Today Kat Ajomale's Crumpetorium creates thousands of fabulously-flavoured crumpets every week and sends them out across the country – inspired by a conversation about favourite comfort food which took place more than 6,000 miles from her Norwich kitchens.
Kat and her fiance Luke learned to make crumpets in lockdown, after returning from travelling in Peru, where talk had turned to the food people missed from home.
Kat and Luke found themselves fantasising about crumpets.
‘We were doing a LOT of long hikes and mountain climbs etc, so when we got to the end of a long stretch we thought the comforting, rewarding, filling but not too stodgy nature of a crumpet would really hit the spot,’ said Kat.
‘It was really hard to describe them to people in Peru. I think we sort of said 'hot spongy bread and the butter drips through.' But no-one who wasn't British or Australian had any idea what we were on about!’
Kat, who had worked in graphic design and marketing, and product development engineer Luke, had no jobs to return to when they arrived back in Britain after five months abroad as the pandemic hit. So they began making crumpets.
‘It's one of those products that when you think about it, most people don't actually know how it's made, and that was the same for me,’ said Kat.
She experimented with ingredients for the batter and ways to create perfectly-textured, bubbly, toaster-ready crumpets – with no added preservatives.
‘We then went on to think ‘There are cheese scones, why aren’t there cheese crumpets?’ and started thinking of other flavours from there. We thought about what would be really nice when hot and toasted.
'I've always baked but not on a fanatical level, more like birthday cakes and cookies. With the crumpets it was like I've stumbled onto a product that people seem to really enjoy so have kept going with it.’
Just a month after arriving back in Britain, Kat launched Crumpetorium with local doorstep deliveries.
As her crumpets gathered fans across the country, running Crumpetorium became a full-time job. In 2021 she appeared on Ainsley Harriott’s Good Mood Food and has also featured in the BBC Good Food magazine.
Now year-round favourite flavours range from cheese to chocolate, with seasonal specials including autumnal pumpkin spice (this was a HUGE hit last year!’ said Kat) mince pie for Christmas and summery tomato and feta.
‘I love them all. I only make flavours I like! But I especially love the ginger, choc chip and pumpkin spice.’ said Kat.
This summer Kat and Luke moved from the city centre to renovate a house in Thorpe St Andrew, and moved the business too, from their kitchen to an industrial unit in Whiffler Road - where Kat hopes to be able to produce around 3,600 crumpets a week for the pre-Christmas ‘peak crumpet’ season – and perhaps open a café next year.
Kat does not know of any other British businesses specialising in flavoured crumpets – although they are popular in Australia.
She grew up in Sussex but Luke is from Norfolk. ‘Once we decided to go travelling, we knew we'd need to stay with his parents afterwards (having spent all our money!)’ she said. ‘I'd loved Norwich from all our visits up here, and it reminded me of Brighton with its quirky lanes and brilliant food and drink scene.
As well as delivering to online customers across the country, Crumpetorium stockists in Norfolk include Jarrold, The Goat Shed and Fen Farm Diary. Kat’s crumpets are also on the menu at delis and cafes in Norfolk and further afield, including Toast Kitchen in Yalm in Norwich’s Royal Arcade.
While developing her business Kat was helped by the Broadland Food Innovation Centre. ‘They’ve been brilliant for networking and developing products,’ she said.
She put a lot of thought into making the business as eco-friendly as possible, using Zedify cycle delivery locally and sustainable packaging. ‘Zedify are brilliant, not only eco-friendly, but I can trust that they will be careful with the packages and make sure they are delivered or left safely so that the customer doesn't lose any days' shelf life if they are out,’ said Kat, who employs an assistant and is hoping to take on more staff soon.
Plans for the future include crumpet grazing tables at events, and the crumpet café. And despite turning out thousands of crumpets a week she still loves the classic tea-time, and now any-time, treat.
‘I have to try not to eat crumpets every day, but I do eat them a good few days a week!’ said Kat.
