I had the adventure of waking up at 1:30am to join a 91 year old family bakery in seeing the behind the scenes and learning about the craft.

The waking hours of a baker make it hard to see friends. They work Tuesday until Saturday. When Covid happened, their day-to-day didn’t change much because they had such little contact with people.

Peter and Mario have been in the business a long time. Mario started his apprenticeship as a baker more than 40 years ago. Petar on the other hand inherited the family business which has been going since his grandfather. It will end with Peter and his team (his wife also involved and as well as front-of-store-focus Simone who has worked there for 30 years) for his daughter has found inspiration elsewhere. Peter is in acceptance with this because he himself didn’t want to join the business but rather wanted to become a blacksmith, the sign on the front of the bakery was made by him.

When they step into a bakery however, they move with the agility of ballet dancers. Their movements perfected to the point where talking is unnecessary as they swoosh past each other. As one hand goes away, another steps in. Operating as one in quiet connection. And it goes on like that until they’ve made enough bread for 700 orders per day. Although the mixing of the dough is done with machines, everything else is done by hand.

They must work more now than ever before as small bakeries are dying out. They are harder to run because of increased taxes. When Peter’s granded was running the business, what he earned in one day could last him a week of their current output. And before there were 6 bakers to the current 2. There’s ever less interest in working in the trade.

Despite that I find his colleague Mario enjoying his work, choosing to slide down a slope on the floor rather than walk down. He performed the shaping of dough with a flourish and great humour. Peter on the other hand coming across as a charming and well spoken gentleman with artisan in his blood.

After we had breakfast around 6am - I went for a small nap as recommended, the bread and pasties now finished and what was left to sell them. When I awoke an hour later, to my disbelief - the bakery was now spotless and already sold out.