Fraser’s out to earn a crust with Gran’s recipe
LIKE most kids during the school holidays, it didn’t take long for Fraser Brock to find himself at a loose end.
In an attempt to give the 12-year-old from Peebles something to do, his gran Rosemary – who was visiting from Dublin – said she would teach him how to make her famous soda bread.
The recipe has been passed from generation to generation and now it was Fraser’s turn to learn how to make it.
With a batch made, his parents, Russell and Nicky, suggested he go round the neighbours’ doors and ask if they would like to try some. One of the residents, Patrick Diack, was particularly impressed and it just so happened he is the manager of Peebles Hydro.
Patrick and his family loved the bread so much that he gave Fraser a contract to produce 60 loaves a week for the hotel.
That, combined with the 40 or so orders he had from the neighbours, and suddenly Fraser had baked himself a business.
Nearly three months on and the family home has turned into a production line, with the smell of the soda bread constantly permeating the house.
The hard-working youngster juggles his growing doughy empire with his homework to produce around 15 loaves a day.
Russell, a police officer, has set up a registered company, called Brock’s Bread Ltd, for his son and their kitchen has gone through all the necessary health and safety checks from the council.
Fraser’s even had an email of encouragement from fellow Scottish entrepreneur Fraser Doherty, who set up a successful jam-making business when he was 14 using his gran’s recipes, after a mutual family friend put them in touch.
Despite being up to his elbows in flour most nights, Fraser isn’t for resting on his laurels.
On Friday he took some of the soda bread to his school, George Watson’s College in Edinburgh, after the headmaster heard about it, so that might lead to more orders. And he’s also planning on chapping a few more doors locally to drum up extra orders.
Whatever happens next, Fraser’s mum and dad are proud to see his son using his loaf to make some extra dough!