Grain and Hearth bakery, Whitstable
We speak to the founders of an artisanal bakery on the Kent coast
Words and images: Skye O’Neill
Whitstable is a seaside town on the north-east coast of Kent. Grain and Hearth bakery was established there in 2018 and has become renowned for its sourdough bread and pastries made from seasonal ingredients, many of them sourced locally from Kentish producers. Owners Carmen and Adam Pagor left their careers and home in London for a slower pace of life on the coast, where they could pursue their passion for baking and create a life based around the needs of their young family and firmly rooted in the community they serve. Having survived multiple lockdowns and restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic, we spoke to Carmen as Grain and Hearth prepares to expand into a new, bigger space…
What motivated you to start a bakery?
Grain and Hearth was established in 2018 when we bought a shell of a building and converted it into a bakery space after leaving London to move to Whitstable. Adam had started baking sourdough after developing a near-obsession with bread following a course at the e5 Bakehouse in Hackney—I bought him the course as a gift for his first ever Father’s Day. After that day he just couldn’t stop, and he started looking for a way out of his library job where he could work more flexibly around family life. I started my career as a paediatric nurse and then moved into health visiting before studying to become a lactation consultant—I wanted to develop my independent practice as a lactation consultant to work around family. Adam started catering for small events and making jams and preserves to sell at farmers’ markets—we would attend markets in all weathers with our first baby Fionn. It was hard work but taught us a lot about running a business and how to build things up step by step before taking the plunge to leave salaried work.
Adam used to make bread for people to use to sample the jams and noticed people were commenting on the bread more than the jam! So he slowly reduced his hours at the library and we gave up our dining room and garage to bakery equipment, which was when he started to sell bread on a wholesale basis around south-east London and at farmers’ markets. Then our little girl Orla arrived—Adam often wore her in a sling on his back whilst mixing and shaping the dough. It got to the stage where we needed a premises, so we took a massive leap of faith and bought the building in Whitstable instead of buying a first home, and left our jobs in London. Then after a huge renovation we opened Grain and Hearth in April 2019. The day we opened I found out we would be expecting a very welcome little third surprise, Alec, who is now almost two!
Why did you choose Whitstable as a location?
We had been visiting Whitstable for a number of years, mainly because it was only an hour away from London. We visited all times of the year—I love the wildness of West Beach in the depths of winter. We loved the feeling of community on our visits and it was the obvious choice for us to move to for a different type of lifestyle for our family. We’ve been here almost three years now and I can’t imagine living anywhere else. The sense of community is awe-inspiring and the beauty even on the school walk makes me feel extremely grateful. There is also something quite magical about having a bakery here—I’ve always seen bakeries as one of the hubs of the community and when I see people in our space I still become quite emotional.
How did you manage during lockdown?
It was a surreal time—we closed initially and furloughed our staff, but after a couple of weeks we had managed to design a pre-order system so we could stay open. In many ways it felt like we had gone right back to where we had started—I was with the three kids at home and Adam was baking alone at the bakery. We had the help of one of our younger members of staff, Briony, who helped with all the packing and delivered bread on her bike to customers. The community really came together and respected the time slots we had devised for safe, non-contact collection. The whole system was hard work but it allowed us to continue throughout those weird times. As some restrictions lifted, we were able to bring back more staff and reopen as takeaway only, with outside seating. The community were so supportive of us trying to navigate the tricky restrictions. It truly felt like a business plan a week throughout the first eight months. We are now in the middle of renovating a second building just in front of the bakery which will allow us to have indoor seating—the original bakery space will become all production.
How does what you do reflect where you live and work?
I think our constant focus on seasonal produce really helps us create the menu, and the close relationship we have with our suppliers, many of which are on the same high street, is really important. You should see the glee when the greengrocers from Staines in Whitstable arrive with whatever produce has just reached its peak. We are very lucky in Kent to have so many amazing growers and farms to source produce from.
Is there a local recipe that you’re known for?
The Whitstable Wild is our country sourdough loaf and is our bestseller by far. Other favourites are the seasonal danishes, cinnamon buns and of course the cruffins (a cross between a croissant and a muffin). The team like to play around with the fillings to keep things interesting. Our eldest two children often come up with some ideas for cruffin fillings, some of which are slightly too extreme!
Can you tell us about some of the highs and lows of starting the business?
Oh, there are so many highs and lows! Adam and I can’t quite believe it when we see people taking the time to visit us and queue on our busiest days—it still feels quite dreamlike. Having regular customers and a team of staff who are so enthusiastic and patient are definitely the things we are most proud of. This pandemic has been the biggest obstacle for us—constantly having to change and think of many things aside from the baking has been very tough going. For me personally, the biggest challenge was having a tiny three-month-old and the two older children to manage alone when Adam went back to the bakery at the start of the first lockdown in March 2020. That was intense. My favourite aspect of the business is being immersed in the area and being creative on a daily basis.
What advice would you give someone looking to start up a bakery or food business?
Be prepared to work harder than you ever have before and go slowly to build a good foundation.
@grainandhearth • www.grainandhearth.co.uk
[First published in Issue 1 of Fieldfare]