Thirty Seven Days

In a nutshell: After several years of deliberating about it, I’m finally taking the plunge and opening a bakery in Chichester. The dream is to have a bakery which sells decadent cakes made with al ingredients, sourced as locally as possible. The perfect time finally came along when a shop premises that has been in our family for over three generations finally became available again. These posts will chronicle our process of getting the shop reading for opening, hopefully in less than forty days.

It’s a complete week until I get the keys to my new bakery. Sigh. Bakery. I’m not sure that’s what I would like to call it. Maybe it’s a bakehouse? Or just a shop. Nonetheless, it is happening. The premises is currently being let to a guitar shop and as of 1st of February, work will commence on refitting the shop. The skip has been hired and scheduled for the first day and I have a friend builder/joiner on hand to undertake the task of revamping the place. It feels like a vomit inducing roller coaster ride, one that plenty of people are asking details about and I am doing this bunny caught in the headlights routine because I honestly don’t feel like I possess the vocabulary to properly come across like I know what I am doing. I’ve had the flooring man come over and measure the shop, working around guitars, amps and belt sanders (the guitar repairer’s). I’ve been chatting to talented artist friend of mine, Samo, who is designing Whipped & Baked’s logo. To those who are looking for something creative and different, which displays the human touch and is a mile away from the soul-less digitised approach, you should really give her your time of day. Hashed and rehashed the topic of commercial coffee machines with Heather of Harrie’s Food who is knowledgeable in all that is coffee-ness and also a great example of an independent business person who understands the worth of the personal approach, the ratio of froth in a cappuccino, the merits of buying a mass produced brand of flour from the local wholesaler (thus supporting a business that employs local people) or going for flour from a smaller independent mill which will require transporting from across possibly five counties. I’ve even been canvassing the viewpoints of my Facebook friends on the subject of selling coffee made with commercial grade coffee machine (significantly sizeable initial cost outlay due to having to purchase the machine) or going down the route of offering a selection of different coffee beans freshly ground to order and made in single serving cafetiere. The jury is still out but I can tell you one thing that I am beginning to get tired off….. The incessant cold calls I am getting from businesses (?scams) which have somehow found out that I am taking over the shop premises and wanting to convince me that I need to do business with them.

There is a stud wall to be removed, flooring that needs to be afforded, commercial ovens to be installed and counters to be built and I’m determined to do all this without the help of a hefty loan from Mr. Bank Manager. The budget is tight, and honestly, SniffSnorters, if I pull this off, I would happily publish at a later date just how little was spent. It just strikes me in this day and age where the word austerity is being thrown about in large measures, it simply does not make good business sense to plough £3500 on a commercial coffee machine, or £2000 on a whoopie do website when I already have a strong following on Facebook and Twitter, or even try to achieve that absolute perfection nirvana because this project just simply would not come to fruition if I allow those to get in the way.

So tune in, I’m hoping to post every day, or at least four times a week. I promise photos for the following posts. I’d really appreciate all the good vibes you can send me and don’t forget to get in touch, or leave a comment. I’ll always respond.