Tucked away behind high rise flats in the east end of Newcastle-upon-Tyne is a little bakery which is making a huge difference. Big River Bakery might just look like your average shop-come-café from the outside, but what is going on behind the scenes is quite astonishing.
The brainchild of Andy Haddon, Big River Bakery has enjoyed recent fame for starting the first ever “National Stottie Week” and over the next two weekends will host the “Stottie Olympics” – which includes stottie rolling and stottie “hoying” – Geordie slang for throwing or chucking – just on the square outside the shop.
“It’s all about preserving Geordie heritage” Andy tells me over a cuppa, “being proud of where you come from”. The stottie – short for “stottie cake” - can be traced back to working-class communities in the North East in the late 19th century. Miners and shipbuilders needed a hearty meal that could withstand their long, hard workdays. So the stottie was born – a round, flat bread that could be easily packed with fillings and eaten on the go. As well as celebrating local traditions the bakery has a clear mission – to serve the largely deprived community – not just with baked goods but also with “kindness and compassion”. But it took Andy a while to get here, to find his “purpose”, as he says.
Andy isn’t a baker but more a visionary. He worked for years in food distribution, and although he was enjoying great success in his professional life – working in China and Germany as well as across the UK, he still hadn’t found his passion, something which “fit with his values”. He moved back to his native North East and alongside his day job set up various schemes in his home village of Wylam – like a car club, electric vehicle charging points and even an orchard at the local school – which are all still running today. After a lot of experimenting, he eventually landed on the idea of a bakery, with the aim of creating sustainable, healthy and affordable food. He learnt how to bake and in 2013 set up a stall at his local village fair, soon moving to selling fresh bread every Saturday at the library.
All this trial and error did come with a huge personal risk, and Andy was holding down various other jobs to make ends meet. “I could have given up loads of times” he tells me,and says he feels lucky to have had the full support of his partner, Gail, who now works in the business with him – she encouraged him to “follow his dream”. Fast forward a decade and the Shieldfield site is celebrating five years, employing 15 people as well as various volunteers. But Andy and the team are looking to expand and reach other deprived communities in the region.
A recent crowdfunder campaign – matched by Aviva – raised nearly £35,000 and means they can continue to keep costs down for the customer as well as offer free food and workshops (like stottie making of course) when they can. Every Wednesday they offer a free hot meal to anyone who walks through the door – it could be a slice of pizza, pie or quiche – and any day of the week you can pick up a “free food” token at the door and hand it in at the counter – no questions asked.
In May and June this year the bakery says it gave out 350 free meals and drinks for those in need, 180 free Wednesday lunches, and 380 free breakfasts for local children. They also had 32 young people in, baking “kindness cookies” – which are sent out every week to people who have been making a difference in their community.
By the sounds of it, the famous stottie has taken on a life of its own, with “Scotty the Stottie” becoming the bakery’s mascot. The character has a book, a t-shirt, a computer game “Scotty's Kindness Quest” and my favourite – a little cuddly toy stottie wearing a pair of oven gloves. “He’s your typical Northerner” Andy tells me, “ready for work”.
There are many other ways Andy is re-inventing the stottie. They sell “stottinis” (somewhere between a stottie and a panini) and they have linked up with other Newcastle businesses – for example Greek street food company Acropolis now sell a Geordie Gyros – using a stottie in the place of pita bread.
Andy talks passionately about “the magic of making a loaf of bread out of very simple ingredients” but really his mission isn’t about bread, or even baking. It’s about inspiring. Serving bread - and kindness - to the local community, Andy believes he finally has found his purpose in life. I ask him what advice he would give other people who don’t feel satisfied with their day-to-day lives. “If you have a big idea, why not try it” he says. “Just get started – it doesn’t matter how small. Don’t give up”.
The Big River Bakery is open Monday to Saturday at Wretham Place in Newcastle. You can also order their goods – including stottie making kits and Geordie afternoon teas, and nominate someone for a “kindness cookie”, on their website - Big River Bakery.
