Quince Bakery - Help us get open!

We are Anna Higham and Paris Barghchi and we’re opening Quince Bakery! 

I (Anna) am a baker, pastry chef and writer  who has worked in restaurants and bakeries for the last 15 years (Lyles, Flor, Gramercy Tavern, The River Cafe, Hamblin Bread). I get thoroughly over excited about fruit, flour, butter and all things delicious!

I (Paris) am committed to representing the incredible people and produce available in the food and beverage industries. With 18 years experience (The Clove Club, Neals Yard Dairy, The Oxford Wine Company, Tillingham, We Are Noble Ltd) in people management, food, wine, sales and more recently winemaking I am continuously fascinated by all things fermentation - something I love to share!

When and where and what

Quince Bakery will be on New North Road in Islington. We want to truly be a neighbourhood bakery. We want to know our customers and for them to know us!

We’re hoping to get open quickly. We would love to be open by early summer, in time for the first british strawberries!

We’ll be making great bread! Country loaves, wholegrain miche and rye breads! We’ll be filling a counter with all the delicious things! Brown butter buns, rice pudding tart, fruit-filled handpies and cookies. 

RELATIONSHIPS

This is a business built on relationship not transaction. Quince Bakery will celebrate the connections we have made working closely with people who take joy in making delicious things with a respect for our environment. 

Our main source of flour will be from Landrace Milling in Somerset. We will be working towards building a system where we buy grain direct from low input and organic farms that is milled to order on Landrace's New American stone mill. As a London based business we want to promote the importance of small scale agriculture as a vital part of our countries economy and heritage. We want to go further than talking about a transparent system from field to loaf but rather celebrate these people and projects through being more than just business owners but committing to being educators and champions.

Our cheeses and dairy will come from our dear friends at Neals Yard Dairy (of course!!). Our summer fruits will all be picked at Maynards Fruit Farm (where else?!). Our wines will come from Under the Bonnet. Our beer from Futtle Organic in Fife. We will be selling products that we think are the most delicious examples of their kind. 

COMMUNITY

This bakery is only going to happen because of community and we’re determined to feed back into community as soon as we can.  I have spent the last year working and visiting bakeries across the country to see how you actually make it happen and open a bakery. All those bakeries have been so incredibly generous with their time, knowledge and friendship. I cannot wait to have a space to welcome them and other bakers. There have been so many points in this journey I’ve thought that it wouldn't happen and I’ve been so encouraged and supported to keep going, Paris and I both want to be that encouragement and support for others coming behind us.

Friends and ex colleagues are supporting us through this the whole way from advising on thickness of bread peels and shaping tables to offers to pick up a paintbrush to help with this Crowdfunding campaign. The communities and networks we are part of have helped us get here and will help get us over the line to opening. We want to be that community for others. We’re working out how to connect with local schools to talk to kids about hospitality as a career, to be a local business young people can come for work experience and as a route to understand how to create truly nourishing food. We’ll be connecting with local food projects to get our bread to people who are in need. 

Paris and I have been working in hospitality for years, we have worked in those harsh fine dinings spaces, we’ve worked in businesses that wanted to do better. We’ve seen so many businesses put off figuring out the people side of things until the kitchen is built or the menu is sorted. We want to build a business that is truly people forward from the start; from having our parental leave policy worked out from the beginning to building our menu so that production is achievable and pleasurable for our small team to our set periods of closure in the year. We want to build a business model that is sustainable for ourselves, the people we employ and the people we feed. 

We’ll be building community by hosting events and workshops. Inviting bakers and makers we love to share their passion through dinners, book events, wine tastings and so many fun events.

WHAT WILL THE ‘DOUGH’ GO TOWARDS?

Your support will help us turn the space into a fully functioning bakery! It will pay for a new floor, paint and tiles on the walls, a huge shaping table, work benches and fridges and even the shelves to put our bread on. 

THANKS!!! We can't wait to welcome you into Quince!