Craft, Community & Creating A Better Food System

A Community Craft Lunch at GAIL's Bakery

On a recent summer's day, we invited our community of craft food producers for lunch at our Creative Studio in Camden. On the menu? A seasonal feast, plus conversation about how collaboration and community are key to building the supply chains needed for a healthier food system.

Community Craft Lunch Table

 A baker is nothing without their miller. Or farmer. Or cheesemonger. Or dairy supplier, or fruit and veg grocer. Or chocolate maker, for that matter…. We could go on. To bake is to rely on a village of producers, and we have long thought that the quality of our baking is an expression of their ingredients. As such, we’ve always sourced the best produce we can, from people who share our ethos around what good food is. 

Then as now, we like to select producers the old-fashioned way: over lunch and a chat, perhaps a glass of wine or two. We like to feel a mutual sense of compatibility and have a shared understanding of what quality means beyond just flavour. With this approach, we have relished building relationships with some of the UK’s best producers, and delighted in being able to bake with and serve their goods every day.

But we want to do more. Using our scale, we want to more actively support smaller partners to do more of the good they are already doing in growing, making and caring for food in healthy and sustainable ways. We believe building a better food system calls for collaboration, whereby the growth of our business can be leveraged to support and grow others, creating change at scale. 

Community Craft Lunch Menu
GAIL's Bakery Community Craft Lunch
Community Craft Lunch

To share this approach with our suppliers, we recently invited them for a summer lunch at our Creative Studio in Camden. Represented were some of the UK’s best craft food businesses, among them MOMO Kombucha, Quicke’s Cheese, Lincolnshire Poacher, Daily Dose and Wildpress. Many attendees knew each other already, but strangers were quickly acquainted and connections made.

Sitting down to lunch, it was heartening to see the sense of connection we want to foster with and among our suppliers happening in real-time. Cheesemakers swapped notes, Islands Chocolate shared their experience of growth over the last few years, and Ruaridh Buchanan of Buchanans Cheesemonger reflected on how some of our most-loved bakes (like our ham and cheese croissant) came about through speculative conversations – proof enough that more moments for human connection are needed in our food system.

Looking ahead, we will continue to see our baker’s table, pantry shelves and fridges as platforms for showcasing the best-made produce in the UK and beyond. Only now, with more meet-ups like this, there will be even more to share.

 

Lincolnshire Poacher
Brothers Simon and Tim make a raw-milk cheese using traditional methods and slow maturation at their family farm in Lincolnshire

Quicke’s Cheese
A cheddar maker and dairy led by 14th-generation farmer Mary Quicke, who has dedicated her working life to preserving and promoting traditional cheesemaking

Wildpress Juice
Nadeem and Adamis are on a mission to protect Britain’s biodiversity by seeking out lesser-known apple varieties and partnering with local sustainable orchards to create their apple juice

Daily Dose
George rescues imperfect fruits and vegetables, cold-pressing them into nutritious juices, combating food waste in the process

Momo Kombucha
Josh and Lisa insist on making unfiltered kombucha the old-fashioned way in small glass jars with organic ingredients

Tea Together
Eli’s family business in northern France makes jams and spreads the old-fashioned way, and has been certified organic for over 20 years

Brades Farm
A carbon-smart dairy that uses science and technology to create the perfect milk for coffee

Islands Chocolate
A seed-to-bar maker led by Wilf Marriott whose family business has reinvented the chocolate supply chain by nurturing every part of it

Buchanans Cheesemonger
Our cheesemaker for as long as we can remember, Rhuriah unlocks Europe’s best cheeses for us to bake with

Eaten Alive
Pat is the co-founder of Eaten Alive, which makes fermented kimchi, sauerkrauts and hot sauces using raw vegetables in London

 

Community Craft Lunch
Community Craft Lunch at GAIL's Bakery
Community Craft Lunch Menu

Menu

Fresh focaccia with caramelised onions, Trombetta courgette & Quicke’s cheddar 
 
British asparagus, ajo blanco, mint and Eaten Alive pink onions 
 
Vesuvio tomato, salted egg and pickled Barattieri 
 
Roasted Tropea onions and corno peppers with sumac 
 
Mauve aubergine and tahina 
 
‘Zuni Café’ chicken 
 
Melon, dukkah and feta granita 
 
Toum and tahina for the table 
 
Brickell’s raspberry ice cream buns 

Community Craft Lunch GAIL's Bakery Producers
Community Craft Lunch Menu - Dessert

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Words Charlie Monaghan
Photography Elliot Sheppard

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