When Norfolk boy Steven Winter left school at 15, he had two options: join the army or train to become a baker. Two decades, 7 shops, and more than 3 million cinnamon buns later, the Bread Source founder and self-proclaimed ‘anti-business businessman’ reckons he made the right decision. BETHANY WALES reports.
If you’ve spent anytime in Norwich over the past three years, you’ll likely know Bread Source.
Their pastry-laden window displays and giant croissants have become synonymous with the county’s growing artisan scene, but according to Mr Winter, baking for the upper crust was never the plan.
He said: “When I first started out 15 years ago it wasn’t called artisan. I was just a weird guy making weird pastries.
“Sour dough was only just starting to take off in the States, so it was a very weird thing to be doing here in the UK. But I just fell in love with that process.”
The beginning
Operating from a small bakery in Horsham St Faith, Mr Winter and his former apprentice got their start selling sourdough loaves at weekly markets in Fakenham, Dereham, and Reepham – which he said were nothing like the “fancy farmers markets” that you might expect.
He said: “We were on a stall in between someone selling glue and a bloke selling pet food.
“We focused on simple labelling and getting people to try the products, which ended up being successful for us.”
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After a couple of years, they graduated to a stall on Norwich Market, and after a successful run, opened their first café in Aylsham in 2011.
Nearly 12 years later, Bread Source has seven locations across Norfolk, including a counter-service at their bakery head quatres on Marriot Close in Norwich, where a team of 25 bakers produces more than a tonne of fresh bread every day.
But according to Mr Winters, it hasn’t always been a picnic.
He said: “Those early years I’d leave the house for the bakery on Thursday and not get home until Sunday. My only focus was paying the bills.
“There was never any money because anything you make, you’re just putting back into the business. We’re completely self-funded.”
The tipping point
The tipping point came unexpectedly three years ago, when Covid hit.
Mr Winter said that while other cafes shut down, his team jumped at the chance to transform into a delivery service.
He said: “We’re food producers, we must produce food. In the world wars the bakers were there keeping people fed, and I thought if we dip out now, that’s disgusting.
“We knew as a business in our current form we were screwed, so we jumped online and started offering deliveries. Not just bread but milk, eggs and flour.
“We’d always been known as having decent bread and decent coffee, but after Covid we meant so much more to Norfolk than just these products.
“Suddenly we weren’t seen as a business, we were seen as the bringers of joy."
'10 things in the works'
In 2022, the company opened two new sites: the Refectory Café at Norwich Cathedral, and their first freehold on Magdalene Street.
And despite this bringing their café count to seven, he said they’ve never been in competition with themselves.
He said: “Norwich is a small city, technically you shouldn’t be able to open that many sites.
“But each location has its own demographic. If you’re arty then you’re heading to Bridewell, you’ve got people working on the industrial estate at Marriot Close, and a more middle-class clientele at the Cathedral.”
So, what’s next for the company?
According to Mr Winter, time will tell.
He said: “I’ve never written a business plan. I don’t have a number in mind or a financial goal I’m trying to hit.
“Efficiency is at the heart of everything we do, and I never want to expand if it makes life harder for my team.
“My bakers don’t do morning shifts or traditional night shifts, which is bonkers, but it means we have a happy team and no trouble hiring.”
However, Mr Winter did hint that a new café was on the cards in the near future.
READ MORE: 5 food and drink businesses opening in Norfolk in 2023
He said: “There’s always 10 things in the works, but until it's a deal done, I don’t even tell my team.
“But I’ll say we like the towns, and we want to repay those towns where we used to do the markets.
“Things have to stack into place but that’s where we’re looking.”
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