A former Bake Off: The Professionals star has joined a Bristol bakery hoping to push the boundaries of French patisserie. Meet Ben Condé - Mokoko’s new executive chef who is working with the teams across all sites in Bristol and Bath to produce some of the leading produce in the region.
Although it’s still proudly independent, Mokoko has formed a mini baking empire. It was founded in Bath by Jake Harris more than ten years ago, now spread across five sites, with bakeries in Portishead, Wapping Wharf and most recently Box Maker’s Yard. The bakery believes in the simple things, striving to give each customer the best possible interpretation of patisserie and breadmaking.
“We’re pushing to the highest standard of pastry possible. If it’s not right, it won’t go on the counter and it never will,” said Ben, who has been with the bakery since March. “You’ll only see products that we’re truly happy with and are genuinely tasty, made from the heart.”
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At Mokoko, everything is freshly prepared and baked on site, with Bath’s Newark Works providing for the Abbey Church coffee shop. But Ben is looking at ways to take this further, leading the teams across four kitchens to master the classics with some new inventions along the way.
With no formal training, Ben grew up in Llanelli in Wales learning to cook as soon as he could stand and has been taken under the wing of many chefs along the way. He grasped the foundations of French patisserie from his grandfather, growing up surrounded by the sights and smells of good cooking.
He studied music in college and law in university, but neither enamoured him in the same way as pastry. “I found it fascinating how far you can push pastry and the flavour profiles and how there’s no limit to how far you can take it.”
Having worked in various different kitchens under chefs such as Tom Heaney, Ben explained that it wasn't until he started working for Laurian Veaudour at the former Cocorico patisserie shop in Cardiff that he learned the fine art of pastry.
Laurian was one of the people who encouraged Ben to apply for Bake Off: The Professionals in 2022. He made it to the final six with his partner Dinesh Ramsurn, an eye-opening, exposing experience.
“To be so exposed and vulnerable with something you know so well just makes you return back to your trust in your own techniques and your own ability” reflecting on his time on the show. “I think if you completely trust what you’re doing and you’ve honed your techniques and you’re confident in the recipes, most people will be fine but it does drive you to really push to do your best.”
While the competition typically requires you to bake ludicrous creations like toppling chocolate towers and sugar-spun structures, his biggest takeaway was a black cardamom and raspberry trifle. As a contemporary twist on a modern British classic, it impressed the judges and earned him first place in that episode.
This idea is a huge part of Ben’s ethos as a baker that mirrors Mokoko’s ambitions to make the best pastry in the city. They’re practising new menu items for spring and summer, including savoury Danish pastries, new luxury cookies and indulgent Basque cheesecakes sprinkled with buckthorn and bee pollen. On top of this, the chefs are working hard using the highest quality ingredients to line the shelves of the bakeries with the best possible products.
“What we want to achieve with Mokoko food-wise is producing the highest quality and consistently delivering that so customers can expect a certain level from us. The best bakeries are the ones that do the humble classics absolutely beautifully and really push the boundaries with a few special products.”
Although there are some products that remain unchanged from French tradition. “The croissant and the pain au chocolat are ones you fundamentally don’t mess with,” he said.
Instead, Mokoko creates the best possible versions of these classics using high quality ingredients including imported French butter and aromatic Valrhona chocolate. This also includes a three-day croissant process to conjure a good depth of flavour.
“I do stand by the fact that we have the best pain au chocolat in Bristol by far,” Ben added. “That being said, there is always going to be a push back on certain products and there are some we haven’t changed and we never will.”
Ben said Mokoko’s almond croissant has remained unchanged due to its popularity as a reminder of the bakery’s roots. “We take ideas and modernise them in a very Mokoko way and we work with all of our head chefs across the whole company.
“Simplicity leaves nowhere to hide. I think perfection with us takes patience and time, but with the great team that we have I am really confident.”
Most of all, Ben attributed the bakery’s success as a testament to the hard-working teams across all sites. Many of Mokoko’s bakers learn on the job like Ben did growing up, and he hopes to continue to offer an environment where people learn the highest level of technique.
Ben added: “The staff and chefs we have, they’re a really really talented bunch across the board. What we’re delivering we’re really proud of and pushing all bakeries to push themselves to the highest standard.
“Bristol has such an exciting food scene, it’s so diverse, interesting and culturally aware. With the type of food that I make and the memories I want to create in those items, I think it will resonate with the people who Bristol who come into Mokoko.”
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