When in... SUFFOLK

PumpStreetBakersandChocolatemakers:Apassion forflavourandcommitmenttoethicaltrading

By Emma Varsanyi

We were very excited to talk to Joanna Brennan, co-founder of the wonderful Pump Street bakers and chocolate makers We know some of you are based in this part of the world and if you haven't been, it's time to make a visit! Pump Street creates innovative and ethical products that combine the best of their expertise in baking and single origin chocolate making, all from their rural base in Orford in Suffolk Delicious!

EV: Tell us about you?

At Pump Street, we are Bakers and Chocolate makers based in the village of Orford in Suffolk's Heritage Coast After mastering naturally-leavened bread over a couple of years when we opened in 2010, we ventured into making craft chocolate from beans we import directly from single estates and cooperatives around the world, from bean to bar Today our bakery shop and chocolate shop in the village of Orford sell our bread, pastries and chocolate, and we also sell our chocolate online and via fine food retailers across the UK and Internationally

As Co-Founder of the business with my father Chris, and Director, I am committed to ensuring we are building a business that our team and suppliers

ISSUE 004 can all be proud of. We strive to make something unique and delicious in an ethical way, and to bring joy and delight to our customers. I live between Suffolk and London with my husband Simon and our two boys, and when I am not immersed in Pump Street (which I am most of the time) I love being with my boys, cooking, entertaining and gardening.

EV: What do you do?

As both Bakers and Chocolate Makers we are dedicated to making directly-traded single farm chocolate and using our chocolate in our baked goods, and vice versa - our baked goods in our chocolate, to create innovative new bars.

This is a particularly exciting world for us to explore, and these Bakery Series bars have proved to be our most popular - the Croissant bar we launched last year, for instance, has quickly become a bestseller

EV: What’s important to you?

I think it's really important to understand and respect the work that goes into growing the cacao we use We only trade with small farmers and estates with whom we have a direct relationship

All our chocolate bars are labelled on the front with not only the country of origin but also the region and the farm name This means that our customers have access to our commitment to traceability and benefit from the breadth of the flavours that are available in chocolate of different varieties and from different regions We want to make chocolate that is exciting, indulgent and satisfying

EV: What are you passionate about?

I am passionate about flavour I think that one of life's greatest pleasures is the enjoyment of our favourite foods and the discovery of new ones Furthermore, food and flavour are markers in peoples' lives, taking part in their daily rituals and special occasions I really enjoy when I meet our customers who have integrated what we do into their lives - whether that's as their morning toast, their wedding pastries or special late night chocolate indulgence It makes me feel like we are making something that has meaning for people

But I also love trying new foods and seeing people trying new things Giving people the opportunity to try the whole breadth of chocolate flavours out there, from different origins, is a real privilege

In our fast-paced, digitally overexposed world, there are fewer and fewer truly novel things, but to taste a single origin chocolate bar for the first time is something that cannot easily be recreated

EV: What does a rural lifestyle mean to you?

A rural lifestyle to me means connectedness Being part of the local community, knowing people and families around you and coming together at important moments through the year It also means a closeness to the land and understanding directly our relationship with the soil, the weather, crops, farming and wildlife

EV: What’s next?

We are continually evolving - so it's hard to say for sure! But at the moment we are working on some new packaging which will be even more environmentally friendly than our current compostable packaging, so we are really excited about that There will be a couple of new bars in the next few months as well, so look out for those

ISSUE DIRECTORY & THANK YOU TO OUR CONTRIBUTORS

KIMONO MY HOUSE

TRAKKE

FINNIESTON CLOTHING

SSEAMSWORKS

WORKHOUSE ENGLAND

IRREGULAR SLEEP PATTERN

SACCADE

PEREGRINE

HAWICO SCOTLAND

6876

&SONS

KIRI

PATRIAM

UNCOMMON LIFE STORE

HOOS

GOOD STORY

SPOILED LIFE

HD WOOL

DUNNET BAY DISTILLERS

YARMOUTH OILSKINS

NO.25 SSEAMS WORKS

BRISBANE MOSS

JOHNNY SZYMANSKI

GORDON NICOLSON

HALLEY STEVENSONS

COURTNEY & CO

SAMUEL BINSTEAD

SEAHAWK APPAREL

COLLINGWOOD-NORRIS

ELLIOTTS EDINBURGH

THE KINDRED FOLK

JULIE COCKBURN

PUMP STREET BAKERY

CALUM HUNTINGTON

TRICKERS

SUSAN CASTILLO

RICH HALL

LIND & LIME GIN

DRYAD

LOULLY MAKES DESIGNS

AND, TO OUR READERS, WE HOPE YOU ENJOY LEARNING A LITTLE FROM THESE TRAILBLAZERS!