Life getting sweeter for patisserie boss

A patisserie in Bath has celebrated its first anniversary - despite opening a week before lockdown.

Owners Fang-yu Lin, 34, and Neil Edwards 37, opened Sugarcane Studios on Grove Street on October 22, 2020, but had to switch to takeaways and online orders within days because of the second government lockdown.

Fang-yu Lin, inset, said despite it all, the year had seen them grow as a business. The store offers French patisserie but with an Asian twist and is best known for macarons and choux buns which are filled with fresh cream every day.

Fang-yu said: “There have been ups and downs, we opened at a tricky time just before a lockdown.

“We still have days where we need more business and it’s hard to support a whole household but over the last year, we have grown a lot. We used online ordering and now see our macarons go all over the place.

“Everyone struggles but I have to remember how far we have come. Our location in Bath is tucked away so that can be a challenge. People don’t seem to explore new places, but we have a lot of loyal customers. We had so many people congratulating us for making it to our one year anniversary and we feel so lucky to be so well-loved by our community.”

Despite the progress made to stop the coronavirus pandemic, international travel is still a headache for many and Fang-yu said the shop is aware they are missing out on tourist trade.

The pastry chef said: “We are missing the international tourists now. Tourists are back but not nearly in the same way they were before.

“There is also the cancellation of the Christmas market. But we don’t know if that would have made a big difference to our business as it wasn’t on last year so we have nothing to compare it to, we just know there may be less footfall. But we’re being positive and hoping that locals will be out more instead.”

To find out more about Sugarcane Studios go to|: www.sugarcanestudio.co.uk.