THE BAKER'S DOZEN - INTERVIEW WITH BRITISH PATAGONIA
We sit down with Matias Barbat, owner of British Patagonia in Islington, who created three original bakes inspired by Penhaligon's scents.
With the opening of Penhaligon's Bakery (that's the festive gift shop, don't you know), we've turned our noses and stomachs towards London's impressive pool of baking talent to create recipes inspired by our very own scents. North London-based vegan bakery British Patagonia kindly agreed to create three recipes inspired by some of our favourite scents. Matias Barbat, Michelin-star chef and owner of the bakery, sat down with us to talk about the process.
Tell us a little about yourself and British Patagonia.
I was born and bred in Patagonia, growing up between Bariloche and Cipolletti. Since my early days, I always liked cooking with my grandma and eventually I turned this into a career. After working for six years in Michelin-star restaurants, I decided to open British Patagonia, which embodies the spirit of where I’m from.
What inspired you to become a baker?
Opening my own bakery, British Patagonia, was the inspiration. Even before I started my professional career as a pastry chef in London, I knew I wanted to open a bakery. Since then, I always imagined what I wanted to create and what it would look like. And, many years later, the opportunity to make it a reality arose so I jumped from being a full-time pastry chef to a full-time baker and entrepreneur!
Talk us through an average day at the bakery.
Usually we all start at 07:00, but sometimes I go in a little earlier. We'll start with pastries first so they're ready for the 08:00 open time. After that, we focus on preparing anything we need for the next day – luckily, we can prepare everything one day ahead. Just before midday, we make everything for lunch service ahead of the lunchtime rush.
You specialise in vegan bakes. What challenges did you have creating vegan pastries?
To begin with, it was difficult as the pastries we made didn't have the taste or texture of regular pastries. It was after a lot of trial and error and trying new ways of laminating the dough that we got closer to an 'authentic' pastry. We kept tweaking with ingredients and quantities to reach the desired effect and after a year of this, we finally got there! We serve great, freshly baked vegan products and our customers can't really tell the difference between a regular all-butter croissant or one of our vegan pastries.
Which was your favourite Penhaligon's bake to work on?
My favourite was the Luna Panettone. It was a challenge to get the flavours and textures right, especially working with an ingredient like pine. A regular panettone is already hard enough to get right, but this one was a bit of a fun challenge to do.
What would you recommend for someone’s first time at British Patagonia?
For someone’s first time at British Patagonia, I'd recommend to go for the classics such as a cinnamon bun, croissant or pain au chocolat.
What’s your favourite smell in a bakery?
I really like the mornings at British Patagonia with the smell of freshly baked bread and cinnamon buns in the air. It creates such a relaxing and pleasant atmosphere.
When it comes to Christmas, what is your go-to treat?
Mince pies or a good custard tart are definitely my go to treat for Christmas.
Continua a leggere
Ah, Halfeti: il gioiello nella corona della Turchia. Con il suo meraviglioso mix di antico fascino bizantino, armeno, egiziano e ottomano, E città rinomata per i suoi scambi commerciali con il resto del mondo. Spezie e altri preziosi…
Va da sé che in Penhaligon’s abbiamo un debole per una buona tazza di tè. Ma come è iniziata l’ossessione britannica per il tè? Abbiamo invitato la fondatrice della Rare Tea Company, Henrietta Lovell...
Proprio come gli animali selvatici marcano il proprio territorio, il profumo di una persona estende il suo spazio personale. In effetti, i profumi emanano un sentore diverso a seconda di chi li indossa, quindi bisogna scegliere una fragranza che...
Sono passati alcuni anni da quando la rinomata collezione Portraits ha conquistato un posto di primo piano nei negozi Penhaligon’s di tutto il mondo. La collezione di fragranze Portraits continua a crescere per offrire sempre qualcosa di nuovo e di diverso...
A chi non è mai capitato di fermarsi a odorare il profumo di una rosa fresca e di sentirsi immediatamente sollevato? Non è affatto una coincidenza. È scientificamente provato che i profumi floreali donano una sensazione di gioia. Una fragranza può…
Un odore inebriante appena si entra. Cura e attenzione impareggiabili da parte di esperti di fragranze. Ogni nostra boutique ha i suoi tratti distintivi, ma non c’è niente che sia più distintamente Penhaligon’s della nostra icona...
Ai tempi di William, ogni dandy londinese degno di nota poteva trovarsi a girovagare tra Jermyn Street e St. James’s Street. Qui, era possibile soddisfare ogni esigenza sartoriale e di cura di un gentiluomo...
Gli angoli più romantici di Londra: Approvato da Penhaligon’s: “Amante non sia chi coraggio non ha” (anche per le signore). Questo San Valentino, è il momento di farsi coraggio e portare la tua dolce metà in gita...
Che infamia sarebbe omettere il racconto di una tale storia. La storia del Principe della profumeria. Chiamalo William Penhaligon. Si è imbarcato in una serie di pellegrinaggi. Alcuni coinvolsero…
Penhaligon’s è orgoglioso di presentare THE FAVOURITE. Il palco è pronto, lo scenario è Blenheim. La storia riguarda l’essenza di questo maestoso palazzo. Il suo profumo riempie i quartieri reali come…
