LEGENDS IN THE BAKING
By: Gayle Anderson
Published: LIVING Magazine
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How do you spread the word about your favourite French pastry if those showy pain au chocolates and profiteroles are stealing all the glory?
Well, you could try naming your new business after it. It’s a strategy that’s worked out well for Lindsay and Ross Baxter at The Bostock Bakery in North Berwick.
“When we opened back in 2014, we wanted to name the bakery after a product we could introduce our customers to,” Lindsay explains. “Something they maybe hadn’t tried before. Something we could become known for.
“Bostock just fitted the bill. It doesn’t even sound like a French word, does it? But as a pastry chef, Ross was very familiar with them and introduced me to them.
“We both love the variety they offer. Although they’re traditionally made with almonds, we’ve created lots of other versions like banana and pecan and the customers love them. I don’t know if we can take credit for making Bostocks better known in East Lothian, but I’d like to think we can!” Other business names were considered then dismissed. “Baxter’s Bakery just didn’t work for us. It sounds like a traditional baker’s. The sort of place you’d be disappointed if you couldn’t buy a hot Scotch pie or a Yum Yum.
“We both grew up on that sort of stuff and we love it, but that’s just not where Ross’s skills lie.”
The queues snaking along North Berwick High Street are testament to those skills.
“We’ve got such a strong core range,” Lindsay says. “If you asked people what Bostock’s known for, one person would say, ‘their sourdough bread’ because it’s made from organic flour and proved for 36 hours. Someone else might say, ‘oh, their cruffins’ because there’s no-one else around doing those. Another might choose our croissants.
“I think we’ve become known for quality and consistency. That’s what we strive for every day. To be able to bake such an extensive range from scratch every morning and to try to hit the same level of quality each and every day is no easy task. But that’s why people come back and that’s why the queues are there.”
It was a job offer that originally brought the Glasgow-born couple to the east coast.
“Ross became head pastry chef at Greywalls Hotel & Chez Roux in Gullane in 2011. It was a great career opportunity but we genuinely thought we’d only be here for a couple of years and then move on. In reality, we completely fell in love with the area and have been here ever since.
