Customers flock to new Bury St Edmunds branch of Cornish Bakery - a rapidly expanding bakery chain
'Watch me become a regular', 'now I know where I am coming for lunch', and 'what a great mix of people'.
These were some of the comments at the opening of the new Cornish Bakery shop, in Buttermarket, Bury St Edmunds, today.
Customers flooded the shop as soon as it opened at the site of the former Palmers store; and by 9.30am it was already packed.
Cornish Bakery is an independent chain, which has seen rapid growth in the last two years, in particular.
Originally founded in 1994, with the opening of its first shop in Mevagissey, a fishing port in south Cornwall, it has since grown to more than 50 branches, nationwide.
It reported record business highs in 2022; a year in which new bakeries were also opened in Plymouth Barbican, Beverley, Stamford, Rye, Whitby and Caledonia Park, Scotland.
In the first few months of this year, new shops are also set to open in Truro, Bakewell, Canterbury, Cheltenham, Harrogate.
The Bury St Edmunds branch is the company's second in Suffolk.
The other being in Southwold.
The first thing that greets you when you enter the door, is the colourful selection of food behind the counter; as eye-catching, as it is mouth-watering.
It looks fresh, colourful and inviting, with a wide range to choose from.
All pasties are 100 per cent handmade and the majority of ingredients are sourced from Cornish suppliers.
These jostle for position amongst focaccia, pizzetta, tortillas, savoury scones and ham hock toasties and viennoiseries.
The oat-style drink with blueberries looks particularly intriguing, and great for breakfast.
I have been been eating Cornish pasties on and off for years.
They have been a staple lunch choice for me for decades.
Not least as they are a self-contained meal, and also portable, to boot.
The only thing is, some are terrible.
A well-made Cornish pasty is as tasty and fulfilling as well-made fish and chips.
But then there are varying degrees of 'stodge', for both, on the way down, nonetheless.
The decor in the Cornish Bakery is a light and airy.
The colours are soft palette; a mix of light wood, green, cream, turquoise and taupe.
The art work is minimalist and there are touches of foliage, dotted around.
Its neatly laid out with sitting room for 56 people.
I opt for a large Traditional Cornish pasty (£4.90 to take away, £5.35 to eat in), and a cappuccino.
Finding a table is tricky but then this is a good sign.
The pasty is delicious. The pastry, not too flaky, not too hard, and its packed with flavour.
What's instantly noticeable, is the size of the chunks of meat inside, which came as a hearty surprise.
The traditional Cornish pasty, since 2011 has had Protected Geographical Indication status in Europe, a kind of patent, if you like.
It has a D shape, and is filled with beef, sliced or diced potato, swede (referred to in Cornwall and other parts of the West Country as turnip) and onion, seasoned with salt and pepper, and baked.
The pasty is now popular worldwide thanks originally to Cornish tin miners and sailors from across Cornwall, who took them to work, and beyond.
Variations can be found in Australia, Mexico, the United States, and elsewhere.
The pastry, I believe, should always be hard enough to withstand a fall, should you drop your self-contained meal, down a tin mine.
For dessert, (bearing in mind this is at 10am), so I am really pushing the boat out here, I sample a Cornish pudding (£2.50 to take away, £2.95 to eat in).
It's layers of pastries, soaked in egg custard, and baked with blueberries, raspberries and white chocolate.
And it really is melt-in-your-mouth good, with an explosion of flavours that hit you one after another.
On first impressions, I suspect Cornish Bakery will do well.
For one thing, the location couldn't be better to grab a bite to eat; eating in, or taking out, while heading into town, or perhaps on a summer's day, down to the Abbey Gardens.
Sit inside, and you have full window views of both Buttermarket, and Abbeygate Street.
It's people watching paradise.
The drinks range is also extensive.
To name but a few: Iced Mocha, Chai Latte, Cloudy Lemonade, and Chocolate Milkshake.
The company also uses ethically sourced coffee beans from Rwanda, Burundi, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Nicaragua, for its range of coffees.
Cornish Bakery offers a 'taste of Cornwall in every bite', according to its website.
It is also big on 'enhancing communities', while keeping its 'Cornish soul'.
Judging by Monday's opening: it looks like it will be a popular in Bury St Edmunds, too.
