ONES TO WATCH
JUST DESSERTS Rough and crumble
something warm’ to keep customers toasty throughout the chilly months. “We thought it would be fun to have a pick-and-mix dessert bar,” says Gemma. “We like to use gluts of fruit.” Borrowing a friend’s horsebox, Gemma and her team are also serving a range of other desserts at Off the Beaten Truck, the first pop-up project of this kind for The Linton Kitchen. “We wanted to get our name back out there,” says Gemma, “and do something different. It’s really nice to take our products out to different audiences.”
rumble is one of the more overlooked desserts, despite its many variations making it a solid
choice throughout the seasons. Humble Crumble in Shoreditch was among the first to bring it onto the street food scene, proving that this slightly old-fashioned pudding could be made trendy once again. Fighting its corner in Cambridge, The Linton Kitchen has cooked up a new van serving all kinds of crumble. The pop-up was spawned from a conversation between founder Gemma and Becca from Off the Beaten Truck, who was ‘looking for
THROWBACK This wartime classic is back on the menu courtesy of The Linton Kitchen BAKE IT OFF Causing quite the stir
would start ordering,” says Matt of the company’s fresh-from-the-oven lockdown deliveries. Demand outstripping capacity led to the opening of a new bakery in North Cambridge, now the biggest artisan bakery in Cambridgeshire. Its brioche recently won gold in the World Bread Awards. “What we miss that some other places have – even Norwich – is a really committed artisanal cafe-bakery hybrid,” says Matt. Stir Bakery is now supplying delicious pastries, breads, baps and cakes for the likes of Gog Farm Shop, Butch Annie’s, Pint Shop, The Tipsy Vegan, Graduate Hotel, Scotsdales and the Hot Sausage Company. There are even more delicious developments on the way. Stir is soon to open its first city-centre bakery shop, crammed full of bakes and cakes. After that, expect more Stir Cafe and Bakery happenings on the horizon. The journey hasn’t been without its challenges, however. Sky-high property prices and a worker shortage still pose a threat to Cambridge’s culinary businesses. “Space for food places is squeezed,” says Matt. “These two factors – low availability and high rent – squash innovation.” Despite these obstacles, Stir has gathered a devoted following – and seems set to thrive.
ong a pillar of the Chesterton community, Stir Cafe took flight in 2015 after husband and wife Matt and Judith felt the need for a community- focused cafe serving good coffee – a sore absence at the time. “We were having to walk into the city centre or drive to the Beehive centre to the Costa,” says Matt. Upon opening, the cafe quickly charmed locals and became decorated with awards – making it difficult to nab a table. Securing the Chesterton Road location (a former motorbike showroom) for the cafe, however, was an uphill battle – with rent prices hiked up and competition fierce. It was at Glastonbury Festival seeing Frank Turner with his daughter, Matt recalls, that he got a call from an agent with the offer. “There’s a line in one of his songs, ‘no one gets remembered for the things they didn’t do’, which I’ve always loved,” insists Matt. “The easiest thing would have been to say it’s not for us.” Becoming a community fixture, in 2015 Stir took over the shopfront next door and opened its sister bread and confectionery business, so it could produce its own goods for behind the counter. But the pandemic was what really breathed new life into this bakery. “We would find that six or seven houses on the same street
During lockdown, we’d find six or seven houses on the same street would start ordering”
PROVING THEMSELVES Stir Bakery has received national recognition for some amazing products – like its brioche coming first in its 2022 World Bread Awards category
38 JANUARY 2023 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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