We are keeping a diary of the project as we go along so you can keep up-to-date with what we are up to.
We were hosted by Antonio and Joao Luis today at their family bakery in Battersea. The students saw how natas are made and learned how to hand form the pastry for these as well as how to prepare Portugese bread rolls. They generally got a very good look at how the bakery works. Thanks so much to the family and to all of the bakers who shared their time and skill with the students, and also for allowing us to film their brilliant skills.
We started interviewing today with six varied and fascinating people. Antonio Luis spoke about the Madeira Bakery, a family business based in South London. Alison Springett spoke about her own family history in baking as well as about the history of the Worshipful Company of bakers. The wonderful Michele Wade spoke about the history of Maison Bertaux in Soho and her own role in starting there 40 years ago as a Saturday girl before taking over to own it. Charlotte O’Kelly spoke about her lockdown business to become the much loved Astrid Bakery in North London. Jake White spoke about his jurney from student at the National Bakery School through industry and back to NBS as a teacher. Sara Autton told us about her wonderful and varied career in baking on the science side of the industry, working across many bakeries.
We were hosted by the Weald and Downland Museum near Chichester where the team of curators and volunteers showed us baking techniques through the ages from Anglo Saxon to Victorian with lots of hands on opportunities. The Tudor kitchen, Vistorian bakery and wate- powered mill were particular features. Thanks to the Bakers Company and Craft Bakers Association benevolent funds, as well as the Mseu, for making it possible.
We spent two days intensively training the students in oral history interview skills, audio recording techniques before an intensive session to decide on the themes to explore in the interviews and developing the oral history questions.
We had a good first day which took place at the historic Bakers Hal. We met the students and had a great intro talk from a historian all about the history of baking in London. In the afternoon we had a reminiscence group with several bakers who are going to be interviewed. The discussion was wide ranging from the history of their bakeries, their own inspirations, experiences as well as the highs and lows of their working lives. Thanks to Christopher Freeman, Chris Tomkins, Sarah Autton, Antonio Luis, Charlotte O’Kelly and Alison Springett (soon to be the first woman Master of The Worshipful Company of Bakers in their 950 year history).
