downstairs, among the linens, velvets and wools, there’s a consultation space where the team works with clients on turning their houses into homes. They’ve also applied their impeccable workmanship to hospitality spaces. Besides window dressings, which are all unique, Giddens and her team can make fabrics and soft furnishings to spec.

 

“We take a huge amount of inspiration from our surroundings, and we’ll collaborate with our customers to offer what they want,” bespoke project manager Nicole Saba explains. “I like to think that there’s nowhere else like this in London. It’s a totally unique experience.” 

Take It Home

 

The Hackney Draper’s top 3 tips for using fabrics and prints at home this winter.

 

USE CONTRAST TO BE ORIGINAL

Combining contrasting materials often gives a modern and unique look. How about mixing luxurious fabrics with utilitarian fabrics? We like to add ticking lining to our velvet curtains and textured hemp to the backs of our embroidered cushions. Or how about sprucing up your existing curtains by adding a trim, border or fringing? This is a great affordable way to create a completely new look.

 

UP-CYCLE VINTAGE LACE TO CREATE FEATURE WINDOW PANELS

If you have any vintage lace or linen in your home, don’t throw it away, the textiles can be easily converted into window panels. A channel can be simply sewn into the top of the fabric and then mounted in the window frame on slim rods. This is a great way to display beautiful fabric and will give you a completely unique window dressing. We like to do this with antique lace, Broderie Anglaise, or Indian Chikankari embroidery that we sell in the shop.

 

CREATE AN EASY DIY FOCAL WALL WITH WRAPPING PAPER

This is the stuff of DIY dreams: using wrapping paper to create a focal wall. Inexpensive, effortless to put up, and just as easy to remove, all you need is wrapping paper, double-sided tape and a box cutter. Want to make it a permanent
fixture? Swap out the double-sided tape for wallpaper paste. There are some
joyful designs out there that you can change seasonally. We love Cambridge
Imprint, which we also stock in store. 

Hackney Draper

The Independent

 

Going against the swell

 

THE INDEPENDENT

95 Queen’s Park Rd, Brighton BN2 0GH

 

FOUR AND HALF years ago the pub sitting at 95 Queen’s Park Road in Brighton’s Hanover had changed hands several times and was yet to find its groove. Then, in 2015, Matt Russell and James Tippett-Iles turned around the site when they took over the lease, refurbishing the building and placing a kitchen at the heart of the operation. Four and half years later and The Independent has become a food destination in Brighton, bringing in hoards who are looking for fresh seafood. The choice to keep the pub independent has meant that the beer options can change weekly and the kitchen can champion sustainability. We talk to Jen Simpson – the woman on the frontline – about how it has become a neighbourhood pub and their approach to using fresh, local seafood.

 

Why do you think people love The Independent?

We’re a free house, which is quite rare now in Brighton. It’s a labour of love, you are responsible for everything. Tied pubs have their cellar, equipment and practically everything looked after for them. We, on the other hand, are on our own. We started off with a really nice kitchen with loads of great seafood. We’ve since got into great beer: we have 12 craft beer keg lines and three cast lines for ales. It has become a bit of a destination, with people coming here from the other side of town just to eat. We focus on customer service and know our customers really well. We’ve seen them have kids and watched them grow up. It’s kind of like a village pub in the city that way. I think that’s why we have staff here who have been with us since we opened, which is rare in the service industry. I can honestly say it’s the best pub I have ever run.

 

How has seafood become so central to a local pub?

Our fishmonger is located nearby in Newhaven, and we order what we think we need and they go out on their boats and it comes in the next day, to order. We’ve had a few occasions where conditions have been too stormy and the fishermen have not been able to deliver because they couldn’t get out on the water. When we don’t get our supply, we pass that information onto the customer. We think it’s important that people know where their fish is coming from and that they know that we don’t order frozen fish. Our catch comes straight off the boats and part of that deal is that nature can be unpredictable!

 

How do you champion seasonality on the menu?

We only put on what’s in season. Bass, for example, has a really short season. Mussels are a similar thing. Moules marinière is one of our best-sellers right now. We only have mussels on the menu in season, which is from September to March or April. So, if you’re eating outside of those months then you’re probably eating frozen. It’s the same philosophy for the vegetables. The whole menu really changes with the seasons. In winter, there’s more warming food and in summer lighter stuff. We really are committed to sustainability. Our head chef, Sam Ireland, changes the menu so quickly sometimes we can’t even update the website. He will never ask for anything over fished or farmed. He also doesn’t like waste, so we order only what we need and everything is organic and free-range.

 

Menu picks from head chef Sam Ireland

 

MOULES MARINIERE

It’s peak mussel season right now. This dish is mussels cooked in a white wine, parsley, butter and garlic sauce. You can’t go wrong.

 

ALE-BATTERED COLEY

Without fail, every day of the week, people order this dish, even on Sundays. We’ve had to put it on the menu alongside the roast because people still choose it over the roast.

 

MULLET

Locally caught grey mullet served with a chorizo jambalaya is my way of using a super sustainable fish that’s from the area. It may seem like a summer dish, but the fish has a strong meaty flavour so it’s quite hearty and warming for the colder months too. 

Mussels

Golden Hare Books

 

Re-writing the script

 

GOLDEN HARE BOOKS

68 St Stephen St, Edinburgh EH3 5AQ

 

PERUSING THE EXPERTLY composed shelves of Golden Hare Books’ intimate white space recalls the curated atmosphere of a minimalist art gallery. It’s little wonder – owner Mark Jones is a former director of the V&A, originally opening the store in Edinburgh’s busy Grassmarket in 2012 before moving it across town to Stockbridge in 2014.

The independent bookstore has found a like-minded community in the village-like neighbourhood, where charming backstreets are punctuated with plenty more boutique businesses.

 

“It’s about bringing the bookshop out beyond its four walls,” says store manager Julie Danskin of the diverse line-up of offerings, from collaborative events held at local venues to their podcast on recommending contemporary literature. “Whether they’re coming in for an event or popping in off the street to peruse the shelves, we want everyone who walks through the door to have a really positive experience. Because we do so many things, we have a true community hub that offers something for everyone.”

 

There’s the monthly book club at a cosy wine bar down the road, hosted by one of their booksellers in the basement cellar over cheese platters and glasses of red; panel talks at a nearby chapel between international authors, complete with breakfast pastries; and a gift box for newborns including a copy of a classic children’s reads, designed in collaboration with a baby clothing shop on the same street.

 

The Scottish capital boasts a bounty of independent bookshops, many of them opened over the last year. Danskin says Edinburgh is the perfect city for book lovers, having long been a centre for great writing and named the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature. “There’s this feeling among booksellers to collaborate; we all love books and want books to thrive here.”

 

When we speak to Danskin, she is busy putting the finishing touches on their first-ever three-day book festival, to be held across four venues during late October, with assistant manager Jonathan Taylor and the team. What’s the next innovation set to look like? “Our booksellers are passionate and creative – we’re never short of ideas.” 

 

Golden Hare Books

Anderson & Hill

 

On a roll

 

ANDERSON & HILL

7 Great Western Arcade, Colmore Row, Birmingham B2 5HU

 

LOCATED IN BIRMINGHAM’s Victorian Great Western Arcade, Anderson & Hill is in the business of procuring rare and hard-to-find foods from around the globe. Its shelves are bursting with the likes of small-batch Italian olive oils, bottles of unique Marsala wine, as well as lip-smacking conserves; while it’s brightly lit counter heaves with more than 100 different cheeses, charcuterie and porcelain dishes of antipasti and fresh pasta.

 

Each item it stocks is the product of extensive research conducted by deli owner Will Johns. “This shop was born out of a passion for good food. I like to impart my knowledge, and people these days like to know the provenance of what they’re eating,” says Johns.

 

Johns took over the shop in 2012 from the eponymous Mr Anderson and Mr Hill. It was only supposed to be a stopgap before starting his own bistro – Johns has 30 years of experience as a chef – but he fell in love with deli life. “The decade before taking over, I worked nine out of 10 Christmases in a row. Now, I look back and think: ‘Crikey! What I was doing?’ I have four boys back home and the shop has been a lifesaver,” explains Johns.

 

Out of the kitchen and into the frontline of service, Johns also found a love for customer interaction. Anderson & Hill is an opportunity for exploration and discovery and there’s nothing Johns enjoys more than a happy customer returning for more after he has recommended them a unique chutney or a brilliant craft ale.

 

It’s this kind of one-on-one interaction and infectious passion that keeps people coming back. It’s also what led to a cohort of customers urging Johns to take the produce he loves so much and make sandwiches from it all. The lunch menu is short and sharp, comprising of eight sandwiches, three salads and a daily changing soup option. Their sandwiches have become widely considered some of the best in Birmingham’s city centre and on a Friday, an eager queue can be found snaking its way out of the door and down the street.

 

“We’ve gone from doing 40 sandwiches on a Friday to 200. We have to take that on board and we are planning on refurbishing in the new year to make the space better equipped for the lunch trade,” laughs Johns. 

Menu du jour

 

Served in floury ciabatta rolls, Anderson & Hill’s lunch offering is a sandwich seeker’s delight. Owner Will Johns offers a concise menu of eight sandwiches, but he also urges his loyal customers to go off-menu and explore every corner of the deli counter. Want more pickles? Please, go ahead. Fancy a cave-aged cheddar? Just ask. Feeling intrepid? Try the spicy nduja salami paste from Italy. Can’t decide? Opt for one of the best-sellers, which include:

 

THE BAVARIAN

German salami, smoked cheese, gherkins, mayo

 

THE IBERIAN

Serrano ham, Manchego cheese, roasted peppers

 

THE NEW YORKER

Pastrami, Napoli salami, pickles

Anderson and Hill

George Mewes Cheese

 

The Cheese Whisperer

 

GEORGE MEWES CHEESE

106 Byres Rd, Glasgow G12 8TB

 

IF THERE WAS a phrase comparative to the Japanese omakase menu (the ultimate expression of trust in a sushi chef ’s ability to choose for you) in the world of fine cheeses, it would undoubtedly be used by many of George Mewes’ regulars. He has an uncanny knack for remembering what they like and suggesting new ideas. “The other day I had a customer come in saying that he was going up to another customer’s for dinner and wanted to take a cheese she likes along. I knew straight away what to recommend and I think that kind of knowledge is important,” says Mewes.

 

His cheesemonger has become a stalwart of Glasgow’s West End food scene. Opened in 2010, it serves a daily selection of 45 artisan cheeses made by world-class independent producers. It also sells a variety of accompaniments, from chilli jams and fruit chutneys to rare salt-encrusted French butter, as well as cheese tools.

 

Mewes found his passion for cheese after 25 years of travelling the world as a chef. Following a stint as a cheese buyer, he sought the tutelage of the masters at London’s Neal’s Yard Dairy and France’s Hervé Mons. After receiving a serious education from these industry legends, everything from learning about the ultimate conditions to make cheese to the proper way to mature a wheel, the Glasgow native opened his shop.

 

A quick chat to Mewes and the process of eating a simple cheddar or a triangle of creamy brie begins to transform. It’s not just about picking a delicious piece. “An amazing cheese deserves to be treated amazingly well,” he stresses.

 

Visitors to the shop will learn all about the world of cheese: for example, it should be served at room temperature; its taste changes daily as it matures; and even that cheese ‘breathes’ and will absorb other aromas if kept with other strong-smelling goods. Mewes is a fount of knowledge and he makes sure his team of dedicated cheesemongers are too. “We bend over backwards because we love what we do. The best part of the job is seeing people’s expression when they try a new cheese and love it – I think it’s amazing to see people so happy,” he laughs.

 

It’s exactly this kind of reverence and passion for his work that has helped Mewes develop a roster of the world’s best cheesemakers, many of whom visit the shop to talk all-things cheese, as well as a hoard of loyal customers who order from as far away as London. 

Made in Scotland

 

LANARK BLUE CHEESE

Lanark Blue is one of the first blue ewe’s milk cheeses produced in Britain since the Middle Ages. It is handmade on the farm with the Peninillium Roquefortii mould, which gives the cheese its characteristic blue-green vein and ivory paste. In spring, the cheese has elements of sweetness, sharpness and fresh cream, while in the winter it takes on a complex full-flavoured blue.

 

BONNET HARD-PRESSED GOATS CHEESE

This cheese takes its name from the locals who used to make bonnets for the Highland Army. Crafted on a small family-run farm in Ayrshire, Bonnet is made from Saanen goat’s milk. Matured for six months, the cheese develops a thin rind and as it ripens the paste gets softer, smoother and creamier. It has a slightly nutty, herbaceous, sometimes smoky finish with a sweet lemony tang.

 

ST ANDREWS’ FARMHOUSE CHEDDAR

The Stewart family have farmed at Falside in the East Neuk of Fife for more than 50 years and have been making cheese by hand from the milk of their own herd of Holstein cows since 2008. This cheddar is bold, rich and creamy, with a lingering earthy finish that needs nothing but an oatcake to serve. 

George Mewes

Pollen Bakery

 

Rising star

 

POLLEN BAKERY

Cotton Field Wharf, 8 New Union St, Manchester M4 6FQ

 

BANKERS TURNED BAKERS Hannah Calvert and Chris Kelly quietly opened Pollen Bakery in 2016 in a small railway arch underneath Manchester’s Piccadilly Station. Despite their out-of-the-way location, streams of people began happily queuing for hours to get a taste of the bakery’s selection of sourdough loaves and baked goods – their signature ‘cruffin’ becoming a Manchester must-eat. After incredible demand, the pair decided to pack up the archway and head for the cobbled streets of Ancoats, where they have opened a larger bakery with a café. We caught up with them to talk about Manchester’s burgeoning food scene. 

 

You both left banking to start baking, why did you decide to make the switch?

We started baking our own bread on weekends and quickly a hobby became an obsession. At the time, Manchester was very limited on quality bakeries and we realised that the bread we liked to make and eat wasn't available in the area. We spent some time learning how to scale-up from fellow bakers and ploughed all our savings into opening a tiny bakery in an unknown, unlikely part of the city. 

 

How has the Manchester food scene changed since you opened?

The food community in Manchester has grown exponentially since we started in 2016. We took a big risk opening the bakery; we started in a location on an industrial estate and people came, supported us and loved what we were doing. 

 

Sustainability is at the core of what you do, how does it manifest throughout the business?

We work closely with farms, producers and suppliers to be as sustainable as possible. We use Yorkshire Organic Millers’ flour in all our loaves, which is grown and milled in Yorkshire. All the flour we use in the bakery is organic. Our kitchen works with a majority of UK-grown organic produce and all our packaging is biodegradable. We plan carefully to eliminate waste and any waste we do have is donated to local charities. 

 

Your 'cruffin' are famous, they're usually gone within a few hours of opening. What's the stroy behind them?

When we opened, we wanted to try something a bit different so we thought we’d give cruffins a go. Our first attempts were pretty terrible but we worked hard on them. We wanted to be creative so we changed the filling every week to have an outlet for our ideas but also keep it fresh and interesting for our customers. People just can’t resist them and we don’t blame them! 

Bread basket

 

Pollen recommends three loaves for your Christmas table.

 

POLLEN RYE

This is the staff’s favourite loaf. The Pollen Rye is packed full of flavour – sweet, tart and creamy all at once. It is super moist and soft with a paper thin caramelised crust, and will also easily keep for up to five days (if it sticks around that long!).

 

28-HOUR SOUR

A classic slow-fermented sourdough named after the original length of time it took to make from start to finish. Today the process takes less than 28 hours but the name has stuck.

 

CINNAMON MORNING BUN

A fluffy laminated brioche with layers of sweet cinnamon. We coat in cinnamon sugar after baking, so this one is best to serve for a decadent festive brunch or even a cheat’s dessert. 

Pollen Bakery