Bread Ahead founder Matthew Jones discusses the enduring appeal of sourdough and doughnuts, taking the concept overseas and why developing the next generation of bakers has become central to his ambitions.
For those who may not know Bread Ahead, how would you describe the business?
I’m Mathew Jones, the owner and founder of Bread Ahead. My own journey started when I left school at 15 and went onto a youth training scheme. I then spent around 30 years working as a chef before eventually setting up a baking business.
The principles we started with are essentially the same today. We make really good sourdough bread, we have fantastic doughnuts and we teach bakery. Those are the three pillars of the business.
The teaching element makes Bread Ahead very experiential. We run physical, hands-on baking classes within the bakery, so people can really immerse themselves in the process. That has become a very important part of who we are.
What inspired you to move from restaurants into bakery?
My first job was in a restaurant and I loved it. I’ve always loved food and being in that environment, but throughout my career I naturally gravitated towards pastry and baking. I really enjoyed making puff pastry, bread, scones and those sorts of products.
Then I was given an opportunity to run a bakery within a restaurant business I was working for. That really changed my life because suddenly I wasn’t just working as a pastry chef; I had the opportunity to bake bread on a commercial scale.
I absolutely loved it. Looking back, that was probably the real turning point.
What have been the biggest challenges in scaling an artisan bakery business?
Where do I start? It’s challenging every day.
We began as a team of three at Borough Market, and simply growing a team is difficult. Growing a business means things can change incredibly quickly. You can start the week in one position and, by Friday, have three new customers and suddenly need to adapt everything.
That constant change can be difficult for people. Personally, I love it. I embrace change, but it isn’t everybody’s cup of tea.
Every time you open another shop there is risk involved. Sometimes things work and sometimes they don’t, and that can be stressful. Bread Ahead has also been bootstrapped from day one. I’ve reinvested in the business myself and we haven’t taken outside investment, which has brought its own challenges.
Property is another area that can be surprisingly difficult. We recently left Pavilion Road in Chelsea and we have also faced uncertainty around other London locations. You hope that if you build a strong independent business, do a good job and contribute to an area, there will be some security, but unfortunately that isn’t always the case.
