We need to use our loaves to make brilliant bread more affordable to all
BREAD. A staple for us, but in parts of the world today, people lack it.
In our country in the past, there used to be riots over a daily food that many of us now take for granted, indeed barely notice. And for many years, the quality of bread in Britain perhaps wasn’t all that exciting.
But that has been changing – and I’ve delighted in visiting a range of shops and bakeries in Cambridge in recent times that are really transforming the quality of our bread, and making it something quite special.
I’ve enjoyed Stir, which has made a big impact in Chesterton – both for the cafe and restaurant, but also the brilliant bread.
Fitzbillies is such a Cambridge institution that it seemed astonishing a few years ago when the business went through a difficult patch. But it has been transformed and has of course expanded.
For years, people have enjoyed tasty wholemeal bread from the Daily Bread in King’s Hedges, and when I’m in Newnham it is hard to resist the temptations of Maison Clement.
The Norfolk Street bakery is very close to the Cambridge Labour Party headquarters and offers Portugueseorigin delights as well as lovely bread, and their other cafe is a favourite of mine near the station – and they have a great strapline: local, independent, made with love.
And, of course, there are many others – showing just how fortunate we are in Cambridge to have so many brilliant independent bakers.
Last week, as part of Real Bread Week, I was delighted to make a new acquaintance – this time, the Cambridge Oven, in Hills Road, near St Paul’s Church. I go past so often but hadn’t stopped by before, and was amazed to hear that Jolita and Karl have been there for five years now, serving a loyal and happy set of customers. Their bread is simply wonderful and my partner and I have been enjoying it over the last few days – but it isn’t just the bread.
They also have an excellent chef who makes delicious cakes, and I was treated to the most perfect chocolate cake and coffee when I visited.
Their story is impressive – they both worked in public services, but the stress for Jolita working as a nurse in an accident and emergency unit just became too much, so they decided to do something else.
A loss for the health service, but a gain for us, as she had picked up her grandmother’s skills as a baker – they put everything into the shop and the great results are clear for all to see.
A lovely, welcoming cafe and the best bread you could hope for. It’s hard work, with very early starts, but I left Jolita and Karl feeling really inspired by their passion and commitment.
But, and there is a but. There is a catch – producing high quality food isn’t easy, or cheap.
And while many in our city are well paid and can afford to enjoy such treats, there are many people who can’t, and as shadow food minister that’s the challenge I put to one of the top celebrity chefs the other week – why can’t all food be like this? On one level the answer is obvious – it is expensive, and while we may be a wealthy country overall, we aren’t that wealthy.
But food is fundamental and contributes to health, and with a National Health Service there are costs for all of us when people are unwell.
So I think we need to be ambitious – our goal should be to make sure that everyone can enjoy the best.
The Real Bread campaign helps and encourages small, independent bakeries to explore ways of bridging the gap between what it costs them to produce and retail Real Bread, and what people in their communities on tighter budgets can afford.
They argue that everyone in the UK should be able to afford Real Bread, but recognise that for a growing number of people this simply is not realistic at the moment.
At the same time, they also point out that many Real Bread bakers are struggling to earn an honest crust without increasing their prices.
So we have a real challenge. We have a city rich in splendid food, but within a stone’s throw we also have food banks – that needs to change and we need to find ways to make sure that everyone can enjoy the brilliant bread Cambridge bakers are producing.