F E AT U R E
We wanted to know more about the success of those people who have been able to make London fall in love with carbs again! So we had the pleasure of interviewing Gail’s Head Pastry Chef: Roy Levy.
going home to Tel Aviv as well. My mum is a great baker and my grandmother was too, so I like reviving recipes from my baking heritage. Our pecan cinnamon crumb cake was a recipe of my grandmothers that I tweaked.
SS How long have you been baking for, and did you always have a special interest in baking breads/desserts? RL I’ve been baking for about 15 years, since I was
SS How has working at Gail’s influenced your own personal baking style? RL My style and the Gail’s style are really intertwined.
about 18. I was a trainee at a bakery in Tel Aviv to fund my way through university, but after I graduated I spent a few years being a theatre director. Then I went back to baking when I found it had become a passion.
SS How did you get involved with Gail’s? RL Gail invited me over to London to work for Baker
& Spice, her first bakery. My interview was a trip to New Covent Garden market at 4 a.m.! After four years at Baker & Spice, I moved across to her other business at Gail’s - Id been involved since the start, helping to bake in Hampstead when we first opened, but it took a while to go full time there.
SS Where do the ideas for Gail’s more particular delicacies come from? RL Usually it is just my everyday life. Eating, reading,
cookbooks, trips to Paris, Barcelona, New York, and
Ran and Tom (founders of Gail’s) and I have really similar ideas in terms of flavour and look, so we fit together really well. We all want to be baking the best stuff, fresh every day - so we’re talking the same language.
SS What has been popular with the customers at Gail’s recently? RL Sourdough is getting more and more popular and
people are understanding more and more why great bread is better for you - and nicer! - than the stuff you can buy in supermarkets. So we’re really proud to be part of the movement towards real bread. Our potato & rosemary sourdough gets more popular by the second!
SS What is the most satisfying aspect of your job at Gail’s? RL I love feeding people! It’s my favourite way of communicating. You can feed people and stay silent but you know that they’re happy.
THE THREE SIDES OF GAIL’S
PURISM Gail’s artisan bakers use only natural ingredients – nuts, fruit, vegetables and herbs – and no preservatives or chemicals.
INSPIRATION Gail’s recipes are multicultural and the fruit of experiments with diverse ingredients, kneading a reflection of different cultures into the flour.
COMMUNITY Not just a shop, but an environment where the everyday customers become friends. Gail’s also offers friendly conversation in a relaxing location.
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