Gail’s is planning to open up to four new sites in 2013 and launch a recipe book, British Baker can reveal.

Tom Molnar, co-owner of the artisan bakery chain based in the capital, spoke exclusively to British Baker revealing future plans for Gail’s in the new year. It comes at the same time the company has launched its first restaurant - Gail’s Kitchen - which opens on Bayley Street in central London on 21 November.

The firm has confirmed plans to open its first retail bakery outlet for 2013 in Dulwich Village, south London, during March, taking Gail’s store count to 14. 

Molnar said: “Our goal is to open up to an additional three sites in the next year, but it takes time and there’s no pressure on us to open a set amount of stores. People have also been asking about a book, and we started to write one last year but then the restaurant business came up. It’s likely that it will happen though, as there’s a huge amount of public interest for it.”

He added that the Gail’s recipe book would stick to the business’ core offering of bread and bakery goods, including cakes and tartlets.

Gail’s Kitchen, which has been given around £500,000 worth of financial backing, will serve afternoon tea as well as a range of dishes as part of its breakfast, lunch and dinner menus.

"We couldn’t stray too far away from our bakery background, so we wanted to bring bread to the restaurant and show how to use it in different meals,” Molnar added.

“Opening a restaurant wasn’t part of a big strategic plan, we met with a chef who previously worked at restaurants such as Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen, and we found a site and thought it was too big to open as a Gail’s Bakery. So it was very opportunistic.”

The company has based the new restaurant’s menu on sharing plates, which it said has been “inspired by the baker and their oven”, while the décor of the new eatery will feature a wall displaying fresh produce constructed from burnished steel and large white ceramic tiles to create a similar look to an old-fashioned bakery.

For the remainder of 2012, Gail’s is opening two further bakery sites in London - one based next door to the new restaurant in Bloomsbury, and its second on King’s Road in Chelsea during December.

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