29 May 2023
This is the weekly(ish) newsletter from Loaf in Stirchley, keeping you abreast of our bakery and cookery school, and other news we think you might be interested in.
This week we were interviewed by Japan’s Asahi Shimbu newspaper and have some cookery school classes we’d like to sell.
Scroll down for this week’s lunch menu and cookery school spaces.
🍞 Pre-order your bread and pastries 🥐
We’ll have plenty on the shelves all week, with lunches served from noon on weekdays.
Our bakery opening hours are:
Tue - Fri: 12 - 6
Saturday: 8 - 1
Interviewed for the Asahi Shimbu
Last week we had a visit from two reporters for the Asahi Shimbu, one of Japan’s leading newspapers, who are working on a feature about co-operatives. Apparently there’s a lot of interest in Japan about the co-op model and since the UK is the birthplace of the co-operative movement they’re visiting a number of businesses across the country.
It was great to spend a couple of hours getting into the nuts and bolts of how Loaf operates and how it differs from places we’ve worked before Loaf. To have someone question the things we take for granted – such as everyone getting paid the same rate and all decisions being made democratically – is healthy and we were able to confidently make our case.
We’re not sure when the article will appear – we were one of the first co-ops they’ve visited and they want to see some larger ones, like our supplier Suma, for contrast – but we’re looking forward to seeing what they made of us!
If you’re reading this as a member of a co-op and would like to be put in touch, let us know.
Courses with spaces that need to be filled
Selling events with 10 places – as we do – is always an adventure because you rarely have exactly 10 people interested in that specific date. It’s always either over, in which case you have to field waiting list enquiries and gamble on scheduling more dates, or under, in which case you run the risk of not covering costs.
If your capacity is, say, 200 or so, then plus or minus five people is irrelevant. But at our level it’s an occupational hazard.
At the moment a third our classes in June and July have comfortably sold, a third are on the way and a third are giving us a nervous side-eye. All of them have done well in the past and we stand behind them 100%. That last third just haven’t found all their people this season.
So here they are. The cookery school classes that need a bit of a push.
- Sushi - Wed 7 Jun
- Ramen - Thu 8 Jun
- Thai Cooking - Tue 27 Jun
- Bread — Back to Basics - Sat 1 Jul
- Baking with Heritage Grains - Sat 8 Jul
- Dosa - Wed 12 Jul
- Sweet Breads and Viennoiserie - Sat 15 Jul
- Bread — Back to Basics - Sat 29 Jul
If you want to help us out, please spread the word! If you’ve done and enjoyed one of these classes, tell your friends! Sold-out classes are a major source of income for Loaf and support the community work we want to do more of.
And if you’ve been wanting to do a class but have been putting it off, why wait any longer?
Pasta course went well!
The first of our revived, revised and reinvigorated Handmade Pasta classes ran last week and was a bit of a success! At least that’s what we can surmise from the only photo to emerge from the the evening.
This is one of the classes that has sold out this summer, but don’t worry, it will return in the autumn.
Lunches this week
Tuesday
- Curry: Tarka daal with sourdough (Ve)
Wednesday
- Soup: Carrot, ginger and coriander with sourdough (Ve)
Thursday
- Focaccia Sandwich: Roasted harissa cauliflower, crispy chickpeas, spinach & basil hummus (Ve) with optional feta (V)
Friday
- Curry: Broccoli and green bean coconut green curry with sourdough (Ve)
- Salt beef on challah
Tue – Fri
- Sourdough pizza: Four cheese, confit garlic & basil oil (V)
Wed – Fri
- Ham and cheese croissant
- Pine nut pesto and cheese croissant (V)
Tue – Sat:
- Sausage rolls
- Vegetable rolls (V)
Lunches are made fresh weekdays for 12 noon.
Our menu for the week — with ingredients and allergens — is on the website.
Cookery school classes
The following classes have spaces as of this newsletter being posted.
Loaf’s all-day classes:
- Bread — Back to Basics: Sat 3 Jun, Tue 13 Jun, Sat 1 Jul, Sat 29 Jul
- Simply Sourdough: Sat 17 Jun, Sat 22 Jul
- Sweet Breads and Viennoiserie: Sat 10 Jun, Sat 15 Jul, Tue 25 Jul
- Baking with Heritage Grains: Sat 8 Jul
- Wholegrain Baking with Tom Baker: returns in the autumn
Loaf’s evening classes:
- Handmade Pasta: sold out
Haseen’s evening classes:
Lap’s all-day classes:
- Sausage & Charcuterie: returns in the autumn
- Seafood Masterclass: returns in the autumn
Lap’s evening classes:
- Thai Cooking: Tue 27 Jun
- Sushi: Wed 7 Jun
- Ramen: Thu 8 Jun
- Dumplings: Tue 11 Jul
- Macarons: Tue 4 Jul
- Knife Skills: sold out
The next tranche of dates will be released in the summer. You can sign up to alert lists for specific classes here.
Thanks for all your continued support. See you next week!
Team Loaf: Dave, Molly, Pete, Ian, Dorit, Sarah, Martha, Rach, Nancy & Neil
Website: loaf.coop
Socials: Instagram / Mastodon / Twitter / Facebook