WHAT’S ON OFFER & How to order
If you would like to be the first to know each week what I’m baking and where I’m selling from, then please sign up to my mailing list. Just send an email to theculinarykiwibird@gmail.com with your full name asking to be added to the list. Each Monday (sometimes a Sunday, but always before social media posts are put up) you’ll receive an email from me. Menus change weekly.
I’m back in Orb’s this Friday the 28th March then it’s onto the Q2 schedule below. The Leinsamenbrot is pre-order only this week but I’ll have extra of all other bakes if you don’t manage to get your order in by 5pm on Tuesday.
I’m also taking orders for Burnside Orkney Farmhouse Cheese which will be available to collect from the Huntly Farmers Market on Saturday 5th April See my cheese page for flavours and prices
HOW TO ORDER
When I’m in Huntly on a Friday you can pre-order (advisable) or just turn up and take your chances. You’ll find me in Orb’s Bookshop in the town square between 11.30 and 1.30.
To place an order you just need to message me via Instagram or Facebook, text or call on 07376209072 or email theculinarykiwibird@gmail.com. Orders for Friday close Tuesday at 5pm and for Saturday market collections orders close Wednesday at 5pm.
My sourdoughs are made with predominantly organic Scottish flours from Mungoswells North Berwick and Bere from Orkney; my pastries are made with the best French pastry flour from Foricher Moulins and organic pastry flour from Shipton Mill, with butter from The Edinburgh Butter Company. My salt comes from Great Taste Award winning 3 Star Blackthorn Salt over in Ayrshire. Everything is handcrafted by me in my home based micro-bakery. As for other ingredients, I try to keep it as local and as seasonal as possible.
I WORK IN A MICRO-BAKERY WHERE I FREQUENTLY HANDLE NUTS, SOY, DAIRY, EGGS, SESAME AND OTHER ALLERGENS. PLEASE ENSURE THAT WHEN ORDERING OR PURCHASING ANY OF MY PRODUCTS THAT YOU ADVISE OF ANY FOOD ALLERGIES.
At markets each product basket is labelled with a full ingredient list and all allergens and if you have any questions or concerns over the ingredients, please just ask!
orkney farmhouse CHEESE
I have been interested in cheesemaking for years and have done numerous courses over the past decade. More recently on a course in the Highlands with renowned cheesemaker Kathy Biss, I met Barry from Burnside Cheese in Orkney. Barry’s been making cheese in some form since his teens when he was first introduced to the process of cheesemaking by his granny. Fast forward to today and Barry produces a new generation of Orkney farmhouse cheese.
Luckily for me Barry had brought with him to the course, samples of his own cheeses. They were all absolutely delicious and I’m extremely excited to announce that I am now selling Barry’s cheeses at farmers’ markets and pop ups. You will not find these cheeses anywhere else on mainland UK.
A farmhouse-style cheese with a smooth creamy character and firm texture, enjoy it as a tasty fresh cheese or as a versatile cooking ingredient, It’s Orkney’s answer to halloumi or paneer.
All Barry’s cheese is handmade in small batches using local Orkney pasteurised cow’s milk. It comes in four varieties: original, smoked (my personal favourite), chilli and pepper & chive. It has a shelf life of 3 weeks and even better, they’re vegetarian. They all come in 200g rounds and are £5. If you are placing a bread or pastry order, you can add on cheese now too.
Please note that these cheeses in addition to the milk and salt, contain gluten from the vinegar that is used to curdle the milk.
There are four varieties of Barry’s delicious cheese, find me at a market and try some for yourself.
MULTI AWARD WINNING BAKER
Well it seems my Bere Meal Sourdough Boule is getting a bit of a reputation (all good!!), taking home 4 Golds in the 2025 Scottish Real Bread Championships held at the Bowhouse in Fife in February. My other two entries, a spiced fruit and hazelnut sourdough and a dark rye sourdough both attained a full set of bronze awards for the categories in which they were entered. So I’m a very happy baker!
On 31 July 2024 my Bere Meal Sourdough Boule was awarded a Great Taste 1 Star. To say I was over the moon is an understatement. A tasty distinctive loaf with a profile akin to a rye was what the judges thought and I’m so grateful for their positive feedback. I couldn’t have attained this acknowledgement without the fabulous flours we have available in Scotland, first and foremost in this loaf the Bere Meal from Barony Mill, Birsay. Giving the strength to this sourdough is organic white and wholewheat from Mungoswells in North Berwick and of course the extra taste comes from Great Taste 3 Star Blackthorn Sea Salt from Ayrshire.
The 2024 Scottish Real Bread Championships was held on Saturday 24th February at Bowhouse, St Monans in Fife and rounded off the 15th annual international Real Break Week. Real Bread is bread that contains no nasty additives, the kind of things that you won’t find in your pantry at home like stabilizers, E-numbers and so on. A record number entries were received this year from bakers all across Scotland and I’m pleased to say that I managed to walk away with 3 Gold, 3 Silver and 14 Bronze Awards.
Like 2023, Bere was the star of the show for me in 2024’s competition with my Bere Meal Sourdough Baguette attaining the 3 Golds. Bere if you don’t know is an ancient form of barley that is (and has been for over 300 years) grown and milled for human consumption in the UK by the wonderful folk at Barony Mill in Orkney. My smoked 100% sourdough croissant and my Leinsamenbrot sourdough loaf attained Silver and my Vollkornbrot, Bere Meal Sourdough Boule, Sourdough Baguette and Toasted 3 Grain Brown Sourdough Tin all attained bronze across a range of categories.
In 2023’s Scottish Real Bread Championship, my Bere Meal Sourdough Boule was awarded Reserve Champion out of over 120 entries from bakeries across Scotland. My Dark Danish Rye & Spelt sourdough with pumpkin seeds and Copper Fox oat stoat was awarded Bronze.
For more information on how you can support the push for Real Bread, check out the Real Bread Campaign at https://www.sustain.org/realbread/.
If you’re interested in try Bere Meal for yourself (or even the whole grain, it makes for a fabulous risotto) then check out the Barony Mill wesbite (they ship UK wide) https://www.baronymill.com
RECIPES
VEGAN WHITE BEAN CASSOULET WITH BERE MEAL SOURDOUGH
Sourdough’s not just for sandwiches you know. It’s great for mopping up all those lovely juices from my white bean cassoulet.
This is a vegan version of that great French classic but if you prefer, you can add in some ham hock, pork and even use a chicken stock or just water, it’s a pretty adaptable recipe. If you’re like me and love your dark leafy greens, throw in some kale for the last 5 minutes.
Use whatever white beans you have in your cupboard and if you decide to use tinned beans, make sure you rinse them before adding.
This shouldn’t be soupy so if you end up with a bit much stock in that pot, don’t tip any out, just smush up some of those beans before you add the roasted tomatoes. But make sure you leave enough liquid for that sourdough to mop up.
Other than seasoning the tomatoes before roasting, don’t be tempted to add more salt or pepper until you’ve tasted the end product …. ever!!!
And just on the sourdough, if you’ve run out of your own homemade sourdough (or mine) then don’t be tempted to buy that “sourfaux” from your local supermarket. Flour, salt and water, that’s all the ingredients that should be in it so either make some more yourself or come and see me for some genuine sourdough.
Enjoy.
new Recipe coming soon
.
new recipe coming soon
.
A little bit about the baker ….
The Culinary Kiwi Bird I hear you muse …. I’m a Kiwi (who’s been based in the UK on and off since the late 80’s), I’m a “bird” and I love all things culinary.
An avid foodie for 25+ years I gave up a career in the subsea industry to follow my passion for food and returning to the UK in 2017 I studied at the Tante Marie Culinary Academy in Surrey, graduating with a double distinction as a classically trained Chef/Baker. After a brief period at a 1 Michelin Star Restaurant in England, I returned to my home in Aberdeenshire, where I worked in several highly regarded hotels & Inns before establishing my own artisan bakery in Insch.
I have a micro-bakery in the backyard where I produce real bread, genuine sourdoughs and viennoisserie. I sell on Friday’s and Saturday’s and I don’t currently have a permanent shop front.
I absolutely love what I do and my training as a chef only serves to enhance the quality of the goods that I produce. I only use Scottish flours from Mungoswells in North Berwick (organic white & wholewheat, light and dark ryes) and Bere Meal from Barony Mill, Orkney for my sourdoughs. For my viennoisserie, I use the highest quality french flour from Foricher Moulins and small batch cultured Scottish butter from The Edinburgh Butter Company. My salt of choice comes from Blackthorn Sea Salt over in Ayrshire. I am always on the lookout for quality local ingredients that I can incorporate into my bakes and am keen to support other local small enterprises as much as I can.
I am a fully paid up supporter of the Real Bread Campaign whose mission it is to find and share ways to make bread better for us, better for our communities and better for the planet. The Real Bread Campaign is calling for a change in law to help people understand that not all loaves are created equal enabling them to make better choices. It is campaigning for improved loaf labelling and marketing laws in the UK. My sourdoughs are made from just flour, salt and water unlike most “sourfaux” loaves you’ll find in the supermarkets. My loaves are handcrafted, they are not partially baked but baked fresh on the day and they don’t contain any nasties! You can find out more information on this campaign at https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/
I am on a personal journey to produce the best quality sourdough and viennoisserie in North East Aberdeenshire and I hope you will join me on that journey.
Contact The Culinary Kiwi Bird to order by calling +44(0)7376 209072, emailing theculinarykiwibird@gmail.com
or messaging via Facebook or Instagram @theculinarykiwibird.