A letter from an artisan baker, dated 1st June 1678.

Cake tins are looking a little worse for wear, am treating with soapy water. I didn’t get it at first. Made a few pies actually…

It’s definitely not a good week for my mental health a certain amount of stuff to remove. With the illness, feeling a bit low, suddenly you see the danger. Quite curious, so removing a lot of debris, should/could be necessary. Would like to get a few measurements before moving on from early phase. In my mind not certain of exact dimensions, and angles, especially sunpath. This is something I came across online, more than in the light room. We had one but never used it. A bit like jay cloths, dusters and washing up liquid until now…

Because it’s that time of year again! Baking begun back in the day and has a venerable history here in the U.K. You’ve probably heard of all the wonderful inventions and santa approved sweeties but actually the industry has a very long life here. Did you know there were bakers at work in 17th century London on a street appropriately called Pudding Lane? This is rumoured to be the place that the ‘Great Fire’ of London broke out in the year of our Lord 1666! Thus Pudding Lane was at the centre of the metropolis at this time and may have been a busy and bustling thoroughfare through the capital, somewhere in the East End, close to fashionable London Fields.

Kingsland Road, is a good location. Work continues today, in the modern factory, which has all the same flaws as the old bakery and none of the baking know-how. So it’s since been extracted from the city presumably because it’s such a fire hazard. I’m cleaning up some old baking trays right now. When I was a kid I never fully understood the importance of hygienic practice in the kitchen, I really just saw the end product as the be all and end all of the baking arts, but I was wrong!

Because actually we need a bit more of a combination between safe practice and kitchen wizardry, two opposing groups that are mutually exclusive in the mind of the formative chef. But the very best kitchen has a secret weapon, in the form of the kitchen porter, who’s role is to ensure high standards are upheld, and to improve efficiency wherever possible. I can tell you in my limited experience many seriously skilled chefs operate at this level, and there are a lot of close encounters as many as with the head chef, in some cases. The heat is on.