Listen to this episode of Birmingham food podcast Breaking Bread with Farah & Rory and hear all about their awesome coffee & cake shop Pause coffee shop in Bournville. Press play on the player above, alternatively, you can listen on your favorite podcast app, just select from the list on thisLINK
Hello & a very warm welcome back to the Birmingham food podcast breaking bread. Co-hosted by food-obsessed mates Liam & Carl, Breaking Bread gives you long-form interviews & discussions with the incredible people that make Brums food scene so amazing. This week we talk to the brilliant Farah & Rory from well-loved Pause
Both of our extremely talented guests have awesome stories, Farah is a fully trained lawyer who decided during lockdown 2020 to quit the corporate life to follow her passion for baking. Rory has been on a coffee journey, gaining experience in some of the best coffee shops around and developing his taste for great coffee.
“Coffee & Cake Is Community”
Farah- Pause
Pause For A Moment
Lockdown was a time of isolation for a lot of people. It was also the time Farah & Rory decided to put their talents together and open a coffee shop as a pop-up in the vibrant Stirchley village. Pause offered people great coffee, great baked treats, and a friendly face with some welcome conversation at one of the loneliest times.
After a hugely successful pop-up Pause moved to a permanent home in Bournville, sharing with the awesome Isherwood. It is here you can enjoy Rory’s coffee creations such as the Hemmingway, alongside the notorious cinnabuffins brownies & cookies lovingly baked by Farah.
Everything You Need To Know About Pause Coffee Shop Bournville
To listen to this episode of our Birmingham based food podcast with Mary & Shane from Mary’s Cupcakes. Press play on the player above, alternatively you can listen on your favourite podcast app, just select from the list on thisLINK
Hello & welcome to Breaking Bread, In this episode, Liam talks to baker, entrepreneur, full-time mommy of four & creator of Mary’s Cupcakes, Mary Stevens. They talk about how Mary’s cupcakes were created, running a successful business with four young children, and about Mary’s brilliant Instagram.
Who Are Mary’s Cupcakes?
Mary’s Cupcakes was created by Mary Stevens, from a love of baking and a desire to make excellent quality, indulgent and fun brownies and chocolate creations which bring a treat day for the whole family.
Today Mary’s cupcake is a family affair. As well as his full-time job Mary’s husband Shane helps out answering emails, messages and doing deliveries. Mary’s mom Christine, plays a number of vital roles in the operation. Christine and Mary’s four children are in charge of quality control & taste testing, a dream job I would say.
Unicorn Brownie
Where Can I Buy Mary’s Cupcakes Treats?
In normal times Mary can be found at markets in Sutton Coldfield & Redditch, (Check Their Instagram For More) where she has built a loyal following. Mary is famous for her selection of treats being varied & original, her creations born out of her childlike enthusiasm for making the ultimate treat. Like the easter egg smash, a Cadbury’s creme egg wrapped in brownie covered in marshmallow and packed inside a large Cadbury’s easter egg, bound to force a smile and encourage your inner child’s desire to just smash it open.
Biscoff Brownie Half Egg
As well as the markets, Mary’s cupcakes have a brand new website. The website has an online store where you can buy boxes of treats to be delivered to your door. You can even make it a regular occasion by subscribing.
Treat Day For The NHS
It all started with an order from one of Mary’s loyal customers for some brownies which were to be gifted to some NHS employees. When Mary heard about this gesture she loved it. The idea of these hard-working heroes taking a break and treating themselves to a cuppa and a treat got her thinking. What if, with the help of my loyal customers and followers I could donate boxes of brownies to hospitals all over the Midlands?
Mary set up a donations page on her website so that people can donate cash which Mary turns in to boxes of brownies and delivers treat day to NHS workers. So far nearly £700 has been donated that’s nearly 30 boxes delivered to these amazing people who are doing such a brilliant job. You can donate HERE
Family Baking
A huge part of Mary’s success is the family element. If you follow Mary’s Cupcakes on Instagram you will often find Mary & her trusted team of taste testers experimenting in the kitchen.
Baking can be a fun & educational exercise for children, so Mary has very kindly given us their favourite recipe to do as a family for you to try at home.
Gingerbread man
125g softened butter (or dairy free butter I like vitalite) 60g dark brown sugar (or coconut sugar) 70g honey 1 egg 1 tsp bicarbonate soda 2 tsp ground ginger 1 tsp cinnamon 300g plain flour (or whole meal white flour)
1. Mix butter, sugar & honey together with a spoon 2. Add egg and mix together 3. Add all the dry ingredients and mix with your hands. 4. Chill for 10 – 15 mins in the fridge 5. Once chilled roll out, cut and place on a baking try. 6. Bake for 8-9mins 180c 7. Let them cool 8. Decorate with icing, sprinkles, raisins, chocolate chips whatever you like.
NOTES
• Kids who like to get messy will love this. kids who struggle with textures this will help them to experience the dry to wet texture and learn by combining wet & dry will produce a dough. • I try to get my older children to read the recipe and measure the quantities. The younger 2 will measure the tsp ingredients. • Sometimes we throw more flour on the work while we wait for the dough to chill and write letters, numbers, shapes, words etc • If it’s been a bad day and parents you know what I mean. I sometimes I make the dough myself and just get the kids to roll the dough and cut them out 😀
This episode I have a chat with massively talented, great guy Sebastian Clough. Sebastian is a Baker and owner of Four Oaks bakery Onthebreadline. The bakery creates quality handcrafted baked goodies and breads. An interesting chat where we discuss taking a talent and skill, and turning it into a business.
One of the big reasons i wanted to speak to Sebastian on our podcast, is because i’m a huge fan of his food. His fresh bread and baguettes are fantastic and the flavoured muffins are a real treat. Especially the Kinda and the M&M muffins. If you find yourself over this side of town be sure to pay him a visit, but get there early as they do tend to sell out.
A Quick Note About The Sound Quality Of This Episode
Unfortunately when we organised a date to sit down and record this chat, i failed to notice that i had organised it for November 5th. Bonfire night. To make things worse, Sebastian’s bakery is across the road from a school which was holding a giant fireworks display. So a complete rookie error on my part, but its a learning curve. Thankfully the display finishes four minutes in, and we have a great little chat.
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cardiff based artist now accepting commissions instagram.com/arlunydd/
music is royalty free track i will not let you let me down by joshwoodwardfreemusicarchive.org/music/Josh_Woodward/ edited by liam Haughey under creative license 3 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
