MEET THE CHEF: A true passion for baking at Bath Bridge Bakery in Somerset

Bath Bridge Bakery recently scooped the the title of The Best West Country Baker 2017/18 in the Western Bakery Championships.

They beat bakers and bakeries from the Midlands & Somerset all the way down though the south west to Cornwall to come away with this title.

Not only did Bath Bridge Bakery win the baking award but their trainee Stephen Oparowski also won the Trainee Championship.

For the bakers at the Bath Bridge it is all about using quality ingredients to produce cakes, pasties and bread to the highest standards.

The bakers make more than 200 products on a daily basis.

This results in a bakery that regularly runs 21 hours per day.

They can run the ovens 24 hours a day to meet demand and this was available in the run up to Christmas.

The family run business was established in 1977 and now they are looking to take it to the next level to help it grow more.

The Bath Bridge Bakery has three bakeries open all year at The Bakery at Riverside in Taunton (opened in March 2017) and in Priorswood in Taunton.

There is also one in Bridgwater and the Brean Bakery in Burnham on Sea (opened in June 2017) which is open on a seasonal basis, usually from March - November.

Bath Bridge Bakery is what you would call ‘a traditional bakery’, it makes all the goods it sells on its own in its shops.

Jack Lowe who is part of the family who run the bakery said: “We are very much about producing fresh food every day.

“We defiantly want to use the best quality products to produce the freshest things.

“We use lots of ingredients from local suppliers and we make and bake everything in Somerset.

“We will be selling more than 15,000 mince pies in the festive season.

“Each one is hand made by us as are all our products.

“We hand make our pasties, all of them are hand crimped and filled with meat from local butchers.

“Our steak pasties are our most popular.

“Everyone loves good food and at the end of the day we are a family business and we love producing food which gives people enjoyable tasty food which has been produced locally “We make everything fresh each day. It is a huge endeavour but we aim to achieve the best we can and produce it all at a decent price.”

Jack explained the pasties are made in Bridgwater at 7am and would be in the shop in Taunton by 9.30am.

It meant customers were getting the freshest product two and a half hours after they were made.

Twenty per cent were sent ready to eat while the rest would be cooked in the oven in store.

There are many things in the world which come with the addition of the word man in the title such as man cold, man size tissues but there is only on manchip and this can only be found in Bridgwater.

The manchip is so rare it only appears on a Friday at Bath Bridge Bakery at 6a, Mountbatten House, Parkway, Bridgwater and when it does it flies off the shelves.

The manchip is part of the Friday treats which are made fresh by the award winning bakers at the Somerset bakery.

Jack said: “The Manchip is a pastry with jam.

“It comes from the Second World War when people had to get rid of left over food as there was rationing.

“The manchip is like a fruit Danish but with out any fruit.

“It is pastry with jam.

“We sell over 100 manchips every Friday.

No one else does these and we do not sell them at any of our other shops other than in Bridgwater.

“It is not really known outside Bridgwater and people in Bridgwater like to enjoy their manchips.”

One of the products which the bakery is bringing is gluten free and this would include a gluten free cake range.

This is on top of all the different bread (they can slice in for you if you want either medium or thick), rolls, cakes, cupcakes, fondants, doughnuts, Chelsea buns, Danishes, giant meringues and sandwiches to name but a few.

They also make and produce personalised birthday cakes - all made to order and made fresh.

Jake said: “Our baking team has years and years of experience.

“They all do a great job in produce the items.

“What amazes me is how they turn it out every day.

“It is a credit to them and we get great support from our customers.

“What we need to do changes every day and we are here to meet the demand.”

As it states on the Bath Bridge Bakery website: “At Bath Bridge Bakery we insist on producing only the finest baked goods.

“This is why we are so passionate about real baking that our customers will love....

“”The extensive range includes traditional as well as innovative products that fit each and every occasion.

You can learn more about Bath Bridge Bakery and find out all about the products it makes each and every day by going online at bathbridgebakery.co.uk