Baker Tom’s has become a Cornish institution in the past decade - and has he marks the tenth anniversary of his empire with the opening of a new shop this month
Baker Tom is set to mark his tenth anniversary with the opening of his fifth shop in West Cornwall.
The Tom behind the baker is Tom Hazzeldine. His business is simply named and links to a time there when bakers, butchers, greengrocers and other businesses put their own name above the door to show their pride in their products.
His success story took the then university student and keen home baker from stocking a few loaves at his holiday job in a farm shop to running an empire employing dozens of people.
His bakeries feature an incredible range of artisan breads, with special monthly flavours, pastries and cakes – and even starter doughs for the growing army of home bakers.
The return to artisan breads means interest in fantastic loaves is at its height, even for those of us who make the occasional pizza dough or flatbreads, the idea of freshly baked bread is seductive, if not always successful. So a trip to Baker Tom’s is the answer. And it is not only the carefully selected ingredients that make this bread special - it also has much less gluten than commercially produced breads - which use added gluten to shorten the mixing process. And this means people are rediscovering bread that doesn’t make them bloat.
Like many artisan food producers, Tom is passionate about promoting local ingredients. The coffee served is locally sourced, as well as the milk that goes into it; the butter in his croissants is local, and the flour is locally milled.
I’m a regular at their Pool bakery and shop - and at the moment you can get your hands on one of their celebratory jute bags which marks ten years in business.
