GAIL's

Last week our Operations team headed to Ampney Brook Farm, where Annie Landless uses regenerative methods to grow wheat for GAIL's. It was an apt setting for planning our own growth for the upcoming seasons, and thinking about the human ability to effect sustainable change. We connected to our purpose of bringing good food to more neighbourhoods, gained insights on our Food strategy going forward and learnt about leadership skills from expert Graham Wilson. Thank you to Annie and our friends at Ampney Brook for hosting us, and everyone who helped organise the trip.

The interior of our new Elephant & Castle bakery is a nod to the neighbourhood’s Brutalist heritage. Raw concrete columns are complemented by light grey walls, beige bricks and stainless steel accents. Dark wood flooring and modernist wooden tables and chairs brings warmth. The centrepiece, as ever, is the baker’s table, paying homage to Elephant and Castle’s iconic Howdah symbol. We will be sharing any leftover bakes with Tender Grace Christian Centre, who distribute food in the community. Say hello to the bakers if you’re in the neighbourhood. 23 Sayer Street, SE17 1FY

Bringing good food to our neighbourhoods starts with good people. We look for passionate people that care - you can’t teach that. The rest we can. To help us find people who are the right fit for our culture, we’ve partnered with inploi to develop a website which shares the GAIL’s way: our mission, vision, values and story. The new website also tells stories from long-standing breadheads - they are best placed to explain to candidates how it feels to work with us. Find our open craft roles at: https://lnkd.in/dhrA5dRc

Seats that make a stand. Through our partnership with RAW we have generated hundreds of hours of life-changing social impact. RAW offers training and employment to people facing adversity. They have built a vibrant tribe of talented individuals who have triumphed over challenges like addiction, mental health issues, disability and homelessness. Next time you take a seat in one of our bakeries, you might just be enjoying their craft.

Each season we partner with our friends Union Hand-Roasted Coffee to develop a new filter coffee. This summer, we’ve blended together two of our favourite coffees, balancing the jammy sweetness of our Colombian lot with the bright citrus of our Burundian lot. The finished coffee has flavour notes of redcurrant, shortbread and vanilla. Now pouring in our bakeries and available to order for the office at GAILs.com.

On a recent Summer's day, we invited the producers we work with to our studio in Camden for lunch, conversation, and a chance to get to know each other. The people who supply our cheese, chocolate, pickles, jams, kombucha and more all shared how they approach their craft, with overlaps including the use of natural ingredients, a commitment to healthy farming practices, slow fermentation and craft techniques. Always such a joy to spend time with the people making the ingredients we love baking with and whose products proudly line our shelves.

We pour a lot of lattes, which means we have a big opportunity to partner with a dairy farmer who cares about their impact. Brades Farm Dairy Ltd are pioneers: they were the first British farm to trial a methane-reducing supplementary feed which reduced their cows’ methane emissions by 30%.

Our new bakery on Wimbledon Broadway sits at the very heart of this neighbourhood, on a bustling piazza. Holland Harvey were inspired by its circular grid pattern, referencing the geometrical forms in vertical panelling, mid-century-style shelving and pops of blue and cream. With sustainability in mind, we’ve used reclaimed tiles, Graphenstone Paints UK and Tarkett recyclable flooring. Our friends RAW have built stools, tables and exterior planters. We’ll be sharing any leftover bakes with Earlsfield Foodbank and Community Champions, to make sure that none of our food goes to waste. See you this weekend for an iced tea. 6a, 33, The Broadway, Merton, SW19 1QB

We are thrilled to have been awarded 12 Great Taste Awards by the Guild of Fine Food. Our bakes were judged blind by the most discerning palates in food and drink, and they recognised our bread, bakes and pantry range as exceptional.    Good food takes a village: a community of like-minded partners and skillful bakers that make it real. Thank you to our friends at Shipton Mill and Tea Together and all of the breadheads who help us bring this food to our neighbourhoods each day. Our award-winning bakes: - Seeded Cracker ** - Raspberry & Rose Jam ** - Potato & Rosemary Sourdough * - Mixed Olive Sourdough * - Croissant * - Pain au Chocolat * - Soho Bun * - Sour Cherry & Chocolate Scone * - Pistachio Financier * - Sour Cherry & Pistachio Biscotti * - Strawberry Jam * - Seville Orange Marmalade *

Our Head of Coffee Jessica Worden wrote about how we have scaled our craft approach to coffee in 5THWAVE. Craft and technology are sometimes perceived as opposites, and baristas can be skeptical when a business implements new tech. But for us, it was necessary to sustain and grow quality in our bustling bakeries. Investing in solutions like the puqpress, Easycream and digitally-connected espresso machines frees our baristas to deepen their skills and craft expertise. By bringing our people on this journey with us, we've been able to create a feedback loop whereby our baristas suggest new ways to leverage the technology in their bakeries. You can reach the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eu_zvAQF World Coffee Portal