The Almost Bakery

The series where I build the one that almost existed.

We were very close to opening a bakery.

Close enough that I had menus drafted. Close enough that I’d worked out what would sit in the window and what would sell out first. Close enough that I was thinking about 5am starts and arguing with myself about whether we really needed to laminate anything at all.

And then we pulled out.

It wasn’t dramatic. Nothing exploded. It just became clear… slowly and then all at once that it wasn’t the right move for Gina, or for me.

But here’s the thing.

I’ve already done the work.

The planning, the testing, the costing, the daydreaming. I’d spent months thinking about what our bakery would feel like, what we’d bake, what would make money and what would just be there because I couldn’t resist it. Months of this version of a bakery and years of a long term bakery vision that i’ve had since becoming a pastry chef.

So instead of letting all of that disappear into a folder on my laptop, I’m bringing you into it.

Over the next couple of months, I’m building the bakery we nearly opened - here.

Each week, I’ll share a piece of it. The bakes that would have paid the wages. The ones that look simple but are anything but. The things I’m secretly very glad I don’t have to produce every single morning!

You’ll get the recipes properly, clear, structured, tested but also the thinking behind them. Why something works in a bakery setting. What makes it worth the effort. What I’d change if we were doing it at scale.

Alongside that, I’m going to lean further into the savoury side too on here. I’ve noticed how much you lot like recipes and kitchen insights. So i’ll be bringing you more from inside Gina’s kitchen. More of the “how restaurants actually do it” detail that makes mash taste better, sauces silkier, and roast chicken worth leaving the house for.

And the restaurant essays aren’t disappearing. If anything, they’ll become more deliberate. A bit sharper. The things I really want to say about running this place.

Recipes are what most of you come for. The restaurant thinking is what I can’t help but share. So we’re doing both - properly.

And all of it is building towards our next in-person event at Gina. I’m not ready to give you the full details yet, but it will involve dessert, a room full of you, and a version of the bakery that never opened.

Next week, we start at the beginning and we’ll alternate between restaurant recipes and essays too.

If Gina had opened a bakery, what would we have actually sold?

I’m excited about this one!