From Masterchef to Market Street: Vanilla Bean bakery and café opens in Bingham

Few cafés can boast a full house within half an hour of opening, even in the city centre, but there isn’t a spare table in sight at Vanilla Bean when I arrive on a Saturday morning and waiting customers queue out of the door for the duration of my visit.

From the street outside, a warm, pink glow from the window beckons passers-by into the sixteen-seater café. The bakery’s ethos is emblazoned on the wall in neon lights: ‘A croissant a day keeps the doctor away’.

Vanilla Bean is clearly a welcome addition to Bingham, the Nottinghamshire town where owner Amy lives and says she spotted “a small gap in the market she could sneak into.”

I’m eager to learn more about Amy’s culinary journey, which goes back much further than her stint on one of TV’s toughest cooking competitions in 2020 and begins on a whole other continent.

“My real love of food developed when I lived in Australia,” Amy says. “I moved to Melbourne when I was eighteen for a gap year and ended up staying for five years! The markets were on my doorstep and suddenly I had access to all these incredible fresh foods and cuisines that I’ve never even heard of before.

“I never intended for food to become my career. I helped my mum set up her cake shop, Strawberry Cupcakes, years ago and went off to find my own path, ending up working at an estate agent. I was pressured by my friends to apply for Masterchef but never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d get onto the show.”

It was in the aftermath of Amy’s Masterchef appearance that she launched Incognito Club, a private fine dining business which quickly gained popularity with foodies across Nottingham through pop-up supper clubs hosted at The Oat Shed in Kimberley and The Jolly Pug in Sherwood.

“During Covid, I was put on furlough. I had a baby on the way and couldn’t survive on the little income provided so I decided to start doing takeaways for friends and family,” Amy explains. “That escalated, I handed in my notice and Incognito Club became my full time job.

“Even though I now have Vanilla Bean, I’ll still be keeping Incognito Club alive. We are planning to have a monthly supper club here. The first takes place in February and has already sold out. I’ve decided to take a step back from private dining bookings for a few months until Vanilla Bean is fully up and running. I tried juggling a full day at the bakery with a private dining job in the evening and it was a real eye opener - I haven’t been that tired since my daughter was a newborn! I’ve built some amazing friendships with my private dining clients though so it would be too sad to say goodbye for good.”

Vanilla Bean opened shortly before Christmas, following an extremely successful Kickstarter campaign that saw over £21,000 raised in just thirty days to support Amy’s newest venture. Having personally pledged to the cause, I was interested to know how important the campaign was in making the café and bakery a reality.

“So important!” Amy says, “I actually ran out of money pretty quickly, which for anyone in this business won’t be a shock due to the increase in cost for literally everything - don’t get me started on prices for butter at the moment… But the Kickstarter really helped me get on my feet and it also built my confidence. Every pledge helped me to believe in myself.”

“Opening Vanilla Bean has been a lot harder than I thought mentally and emotionally but the last two weeks have been insane and I am so proud of myself and my incredible little team!”

With Vanilla Bean’s display cabinet bursting with a delectable range of pastries, cakes and even sausage rolls, it would be easy for a first-time customer to find themselves struggling to choose what to order. When I ask Amy to share any ‘must try’ items on her menu, she says: “Oh, this is a hard one… the pistachio croissants are amazing but now we are also doing cherry bakewell ones too - imagine an almond croissant but elevated! And I can’t forget our trademark fruit mousses.”

After enjoying a raspberry-shaped, mousse creation, I have to agree it’s one to order. This picture-perfect dessert lived up to Vanilla Bean’s patisserie promises, with an eye-catching raspberry exterior made from red velvet cocoa powder and a rich raspberry and white chocolate mousse encased inside.

I’d also add the pain au chocolat to your ‘must try’ list. While perhaps not the most adventurous choice, it is the best pain au chocolat I’ve had in years and I’d happily make the hour-long trip from my house to Bingham to scoff this pastry again. Made from a light, buttery pastry, it was soft and delicate without being too flaky, with a delicious dark chocolate tucked between the layers.

If you’re looking for something a little lighter than pastry or cake, be sure to check what the special of the day has to offer. When I visit, it’s a beautiful chai granola served with greek yoghurt, strawberries, blackberries and a sprinkling of petals - the kind of healthy option that feels like a treat rather than a compromise!

Finally, it would be criminal to visit a bakery and leave without freshly baked bread. Focaccia, sourdough, baguettes and farmhouse bread all feature on Vanilla Bean’s front-of-shop counter. The small sourdough loaf I bought lasted less than 48 hours after arriving home, as we devoured it slice by toasted slice, with ample amounts of salted butter. 

Vanilla Bean is located at 11a Market Street, Bingham, NG13 8AB. Opening hours are 10am to 4pm Wednesday to Friday and 9am to 2pm on Saturday.

@vanillabean_notts