About Vicky and Hairy
Photo by Herbie Harford
It all started a very long time ago when my Mum pushed a good housekeeping book under my nose and demanded bread for lunch. I think I was about eight! Since then I have always made bread, but it didn’t occur to me to start a bakery until I needed a job in my beloved Cornwall. I refused to move upcountry and get a proper job and down here, as a mouthy 24 year old law graduate, I was completely unemployable! Luckily for me, I had by this time met somebody as mad as me, the eternally optimistic Hairy, who thought starting a bakery knowing nothing about it was a great idea!
I went to bakeries in Bristol and Dorset for work experience, and then for an intensive three month course at the renowned French Culinary Institute in New York. I didn’t realise what hard work this baking lark was going to be, but suddenly it was too late, and when I got back home we found a small industrial unit and set up Vicky’s bread, much to my Mother’s disappointment (she was hoping I was going to change my mind and become a lawyer. She’s still waiting!)
We have now been going three years, and we still do what we started out doing, the best French-style bread we can, with no short-cuts and the best organic ingredients. We sell to small shops, and as time has gone on, supporting this network of spar shops, farm shops and delis has become increasingly important to us. We love our little shops, and it is great to see them all doing so well, despite the financial mess we are all in! The best things about making bread for us are the compliments we receive from all our customers, the smell of all our babies as they come out of the ovens in the early morning, and the fact that we always have great bread in our kitchen, which is essential for a toast addict like myself.
My husband Hairy is the one who keeps everything running smoothly when I am running around excitedly feeding sourdoughs and baking all night. He is the big hairy man you will see at food fairs cajoling everyone to buy a loaf and laughing uproariously. When you are in a business as crazy as baking you have to laugh really!
Facts you probably didn’t know or want to know about Vicky and Hairy
Vicky’s favourite food: everything, I’m such a pig! But you can never go wrong with scrambled eggs.
Hairy’s favourite food: any kind of offal, or failing that, oysters.
Vicky’s favourite restaurant: Chantek in Truro, it’s so fun!
Hairy’s favourite restaurant: our house.
Vicky’s favourite spice: nutmeg or vanilla, can’t decide.
Hairy’s favourite spice: coriander.
Vicky’s design hero: Daisy Dunlop the jeweller.
Hairy’s all-time hero: Joe Strummer from the Clash.
Vicky’s desert island book: Love in the Time of Cholera by Marquez.
Hairy’s desert island book: hmmm, what about a biography of Joe Strummer?
Vicky’s favourite artist: Howard Hodgkin
Hairy’s favourite artist: can’t I have a yacht designer instead?
Vicky’s favourite day so far: when we went for a walk down to Lankidden and Hairy produced from his backpack a barbeque, two steaks, and a bottle of champagne.
Hairy’s favourite day so far: our wedding day. Do I get brownie points for saying that?!