Cinnamon buns, cardamom infused pastries, and warming cups of coffee. These are the few pleasures the autumn season brings us each year, and now Toklas Bakery’s first Harvest Festival can be added to that list. The London bakery, which also has a restaurant, bar, and grocery shop, will host an all-day market showcasing some of the UK’s expert producers, accompanied with a ticketed workshop, and sumptuous new bakes created by head of the bakery Janine Edwards.
Toklas Bakery Harvest Festival
Toklas was started by Amanda Sharp and Matthew Slotover, founders of Frieze magazine and art fair (which opens again in London next month). With their eye for art, they merge the creative world with food, offering a colourfully chic interior, menu and bakery, without pretension. The restaurant, named after the writer Alice B Toklas, nods to the love of food she documented in her eponymous 1954 cookbook, with an elegant, mostly fish- and plant-based Mediterranean menu.
The inaugural market will invite visitors to explore delicatessen delights from brands like Pyscis Conserves, who specialise in ‘vintage’ and heritage tinned fish; small-batch boxed wines from Bobo Wines; (alongside their new Toklas trio of cuvées) jarred beans and legumes from Bold Bean Co; Harvest flavour specials from The Social Drinking Company and contemporary, ethically-sourced Indian snacks from Biskut Bar. All products not only pay attention to the layers of flavours they offer, but also are beautifully and aesthetically packaged. London’s beloved grocers, Shrub, will also be selling a variety of fruit and vegetables to inspire seasonal cooking. Emerging brands will also be on display such as Different Kind, which is usually an online store who stock products from former convicts, female farmers and neuro-diverse young people.
The fundamentals of fermentation will be covered in workshops throughout the day, whereby guests can immerse in the nourishing world of fermentation and learn how to do this at home. If you have more of a sweet tooth, Toklas Bakery will present new pastries and flavours to devour, from apple and blackberry hand pies, alongside Apple spandauer, a Danish custard-based pastry, and a sour cherry swirl, all capturing the autumnal flavours in each buttery layer.
The market is free to enter, however it is kindly encouraged to bring any non-perishable goods for donation to the Felix Project, who aim to redistribute food waste to over 900 frontline food charities across the UK.
Toklas Bakery Harvest Festival is on Saturday 21 September and will run from 10am until 3pm. To buy tickets to the fermentation workshop see here
