Ross Baxter making delicious French macaroons
Scrumptious cakes and traditional artisan bread are flying off the shelves at The Bakery in Dunbar as Ross Baxter, one of Scotland’s brightest young talents in baking, steps in to take charge.
Ross, 28, won the accolade of Scottish Patissier of the Year in 2011, when he was working as Head Pastry Chef at Greywalls Hotel in nearby Gullane. His previous experience incudes working under Michelin Star chefs Albert Roux and Michael Caines.
Ross joined Dunbar’s Community-owned bakery in April and is now running the small but dynamic East Lothian business as Head Baker and Business Manager.
He has already widened the range of fresh produce baked on the premises to include a new range of luxury cakes and tarts.
Alongside The Bakery’s flagship Belhaven loaf – a brown wholemeal loaf made with beer from the local brewery – the shop is now selling mouthwatering treats such as raspberry and lemon cream tarts, dark chocolate and hazelnut eclairs and roasted vanilla pineapple and coconut cake.
These are attracting foodies from far and wide, including the 286 patisserie enthusiasts who follow Ross on Twitter @RossPatissier.
Ross said: “This is an exciting chance for me to run a business that serves the local community by producing top quality bread, cakes, pies and savouries at affordable prices. Three assistant bakers who are already working in The Bakery will shortly start on apprenticeships. We are committed to investing in the professional development of all our staff.”
The Bakery is owned by Dunbar Community Bakery, a co-operative owned by 476 shareholders. Most are local residents and regular customers. All are entitled to a 10% discount on goods purchased.
The Bakery opened on Dunbar High Street in October 2011 to fill a gap left by the closure of the town’s last home bakery three years earlier.
Jane Wood, the Chairperson of Dunbar Community Bakery, said the business was now finding its feet and was establishing a strong niche market.
“The arrival of Ross has enabled us to take a huge leap forward in terms of the quality and the variety of what we produce. Ross and his team will ensure we consistently maintain the quality of all the goods in our product range, ensuring that all our ingredients are free of artificial additives,” she said.
Polish baker Dariusz Pawlowski heads up the night shift that produces most of the bread, including a splendid range of Polish style sourdough loaves.
The Bakery will soon start to offer an extended range of savoury pies, tarts, quiches and other treats as Czech savouries specialist Pavel Broz, a former colleague of Ross at Greywalls Hotel, joins the team in May.
Commenting on the new product range, Jane Wood said:
“People are coming from across Scotland to sample our produce and see how a community bakery can work as a sustainable business, turning out top quality goods.
Our bread and cakes are hand-made with the finest ingredients. That is why they cost more to make than the sort of bakery goods that you find on supermarket shelves. But this quality, and our customer service, is how we differentiate ourselves in the market place. As a social enterprise it is critical that our business model is sustainable so we can deliver the community benefit that we pledged at the start of this journey ”
