The bright and sunny Edinburgh pie bakery that's opening in 'exciting' neighbourhood
It’s true that a little of what you fancy does you good
Some of us are steering clear of baked goods this month.
However, for those who’re not restricting themselves as part of what we’ll describe as ‘pie January’, there’s the impending opening of Jeannie’s Bakery to look forward to.
This mustard-yellow-painted pie shop is the first bricks and mortar business from Kelsey Garthwaite, who has been selling her delicious creations at Edinburgh markets for the last decade. At the end of January, it will be opening on a corner spot at 147 Morrison Street, which was formerly occupied by Nice Times Bakery and, before that, an all-night post-pub hangover-beating favourite called Morrison’s Bakery.
We imagine that this will be the perfect location to capture the custom of office workers, as well as commuters from nearby Haymarket Station.
We asked Garthwaite to tell us more about her plans.
Tell us about the history of your business, and your background
We’ve been trading for ten years. Leith Market is our original base, but you can also find us at Stockbridge Market twice a month. As well as markets, we supply our pies wholesale. You can find our turmeric cauliflower pies and caramelised onion and cheddar pies in most branches of Mellis Cheesemongers and we’ll soon also be supplying their newest branch that recently opened in London. I’ve been working in the food industry in Edinburgh since I was 18 years old, so I have had a long time to dream about what my perfect shop would look like.
Why did you decide to open a bricks and mortar shop?
We love our markets, and the people we’ve got to know over the years – it’s so much fun. However, we’re limited to what we can fit on a stall, so we wanted an outlet where we could show off a bigger range of products. I have wanted a shop for ages, but it’s been quite hard to find a place that ticks all the boxes.
Why did you choose that location?
It was the shop itself that I fell in love with. It has been a bakery for decades and that’s hard to come by in Edinburgh. We took over from Nice Times Bakery and Hollie who ran it had left the premises in a great condition. There’s also a lot of redevelopment happening in Haymarket and lots of new restaurants opening on Morrison Street. It’s an exciting neighbourhood to be a part of.
What have you done to the decor/interior?
It’s very yellow! I really wanted a colour that would grab people’s attention and feel really warm and inviting. Crosscut Design, who are based very close to Leith Market, are building us a custom counter to display all our goods on. We’ll have a few seats inside, but we will mostly be doing food to take away.
Will you be continuing at the markets as well as the shop?
We might miss a few of them while we’re getting up and running, but you’ll find us at Leith and Stockbridge for the foreseeable. Edinburgh has a brilliant market scene and we love being a part of it.
Do you have a lot of fans from your markets? What’s the bestseller?
We’re grateful to have loads of regulars coming to the markets, and everyone seems pretty excited for our new venture. People especially love our sticky pork belly with kimchi and sesame sausage rolls, but we only make them a few times a year as they are so time-consuming to produce. We’re planning a newer take on it for the shop and the plan is to feature them more often.
Is this a good time of year to open?
It is definitely a challenging time for food businesses, but we had outgrown our out-of-town kitchen, and a shop in town felt like the obvious next step.
Are you excited or nervous?
Both, but mostly nervous right now.
How many pies a day will you be producing for the shop, will they be made in house, and what will your signature recipes be?
We make all of our pies in house and completely from scratch. I spent years teaching myself how to make perfect puff pastry and I’m really proud of it. As well as pies, we’re known for our sausage rolls, and some of our best sellers are pork with roasted garlic, fennel and leek, and wild boar, apple and hazelnut.
I have no idea how busy we are going to be in the shop, but with all of our wholesale commitments and markets, we’re already producing hundreds of pies a week.
We’ve got lots of ideas for new savoury products, but we’re also excited to showcase a range of sweet items too.
How many pies do you eat a week? What's your personal favourite?
We are lucky enough to sell out at most of our markets, so it is actually quite rare for there to be any leftover pies for me. We will occasionally sneak a hot sausage roll straight from the oven when we’re doing our baking at 6am in the morning.
How can you tell a good pie from a bad one?
I’d say a pie should be filled to the brim with the thing it’s advertised as – there’s nothing worse than buying something like a chicken pie and finding only one tiny piece of chicken inside. I like to think the flavour we advertise is in each bite.
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