Established some 77 years ago, The Heatherlea is a mainstay of Bangor’s Main Street, proving itself to be a tried and tested destination spot for the discerning baked goods consumer.

Owners Paul and Patricia Getty came on board in 1990, full of “youthful enthusiasm and energy” and have expanded the business to the widely-known brand that it is today, with a café and deli and wholesale arm now part of the core structure of what The Heatherlea offers, as well as the critical and essential skills of its 40 staff.

“Our business is led by our people and our shared passion to bring great bread and pastries to our loyal and expanding customer base,” Paul told NR.

“We have a café and deli on our first site in Main Street and we feel that this enables us to showcase our produce and let our customers see our range displayed in the optimum environment.

“It further allows us to manifest that warm homely feeling that we would like customers to have when they eat our products. Whether they buy directly from us or from one of our local retailers who kindly stock Heatherlea goods, we hope this all leads to a unique Heatherlea taste.”

They opened the café and deli in 1990, with Paul describing them as a “fantastic addition” to the traditional Home Bakery at their Main Street site.

“It is great to welcome so many regular customers daily and we have seen a resurgence of visitors post-covid, particularly ex-pats who love to stock up on soda bread, potato bread and wheaten loaves to take home.”

The wholesale arm of the business is another means for bringing the taste of Heatherlea home and has grown steadily over the last 20 years, with independent stores and major local retailers who share their passion to bring local food to local people, all stocking their beloved products.

“We have a great range with our soda bread, pancakes and sausage rolls being favourites, closely followed by sourdoughs and our ever-popular traybakes, such as Rocky Roads and fruit slices, along with Viennese fingers, snowballs and almond cheesecakes.

“We are always looking for new ideas and the retail environment is a great test for products which can potentially move into our wholesale business.

“New ideas are plentiful with Pinterest and Facebook great resources although when we are on holiday we are always looking for local bakeries to see what they are doing.

“We are also lucky enough to have been left a number of handwritten recipe books by our predecessors, which are fantastic reference points.”

Inevitably, over the past 12 months The Heatherlea has contended with rising business costs, increases in ingredients prices and energy bills while trying to maintain a pricing structure suitable for their customers facing the same cost-of-living battles; Paul added their biggest challenge is staying on top of costs.

“We have switched most of our energy suppliers in the past year and continually follow international pricing of raw ingredient materials and try and bring pressure to bear on our suppliers, especially when we see international prices falling in certain categories and this not being reflected in what we can buy locally.

“There is a balance between what we can charge for a product and what expectations a consumer has,” added Paul.

“Unfortunately, ingredients and energy have both led to price rises and there are some lines which can no longer be cost effectively produced. We do feel that ingredient producers are not always aware of the impact of some of their price rises and how challenged many consumers are currently.”

Rising to these challenges however, is key for businesses, engaging with their customers and building lasting relationships with them.

“We use social media and special occasions such as Mother’s Day, Pancake Tuesday and St Patrick’s Day as opportunities to offer unique product purchases, which we believe help us create regular customers especially when they visit in store and see our range of baked goods.

“Technology allows us to monitor and develop our customer experience allowing us to have the correct amount of goods on shelf at the right time throughout the day and throughout the week.

“We are also able to manage our wholesale operation with the use of handheld portable devices which are cloud-based and all integrated into an agile back office platform.”

The Heatherlea beat off its competition at the 2023 Neighbourhood Retailer Awards, winning the title of Bakery of the Year for an impressive fourth time, a true testament to the longevity and success of the Bangor bakery, and the dedication and commitment of its team of 40.

“We are absolutely delighted to have won NR Bakery of the Year for the fourth time,” said Paul. “It is a strong endorsement of the effort put in by all at The Heatherlea over many years, indeed we have some staff who have remained with us since 1990 and worked in the business previous to us.

“We would like to thank every one of our staff and customers for their support in the past years and trust this will continue for many more years. We would also like to thank NR for the continued interest and support in the craft baking sector.”

TO READ THE FULL HEATHERLEA BAKERY FEATURE IN THE FEBRUARY-MARCH ISSUE OF NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER, CLICK HERE

The post The Heatherlea – a baking institution first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

With its unique name, Lazy Claire Patisserie has been a talking point from the off, a play on words that continues to be a conversation-starter almost six years after opening. Specialising in authentic French pastries, Daniel knew he wanted to stand out.

“I had originally thought of another French sounding name but wasn’t sold on it. I wanted something fun and I knew we would be making eclairs as part of our main offering,” said Daniel.

“So, one night at dinner my partner and I were talking about a name and I can’t remember who mentioned “les eclairs” but when you say it out loud, the French pronunciation is nearly the same as ‘Lazy Claire’. That’s when the name was born and I knew we were onto something that would serve us well.”

Daniel began his pastry career at the former restaurant, No.27 Talbot Street. After it closed, he moved to Paris in September 2012, where he worked at the world-renowned tearoom and patisserie, Angelina. Having battled to get his visa to work, he worked at Angelina until September 2013, when he returned to Belfast and began planning on opening the most authentic patisserie in Northern Ireland.

“My experience in Paris was absolutely essential for our business model. Angelina at the time had at least six locations in and around Paris, so they sent items out to each shop in the morning.

“We were working on a very large scale and that was easy to scale down. But now that we are in our production kitchen, I have been able to expand back up with many of the same methods we used there.

“The production kitchen was always in my business plan from the very start. As I mentioned, Angelina had a massive production kitchen in the outskirts of Paris and I wanted something similar, although smaller! We were very limited in the quantities we could produce in our Castlereagh location and the timing finally worked in our favour to secure the location on the Beersbridge Road.

“Partnering with HSBC for a significant business loan, I fitted out the former butchers’ unit with all the equipment that we would need to increase both our current offering but also introducing some new items. This space allows for all the chefs to work at the same time without being on top of each other.”

Describing the early days after opening as exciting, Daniel added it was also tricky to determine how many pastries to make due to high demand.

“As with any new business we had to adapt constantly and figure out what worked well and what we needed to do better. Knowing that we were bringing authentic pastries to Belfast had been a goal of mine for a long time and the public responded overwhelmingly to what we were doing.

“Our business has expanded steadily over the past six years. Initially it was tricky getting in front of the public, mainly due to our location. But word of mouth spread and we gained a very loyal following and once the pandemic began, we had enough loyalty to keep us going.

“We pivoted from being a sit-in café to offering only takeaways, which helped with recognition since there was a queue out the door! After things settled down again, we continued to increase the quantities we were producing to keep up with demand. It was on the back of this demand that I determined that it was the right time to expand into our production kitchen.”

While corporate orders and catering are available, Daniel said they have no plans to add a wholesale arm to the business.

“We have been asked to supply wholesale from the very start, but I have always wanted to keep our offering in-house,” he explained. “This exclusivity allows us to deliver a very high-quality product since the pastries are made fresh on the day.

“Quality has always been at the forefront of our craft and that’s very hard to control once you pass that on to someone else. Will they store it correctly? Will they attempt to sell day-old pastries? The quality and freshness that we bring would be difficult to ensure when someone else stocks your product.”

With so much demand for the sweet baked goods, innovation is key to help keep people coming back for more.

“The most popular products in the bakery can change from week to week. Our customers are not afraid of trying something new and it can be really hard to pin down what our bestsellers are, especially when we nearly sell out every day!

“My personal favourite is either the Paris Brest, made with our homemade praline paste, or our newest Opéra cake with chocolate and coffee flavours.

“Coming up with new products or ideas can be tricky if I am pretty busy with the day-to-day production. However, I have found it much easier now that I have the space to work on my own in the new kitchen. But that challenge also comes with providing something innovative and that we haven’t done before.

“I try my best not to bring back past pastries, but if I can reinvent a favourite in a different way, this gives customers the flavours that they love. With so many holidays throughout the year, we always have to be on our toes coming up with something new, so I look at pastry magazines as well as Instagram for inspiration.”

With a team of four chefs including Daniel, there are also five front of house staff, all ensuring the smooth running of Lazy Claire Patisserie, with training offered at the start for their baristas to ensure they are all up to speed on customer service and coffee skills.

Their coffee supplier, Bailies also offers a training programme for baristas and that helps ensure that each one is performing to a great standard, Daniel added.

“For our chefs, training is pretty much on a daily basis. There is so much to teach and instruct on, so it’s very rare that they aren’t learning a new skill at least once a week.”

Indeed, with the opening of the production kitchen, Daniel has plans for another exciting development, offering customers the opportunity to expand their own skills by completing a pastry course.

“Our customers have been demanding pastry courses for as long as we’ve been open and I am very keen to offer this to the public. With TV shows like GBBO and Bake Off – The Professionals, the public are intrigued by and keen to know how pastry and baking works.

“I have also had some interest from fellow chefs who would like to learn more advanced techniques, so I would like to explore offering masterclasses as well.”

Inevitably, rising business and energy costs have had their impact, with Daniel saying that inflation and rising utility costs have definitely impacted them, and as their staff are also facing those costs, wages have had to be increased too.

“All of those costs have to be covered and we have to pass those along to the customer, unfortunately. But I have tried to keep those increases to a minimum so that we can still offer excellent pastries at value for money.

“It’s a fine balancing act of finding the same product that could be cheaper with a different supplier. While I absolutely would never use inferior products, I did find that one supplier offered a high-quality, own-brand chocolate at a good reduction in price.

“I am constantly looking at raw material costs and try to avoid expensive items if possible. And if we can make something cheaper than buying it in, then we absolutely will. For instance, we make our own marshmallows, hot chocolate and chai and this can help offset the higher costs of other items like vanilla and butter.”

Daniel added that for him, the biggest challenge is ensuring continued growth and maintaining their commitment to excellence throughout that.

“Many businesses can expand and scale up, but frequently it comes at an expense to quality and corners begin to get cut. Our dedication to high-quality pastries has never changed, but figuring out how to make more in the same space of time and with the same team can be very tricky to manage.

“Technology can assist in only so many ways before you lose the craft that a trained pastry chef will bring. We don’t rely too much on technology and still craft our pastries by hand.

“We do have updated machines to help with increasing quantities, but there is still an element of knowledge and expertise that needs to go into every step. Technology can help eliminate some steps, but it would take a massive production line to come close to the steps needed with most of our pastries.”

And it is these finely-honed skills that has led to some significant award nominations for Daniel, including Top 10 Pastry Chef and Best Chef nominations.

“I have been very honoured to have been nominated for a number of awards. Having my hard work and dedication to the craft acknowledged by respected partners is very rewarding.

“Although I have yet to actually win one of the categories, the growth our business has enjoyed has proven to me that it has been successful and that is the recognition that matters most.”

TO READ THE FULL LAZY CLAIRE PATISSERIE FEATURE IN THE 2024 NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER YEARBOOK AND MARKETING GUIDE, CLICK HERE

The post LCP – a slice of Paris in East Belfast first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Established in 1952, Johnston’s Bakery is a traditional home bakery situated on Scotch Street in Armagh. An institution in its own right, it has been a key part of the city’s trade and a vital part of celebrations in the city and wider district.

In a statement, Alan, Hilary, James and Kellie confirmed the news that they were retiring from the bakery business.

“This time with a heavy heart, we can tell you that the rumours are true. As a family we have decided it’s time to move on and given someone else the opportunity to run this fabulous wee business.

“Hopefully, we can find someone that can drive the business forward and make it as successful as it has been for us.”

Property Link Estate Agents, who is handling the sale, said the well-established business with substantial commercial premises would be suitable for someone already in the bakery trade or someone who is ready to take on a new business venture.

The thriving business is for sale as a going concern, with a shop to the front and hot and cold deli and coffee lounge seating to the rear, along with a large bakery and preparation area.

Following the announcement of the retirement, many tributes were paid to the family on social media, with many describing it as the end of an era and several others wishing them well for the future.

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After 12 years running the café in the city centre institution, Katrina Collins and Cathy Stevenson have decided to centre their attention on their bakery, which continues to enjoy significant growth.

Established in 2021, The Daily Apron won Bakery of the Year at the 2022 Neighbourhood Retailer Awards, while their plain sourdough bread has also won the gold award at the UK World Bread Awards.

Katrina and Cathy’s first foray into the catering business saw them run the 80-seat café, previously called Arora, in Smyth Patterson. Having made everything from scratch to sell in the café, they decided to open their artisan bakery in Halloween 2021, which Katrina described as a “natural transition”.

Since opening The Daily Apron, Katrina, Cathy and the entire team have enjoyed great success, quickly earning a name for themselves as the go-to artisanal bakery in Lisburn.

They have also branched out into the wholesale market, supplying breads, afternoon teas, scones and sourdough to other cafés in Lisburn, Hillsborough and Dungannon, and are also regular attenders at the farmers’ market in Dungannon.

Katrina told NR that as the bakery business has grown so much, they made the difficult decision to step back from their café and are looking forward to exciting developments at The Daily Apron.

“With the growth in our bakery business we have decided to focus our efforts on that side of the business and will be handing over the cafe to a new owner on 1^st August. Ivan will continue to have our bakes and products in the café,” said Katrina.

“We are so proud of all we achieved in the 12 years at Smyth Patterson but are excited for the times ahead.

‘It is our greatest pride to have had our café in Smyth Patterson for the last 12 years’

“As we have outgrown our capacity in the current space, we will be taking on an additional production unit to support this expansion.

“It is our greatest pride to have had our café in Smyth Patterson for the last 12 years. We cannot begin to thank everyone who has supported us, especially Colin. Our girls have been the best team and we are proud to have helped so many on their journey through life.”

Additionally, in their commitment to provide the best bread and pastries to their customers, Cathy has travelled to Canada to gain further skills.

“Cathy our head baker has just started a five-week sabbatical in Vancouver with a French baker,” added Katrina.

“She will bring back her new and strengthened skills to The Daily Apron to share with the team and bring even more delicious pastries and bread to our customers.”

The post Daily Apron owners step back from café business to focus on bakery expansion first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Following a trial last summer of the new concept, called The Bakery at some of its larger format stores, the supermarket chain will begin the roll-out this month.

Introducing six limited edition products, Tesco will also include nutritional information on packaging, such as calorie content and daily recommended allowances.

The supermarket said it was offering shoppers a fresher bakery experience, available for less than what it called “premium prices found at artisan bakeries”.

“Times are changing in the baking world, and we’re seeing the emergence of an adventurous new type of shopper who is eager to try more premium artisan varieties of bread and sweet treats,” said Sarah Donovan, Tesco Lead Bakery Product Development Manager.

“But we don’t believe that shoppers should have to pay high prices for artisan bakery items, which is why we’ve launched a new range of great quality products baked daily in store.”

Among new artisan bread lines being introduced are:

*Tesco Finest Cheddar Boule – 400g – £2.25. Fermented for 12 hours and bursting with indulgent, melted pockets of Vintage and West Country Cheddar and Red Leicester cheeses. Stonebaked for a deep crust.

*Tesco Finest Limited Edition Rosemary and Sea Salt Focaccia – 250g – £2.25. Crafted with a long fermented Italian style Biga dough, made and hand topped with Italian extra virgin olive oil, Anglesey sea salt and rosemary.

‘Times are changing in the baking world, and we’re seeing the emergence of an adventurous new type of shopper’

New sweet lines include:

*Tesco Finest 2 Victoria Sponge Muffins – £1.75. Made with a light and fluffy vanilla sponge the muffins are filled with strawberry jam and topped with strawberry pieces with buttercream enriched with clotted cream.

*Tesco Finest 2 Sicilian Lemon Meringue Pastries – £1.90. A new twist on the classic lemon meringue pie. These Danish pastries are made up of 24 layers of delicious flaky pastry with a zingy Sicilian lemon favoured filling and finished with crunchy meringue pieces and a drizzle of icing.

The chain has also dropped the price of bread and butter across its stores and online as part of its commitment to provide value for customers during the cost-of-living crisis. The move includes reducing the price of the supermarket’s most popular bread, the Tesco Toastie white bread, from 85p to 75p.

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