The Pastry Bench needs a Pastry Display & Proofer

On the brink of the next chapter, but we need your help to complete the dream...

The last 16 months have been a whirlwind of baking and delivering all manners of bakes and treats to our local town and villages here in South Somerset. Spreading the love in the form of laminated deliciousness aka Cruffins, whilst making your lockdown birthdays that little bit more special with our bespoke cakes. Our customers and clients have been instrumental in the growth of our business, from baking in my kitchen to moving in to production space and now the next chapter... Our very own Patisserie!!

You know that saying 'it takes a village to raise a child' well also a business in this climate. We have planned, saved and accessed available funds but still have a little way to go, so here we are reaching out to our community to help us get over the line.

Whats the plan?

Phase two of our business is to launch our first Patisserie at the idyllic Jordans Courtyard Ilminster. Here we will be able to expand our offer in the following ways:

• Offer luxury fresh petit gateaux, confectionary and macarons 
• Offer speciality teas and coffees in an exciting and inviting retail space
• Increase our wholesale production, supplying local cafes, coffee and farm shops
• Hold regular patisserie workshops, 1:1 patisserie training 
• Increase our delivery capabilities
• Hold tasting sessions for our bespoke cake design service
• Product development

As a classically trained pastry chef it has always been a dream to open a Patisserie. Offering elegant Cakes, Confections and Afternoon tea, accompanied with a speciality teas or coffee is a life long goal. However moving to Somerset to teach helped me uncover another passion of mine, not only to bake but to share my knowledge and skills with others through education. Having a dedicated space to teach keen amateur bakers, taking the fluster out of the kitchen is key. This space will also enable me to develop training courses and materials for professionals wishing to up skill.

Currently I bake laminated goods such as Cruffins and Kouign amanns as well as tasty macaron treats and choux buns, delivering to local towns and villages. Being predominantly online our delivery service is a unique selling point of our business, bring luxury pastries straight to your table with minimal effort. We supply wholesale Cruffins and viennoiserie to local coffee shops and cafes. Obtaining a proofer will enable us to control the fermentation process and create a more consistent product. This will allow us to upscale production which will be integral to our continued growth.

How can you support?

Your support is integral on our journey to the dream. Enabling us to purchase some key Patisserie equipment namely a proofer to control the production of our laminated goods. And a Patisserie Display to expand our range to chilled petit gateau, whilst also helping us to create an atmosphere which reflects our business values and identity. Any additional funds raised will go towards giving our website a facelift and improving our marketing.

You can help by:

• Donating towards Patisserie Equipment for rewards
• Sharing our campaign and upcoming launch on your social platforms
• If you have ever purchased from us, please do write a review on our Google business page
• Recommend us to your friends and families

Rewards

We will be offering exclusive rewards to show our appreciation. For being apart of our journey by donating from the kindness of their heart, we are truly grateful and can't wait to see you all when we open in the Spring of 2022.

The Pastry Bench

Rewind 18 months and I'm baking in my kitchen spreading a little cheer amidst the hardships of the first lock down. Baking has always been a remedy, release, a joy and expression throughout my life. So it only made sense to bake my way through the year... I mean what else were we going to do!

First I baked for myself, my household, my family and friends until I was baking and delivering to my town and local villages every Saturday morning. Seeing the joy my baked deliveries brought to the local community was the inspiration I needed to finally journey to my life long goal of having a luxury Patisserie. 

From a young age I was always passionate about cooking, so after leaving school I was always clear on what I wanted to do as a career. I trained at Westminister Kingsway and worked my way up through London 5 star hotels and Michelin starred restaurants at a 'pastry bench'. Here, for me everything happened, prep, dish development, service, lunch, numerous cups of tea, laughter and teaching.

The Pastry Bench are all of these elements in one. Patisserie, Bespoke Cake Design and Teaching.

Thanks to my amazing customers and clients who have helped me bake my way out of my kitchen into production space and now we are on the cusp of 'Bricks and Mortar'. The heart of our business has and always will be our customers and supporters, we are a community driven family business. Our growth is a true reflection of community support  and encouragement and we hope you will continually be a part of our journey. 

Keisha and family x