Author and TV baker Richard Bertinet has opened a pop-up shop in Bath and is close to securing permanent premises in the city after setting up a new production bakery.
The new Bertinet Bakery pop-up shop opened last week and will trade in the run-up to Christmas, selling the baker’s award-winning sourdough as well as tarts, cakes and pastries. Located in The Podium shopping centre and due to be taken over by Waitrose next year, the pop-up shop will relocate to other, permanent premises after Christmas.
The new shop has opened in the wake of disruption to the company’s wholesale operation during the summer, when a joint-venture partner, which had been providing production space, went into administration. The Bertinet business was unaffected, but had to move quickly to set up its own production bakery to maintain its supply to delis and restaurants in the area, although it is still not able to supply customers in London, including Selfridges. The company is currently in the process of registering its new site for Soil Association accreditation, which is expected to be confirmed in the next few weeks.
"It was a difficult time for us, but we managed to restart production within a week and are now ready to start growing both the wholesale and retail sides of the business," said Richard’s wife, Jo, who manages the company.
Richard Bertinet was named BBC Food Champion of the Year 2010 for his work on bread, and is the author of two award-winning books on baking, Dough and Crust. He runs regular bread classes at his cookery school, The Bertinet Kitchen, in Bath.
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