A love letter to Jolene
That's Jolene the bakery/restaurant group; this is not a coming out announcement. 😉 Plus treats from Exeter, Newcastle, Wales and Belgium (but available in London).
Whilst I mean the business, there are definitely times I have said that next time I’m marrying a woman… 😄
I’m sure some of you can relate. 😘
Jolene: a family of beautifully formed London bakeries (& restaurants)
I’ve eaten things from two of the four Jolene locations several times over the last month, and many more over the last few years, since they first opened on Newington Green in 2018.
These newsletters were mostly intended to share with you new and exciting food products and places.
What’s new to me is, of course, not necessarily new to you, and vice versa.
Plus, life should not always be about chasing new. Sometimes it’s good to be reminded of what we already have.
~ There’s a life lesson in itself! 😳😅 ~
As these posts are also not an exhaustive list of everything I eat in a week - even if I enjoy something it doesn’t necessarily get included - I thought it was time to mention my visits to Jolene and remind you how wonderful the group is.
It’s not just the quality of the food, though it really is exceptional, but that they’re driven by a much bigger mission.
All of the flour is milled on site (at the Hornsey Road location) from UK sourced, regeneratively farmed grains. All of the grains they use are regeneratively farmed and founders Jeremie Cometto-Lingenheim and David Gingell want to help people understand - through delicious food - how important the health of the soil is.
On the food..
My daughter shared with me the middle of her laminated cardamom bun on the weekend and I revelled in just how light the centre of the bun was, when so many laminated pastries are dense in the centre and the only joy is in the crackly outer edges.
I’ve also recently loved their sandwiches and always loved their cakes. It’s been a while since I’ve had a meal in their restaurants, but those were super too and it’s a place my friend Felicity returns to repeatedly for dinner and - if you know how often Felicity visits new places - this is high praise.
There are currently four locations, which all tend to sell out of pastries early and might have queues first thing. The first two are restaurants, the third and fourth are takeaway only.
📌 21 Newington Green, Mayville Estate, London N16 9PU
NEAREST STATION: Dalston Kingsland
📌 324 Hornsey Rd, Finsbury Park, London N7 7HE
NEAREST STATION: Arsenal / Crouch Hill / Upper Holloway (though not especially near any of therm)
📌 67 Redchurch St, London E2 7DJ
Takeaway only (bench outside)
NEAREST STATION: Shoreditch High Street (Overground)
📌 16 Essex Rd, London N1 8AA
Takeaway only
NEAREST STATION: Angel (Northern)
Jeremie Cometto-Lingenheim and his business partner, chef David Gingell are also behind Westerns Laundry and Primeur, both of which I am yet to visit.
Delicious Things, everywhere
A few things from recent food shows, available across the UK:
Cakes from both Exploding Bakery in Exeter and Cake Stories in Newcastle.
The latter you can currently only buy in bulk (great for a big party / wedding?) but it’s worth looking out for them in their Northern cafes or others they might supply if you’re ever in the North of England.
Exploding Bakery
Their gluten free brownie is excellent (available in Fortnums, too, and I’ve written about it before) and I really enjoyed the cherry & pistachio polenta cake and the white chocolate & raspberry frangipane.
They also have a book.
📌 Central Station Buildings, 1B, Queen St, Exeter EX4 3SB
NEAREST STATION: Exeter St. Davids
Cake Stories
Of the three things I tried this time, I was particularly impressed by the uber-moist vegan and gluten free pecan and maple cake.
I wrote about a visit to Newcastle in August 2021 where I linked to this Instagram post about their Strawberry Cake.
📌 12 Brentwood Ave, West Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 3DH
NEAREST STATION: Jesmond
📌Hoults Estate, Walker Rd, Byker, Newcastle upon Tyne NE6 1AB
NEAREST STATION: Byker
Some truly gorgeous spreads
First, from Crwst (pronounced and meaning “Crust” in Welsh), who also have a cafe in Cardigan that I’d love to visit.
I particularly loved the Welsh Honey Butter Caramel. The butter and honey used in it are both hyper local.
You can see the range of four here.
📌 Crwst, Priory St, Cardigan SA43 1BU
The other incredible spreads I tried:
Were from Belgian business Eugene Chocolatier which I tried at Specialty Fine Food Fair. There are caramels and praline spreads and all that I tried were superb. I really couldn’t pick a must-try, though the Ginger Lemon Caramel was unique and gorgeous.
Currently only stocked in two London locations, both of which are worth a visit for other fantastic baked goods/products:
📌 The Tufnell Park Bakery, 146A Fortess Rd, London NW5 2HP
NEAREST STATION: Tufnell Park
📌 Gladwell's Deli & Grocery, 2 Camberwell Church St, London SE5 8QU
NEAREST STATION: Denmark Hill
I’m trying to keep these shorter, so that’ll do for today!
Any and all feedback welcome!
Wishing you all very happy eating!
Jen xx