Fruit Desserts, Cakes & Bread
Good bread is not always easy to find; modern commercial baking seems to be all about making bread as quickly and cheaply as possible. I have listed some bakeries that fly in the face of ‘progress’, and stick to traditional, laborious methods of producing bread; the bread they bake is a far cry from the fluffy, sliced loaves we are often offered in large food stores.
A good dessert often calls for high quality fruit, but where can you buy really fresh, tasty apples that haven’t been shipped from the other side of the world, or old-fashioned plums and quinces? Finding a good local farm shop or PYO can often solve these problems, and we have listed some here.
Ryton Organic Gardens
Ryton on Dunsmore, Coventry CV8 3LG
Tel: 02476 303517
Website: http://www.hdra.org.uk/
National Centre of Organic Gardening, and headquarters of the Henry Doubleday Research Association and Heritage Seed Library. Hundreds of different varieties of apple; also unusual varieties of fruit and vegetables, all available through the weekly box scheme.
Billingtons Sugar
The Billington Food Group, The Cunard Building, Liverpool L3 1EL
Tel: 0151 243 9001 Fax: 0151 243 9011
Website: http://www.billingtons.co.uk/ E-mail: bfg@billingtons.co.uk
Billingtons sugar is available from Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Safeway, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Co-op.
Baker & Spice
41 Denyer Street, London SW3 2LX
Tel: 020 7589 4734
(also)
75 Salusbury Road, Queens Park, London NW6 6NH
Tel: 020 7604 3636
Traditional breads, baked the old-fashioned way with no additives. No mail order.
Sally & Clarkes
122 -124 Kensington Church Street, London W8 4BH
Tel: 020 7229 2190 Fax: 020 7229 4564
Website: http://www.sallyclarke.com/ E-mail: shop@sallyclarke.com
Great range of traditional British and Continental breads, from the chef Sally Clarke’s shop. All baked without artificial colours, preservatives or improvers. Also available from Carluccios, Selfridges and Harvey Nichols.
De Gustibus
53 Blandford Street, London W1H 3AF
Tel: 020 7486 6608
(also)
4 Southwark Street, SE1 0JE
Tel: 020 7407 3625
(also)
53-55 Carter Lane, EC4V 5AE
Tel: 020 7236 0057
A fantastic range of European and Mediterranean breads, all hand-made with traditional ingredients. The dough is allowed to mature slowly; they even make a 6-day sour dough - the dough is fermented for a full 6 days before baking. De Gustibus hold several national awards for their bread.
Poilane
46 Elizabeth Street, London SW1W 9PA
Tel: 020 7808 4910
Website: http://www.poilane.fr/
French bakery famous for their sour dough, baked on-site in a wood and brick oven, an exact copy of a Roman bread oven. Available from numerous London delis; call for details.
Rococo Chocolates
321 Kings Road, London SW3 5EP
Tel: 020 7352 5857 Fax: 020 7352 7360
Website: http://www.rococochocolates.com/ E-mail: web@rococochocolates.com
Valrhona and organic ‘couverture’ chocolate, hand made chocolates, and organic artisan bars. Mail order available.
El Rey Chocolate
123 Buspace Studios, Conlan Street, London W10 5AP
Tel: 020 7854 7770 Fax: 020 7854 7772
Website: http://www.elrey.co.uk/ E-mail: info@elrey.co.uk
Venezuelan chocolate from single bean cocoa, a rival to Valrhona in terms of quality. Six different kinds available, varying from 41 per cent cocoa content to 73.5 per cent. Available from Waitrose, Safeway and many delicatessens.
Hobbs House Bakery
39 High Street, Chipping, Sodbury, Bristol, BS37 6BA
Tel: 01454 317525
(also)
4 George Street, Nailsworth, Gloucestershire
Tel: 01453 839396Website: http://www.hobbshousebakery.co.uk/ E-mail: clive@hobbshousebakery.co.uk
Award-winning baker’s, with a huge variety of breads, including excellent sour dough. Clive Wells runs the Chipping Sodbury branch, while his son, recently named Baker of the Year, runs the Nailsworth branch. Many outlets in the South West, and also available via mail order.
Arbutus Bread
Rathdene, Montenotte, Cork, Eire
Tel: (021) 450 1113
Featured on 'Food Heroes', Declan Ryan of Arbutus Bread is an artisan baker, making some unusual loaves, but also some traditional varieties, like the West Cork Brown Soda bread. Find his bread at Midleton, Bantry, Kenmare, Clonakilty and Macroom farmers markets, or at On The Pig's Back at Cork English Market.
Constantine Stores Ltd
30 Fore Street, Constantine, Falmouth, Cornwall TR11 5AB
Tel: 01326 340226 Fax: 01326 340182
Website: http://www.drinkfinder.co.uk/ E-mail: sales@drinkfinder.co.uk
More whiskies than you knew there were, and rare, aged sherries. Mail order available; delivery from £6.95. Barbara Lake Priors Coads Green Launceston Cornwall PL15 7LT Tel: 01566 782547 Traditionally made cream, available from Barbara herself or from local outlet; call for details.
Trewithen Farm Foods
Greymare Farm, Lostwithiel, Cornwall PL22 0LW
Tel: 01208 872214 Fax: 01208 873693
Website: http://www.cornishdairy.co.uk/ E-mail: greymarefarm@aol.com
Clotted cream, butter and buttermilk made from milk from the farm’s own cows, which are fed on feed made from the farm’s own crops, using traditional methods. Mail order available.
Boddington's Berries
The Ashes, Tregony Hill, Mevagissey, Cornwall PL26 6RQ
Tel: 01726 842346 Fax: 01726 842549
Website: http://www.boddingtonsberries.co.uk/ E-mail: info@boddingtonsberries.co.uk
Strawberry specialists, growing different varieties to create a very long growing season. The strawberries are sweeter than most, due to a full, slow ripening process (the sea breezes allow the berries to ripen slowly, allowing the sugar to develop properly). Available from the farm shop May to September, with pick-your-own available in July and August.
H. M. Pearce (The Bakery)
Station Road, Kelly Bray, Nr Callington, Cornwall PL17 8ER
Tel: 01579 383362
For Michael Pearce’s famous Saffron cake. No mail order.
The Cartmel Sticky Toffee Pudding Co.
Cartmel Village Shop, The Square, Cartmel, Cumbria LA11 6QB
Tel: 015395 36201
Website: http://www.stickytoffeepudding.co.uk/
The home of gooey comfort food! Featured on 'Food Heroes', the Cartmel Sticky Toffee Pudding Co specialise entirely in this one pudding, and they have made it into a fine art. Available by mail order.
The Westmorland Damson Association
Crosthwaite, Kendal, Cumbria LA8 8HS
Tel: 015395 68246
Website: http://www.damsons1.demon.co.uk/
Find out all about the Crosthwaite Damson Day that Rick visited in Cumbria through the Westmorland Damson Association, an organisation aiming to preserve the historic damson orchards around the Lyth Valley. Held every year in spring, the Damson day takes place in the orchards at blossom time.
Country Fare
Dale Foot, Mallerstang, Kirkby, Stephen, Cumbria CA17 4JT
Tel: 01768 372519
Diane Halliday, who was featured on 'Food Heroes', has a simple approach to her cake making business - she makes the kinds of cakes she herself loves to eat. They make a big and ever-expanding range, and also offer pickled damsons, a traditional Cumbrian delicacy.Find the cakes at many Cumbrian farmers markets - call for details.
The Village Bakery
Melmerby, Penrith, Cumbria CA10 1HE
Tel: 01768 881811
Website: http://www.village-bakery.com/ E-mail: info@village-bakery.com
Totally organic bakery, with a wide range of bread varieties, including some suitable for people with yeast and wheat intolerances. Available mail order, and also from Waitrose and Sainsbury’s.
Dorset Blueberry Company
Church Cottage, 352 Hampreston, Wimborne, Dorset BH21 7LX
Tel: 01202 579342 Fax: 01202 579014
Website: http://www.dorset-blueberry.com/
Many varieties of blueberry, available as fresh fruit, or as juice, jams, sauce and pies. Available via mail order, from the farm shop, from farmers’ markets in Dorset, Hampshire and London, or from Marks and Spencer.
Cyrnel Bakery Ltd
Lower Road, Forest Row, East Sussex RH18 5HE
Tel: 01342 822283
Huge variety of breads, some organic, made with local flour. Cakes are made with local free-range eggs. Available from several Sussex farmers’ markets; call for details.
W. & H. Marriage & Sons Ltd
Chelmer Mills, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 1PN
Tel: 01245 354455
Flour traditionally milled from Canadian wheat. 15 varieties are available, some certified organic. Available from health food shops across the UK.
Clay Barn Orchard
Fingringhoe, Colchester, Essex CO5 7AR
Tel/Fax: 01206 735405
Quinces available via mail order (when in season - from beginning of October).
The Food Company
London Road, Marks, Tey Colchester, Essex CO6 1ED
Tel: 01206 214000 Fax: 01206 214019
Website: http://www.thefoodcompany.co.uk/ E-mail: info@thefoodcompany.co.uk
A large food shop with twelve departments, including a bakery, a fishmonger, a butcher and green grocery. The company mission is to get as far away from manufactured and processed packaged foods as possible. Traceability and freshness are key concepts for the Food Company. The bakery section produces traditional and unusual breads - some you may never have heard of - all baked traditionally on the premises.
Park Fruit Farm
Pork Lane, Great Holland, Nr Frinton-on-Sea, Essex
Tel: 01255 674621
Website: http://www.parkfruitfarm.co.uk/ E-mail: s.elsworth@farmline.com
Pick-your-own farm (also has ready-picked fruit), with 40 varieties of apple, 10 varieties of plum, pears and raspberries (also frozen raspberries out of season). Wet walnuts, local untreated honey, cider vinegar and vegetables, all grown on the farm or sourced locally. No mail order.
Wilkin & Sons
Tiptree, Essex CO5 0RF
Tel: 01621 815407 Fax: 01621 814555
Website: http://www.tiptree.com/ E-mail: info@tiptree.com
Mulberry jam, available from most supermarkets. Wilkin & Sons have less than 20 mulberry trees, which are all very old; mulberry trees often don’t bear fruit for the first 20 years. There is a tea room on site.
Three Ways House
Mickleton, Chipping, Campden, Gloucestershire GL55 6SB
Tel: 01386 438429 Fax: 01386 438118
E-mail: threewayshouse@puddingclub.com
The Authentic Bread Company
Strawberry Hill, Newent, Gloucestershire GL18 1LH
Tel: 01531 828181 Fax: 01531 828151
Website: http://www.authenticbread.co.uk/ E-mail: info@authenticbread.co.uk
Organic, traditionally baked bread, including rye bread, walnut bread, spelt and Continental varieties. Authentic Bread say that ‘taste rather than cost is paramount’. No flour improvers are used; the dough is allowed to ferment naturally twice, a time-consuming process that most commercial bakers won’t use. Winner of many national awards.
Shipton Mill
Long Newnton, Tetbury, Gloucestershire GL8 8RP
Tel: 01666 505050 Fax: 01666 504666
E-mail: jlister@shipton-mill.com
Old-fashioned stone-ground flour from a water-powered mill. Shipton Mill produce 60 varieties of mainly organic flour, which complement traditional breads - the grist is matured for longer for a more rounded flavour. There are some varieties of flour produced here that are otherwise very difficult to get hold of. Available via mail order; call and ask for Flour Direct. Shipton Mill will also provide advice for home bakers.
Durleigh Marsh Farm Shop
Durleigh Marsh Farm, Rogate Road, Petersfield, Hampshire GU31 6AX
Tel: 01730 821626 Fax: 01730 821581
E-mail: grange@ukgateway.net
Farm shop and pick-your-own strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and asparagus.
Court Farm
Tillington, Burghill, Herefordshire HR4 8LG
Tel: 01432 760271
Great range of pick-your-own and ready-picked soft fruit, including blueberries, cherries, raspberries and redcurrants. Asparagus is also available.
Brogdale Horticultural Trust
Brogdale Road, Faversham, Kent M13 8XZ
Tel: 01795 535286 Fax: 01795 531710
Website: http://www.brogdale.org.uk/ E-mail: info@brogdale.org.uk
Home to the National Fruit Collections, with literally hundreds of varieties of apple; also mulberries, blueberries, raspberries and nuts. Maintaining the diversity of species is the guiding objective.
Artisan Bread
Units 16-17, John Wilson Business Park, Whitstable, Kent CT5 3QZ
Tel: 01227 771881 Fax: 01227 278661
Website: http://www.artisanbread.ltd.uk/
Artisan Bread mill their own grain to make flour, often using unusual varieties of grain. No yeast or tap water is used (only spring water) and less salt. This is the UK’s first biodynamic bakery, where a holistic approach is taken to bread - from health to the impact on the environment to maintaining the biodiversity of the ingredients used. The range of loaves is impressive, including unusual choices like the galangal rice bread, and the four seasons bread, stuffed with vegetables. Mail order available.
North Elmham Bakery
Eastgate Street, North Elmham, Dereham, Norfolk NR20 5HD
Tel: 01362 668548 Fax: 01362 668577
Run by a baker obsessed by freshness and the baking of bread in the old-fashioned way, without additives. The owner, Norman Ollie, is a tireless campaigner for ‘real bread’. Many outlets in Norfolk; call for details.
The Chocolate Society
Clay Pit Lane, Roecliffe, Nr Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire YO51 9LS
Tel: 01423 322230
(also)
36 Elizabeth Street, London SW1W 9NZ
Tel: 020 7259 9222
Website: http://www.chocolate.co.uk/ E-mail: info@chocolate.co.uk
All varieties of Valrhona chocolate, hand made truffles, and everything a chocoholic could want. The London branch has a chocolate-themed café.
Davills Patisserie
24 Westgate Ripon, North Yorkshire HG4 2BQ
Tel: 01765 603544
Featured on Food Heroes, Davills are an artisan bakery, specialising in a regional treat - Yorkshire Curd Tart.
Plaisir du Chocolat
251-253 Canongate, Edinburgh, Scotland EH8 8BQ
Tel: 0131 556 9524 Fax: 0131 556 6553
E-mail: sales@plaisirduchocolat.co.uk
High-quality chocolate, including Valrhona and Michel Cluizel couverture, and a great range of hand made truffles. Mail order available.
Gourmet's Lair
8 Union Street, Inverness, Scotland IV1 1PL
Tel: 01463 225151
Website: http://www.gourmetslair.co.uk/
Great selection of artisan foods from around the UK and abroad. Well over 100 varieties of cheese.
Adamson's Bakery
12 Routine Row, Pittenweem, Scotland KY10 2LG
Tel: 01333 311336 Traditional Scottish oatcakes, also available at Neal’s Yard Dairy in London, and Iain Mellis in Edinburgh and Glasgow (see their entries in the cheese section).
Bankhead of Kinloch
Meigle, Tayside, Scotland PH12 8QY
Tel: 01828 640265 Fax: 01828 640687
Tayside raspberries - the finest raspberries in Britain are said to come from Tayside. Pick your own, or buy them ready-picked from the farm shop, in July and August.
The Fruit Garden
Groesfaen Road, Peterston-Super-Ely, Cardiff, South Glamorgan
Tel: 01446 760358
Specialist soft fruit growers, including 18 varieties of strawberry. The Fruit Garden continually experiment with varieties to achieve the best flavour. Pick-your-own and ready-picked available, and suppliers from The Fruit Garden attend many local farmers’ markets; call for details or look at http://www.sewafm.org.uk/. Also available is home-made, high-quality ice cream.
Essington Fruit Farm
Bognop Road, Essington, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire WV11 2BA
Tel: 01902 735724
Farm-shop sales and pick-your-own soft fruit, including blueberries; also potatoes, leeks and other vegetables. Essington Fruit Farm carefully selects fruit and vegetable varieties for maximum flavour, often using old-fashioned varieties. The blueberries are only available in July and August, but freeze well.
Oldroyd & Sons
Ashfield House, Main Street, Carlton, Wakefield WF3 3RW
Tel: 0113 282 2245
Farm-gates sales of traditionally produced champagne rhubarb.
Tony's Bakery
1 Peel Street, Kidderminster, Worcestershire DY11 6UG
Tel: 01562 636463
Tony’s use recipes going back 130 years, and hand-make their bread without help from machines. Customers can see their bread being made in the open kitchens. The resulting quality is such that customers will travel from larger neighbouring towns just for the bread.
