Few are as deft with the dough as Sneinton Market Avenues' Bryan Henesy, who owns the award winning Breadmill Bakery. For this month's instalment of From The Kitchen we chat to him...
When did you first know you wanted to make food for a living?
I knew when I was a teenager that I wanted to be a baker. But the idea of getting up in the middle of the night put me off it for quite a few years. So I was a journalist for a decade – including a few years at the Nottingham Post – before committing to this life at 33. I earned my stripes baking at the Welbeck Estate, before opening this place in 2023.
Who has been the biggest influence on your baking?
I loved watching Jamie Oliver and Ready Steady Cook on TV when I was young. But looking back, my family was always the biggest influence. I used to visit my grandad in Liverpool and he’d have a fresh cake made, usually cherry and coconut or date and walnut. My mum and nana were avid cooks and bakers too.
Describe your venue in three words
I love bread.
What’s the best-selling item on your menu?
People seem to love my sourdough. All our bread is sourdough and there’s only three ingredients in it; flour, water and salt. Or four if you include the ‘bit of love’ my son says I always put in too.
What are your favourite places to eat out in Notts?
In Sneinton Avenues we’re spoilt for choice so I usually don’t have to venture much further than Blend, Working Man’s Kitchen or GB Cafe to grab lunch or something to take home. I live in Chilwell and we tried a place called Delicious Dim Sum recently – it lived up to the name.
Who are your five ideal dinner party guests? And what’s on the menu?
Jamie Oliver. He can cook the main course and I'll make a bready starter and Sticky Toffee Pudding for dessert. Then we’ll invite Jimi Hendrix, Alex Turner, Kylie Minogue and my Wigan hometown hero Richard Ashcroft. Jamie plays the drums so maybe we could all have a big jam after?
Find the Breadmill Bakery, Unit 29, Sneinton Market, NG1 1DW
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