BATTLE OF THE BROTHERS
The Fabulous Baker Brothers share their thoughts on bread, beards, and Bruce Springsteen.
Interview by Marianne Voyle
Tom and Henry Herbert first burst on to our screens as a duo in 2012, bringing with them nostalgia for the traditional, British bakeries. With their delicious breads in Harrods’ food halls, the launch of a new cookery school, and the popular second series of The Fabulous Baker Brothers, the brothers have their flour-covered hands full.
As the 5th generation of butchers and bakers in their family, the brothers are battling to develop a love for the incomparable taste of ‘real bread’ over the manufactured loaf. Their presence also breaks the usual, idealistic baking stereotypes. “We don’t pretend to be anything we’re not” Henry told Chaat!, and he would be right. Their dishes aren’t prettied or poked, and perhaps this straightforwardness is the reason why they’re driving people to their kitchens. After the success of their first series where the two competed for title of ‘best pie maker’ with lots of playful nudges and banter, they are now embarking on a challenging road trip to add one fabulous dish to some British menus. There may seem like a lot of rivalry, but really, it’s just a lot of brotherly love.
Chaat!: Henry; in the last series of the Fabulous Baker Brothers, you used a large cleaver to dramatically chop some bread in half. Would you say that your mission is to make baking ‘manly’?
Henry Herbert: I think we’re quite big, bold and full of flavour. We’re in your face rather than pretty. In that way, it could seem that we’re trying to appeal to young males, but in reality, having met people who enjoy the show, they range from rugby players to grannies to young kids. We’re not trying to be exclusive here, but we do what we do without trying to be anything other than us. Nobody is telling us to act a certain way or putting words in our mouths. We’ll do it, film it, and that’s what happens!
C: What do you have as background noise while you’re cooking?
Tom Herbert: When I started baking for living 15 years ago, the head baker could choose what music to put on. At the time it was my Uncle Sam and he’s a massive Bruce Springsteen fan. I listen to my fair share of Bruce Springsteen. I’ve actually made a Baker Brothers playlist with my favourite tunes to bake to. Anyone can download it…if you Google it it’s called ‘Hot Tunes from the Oven from the Fabulous Baker Brothers’!
HH: I really like Bastille and dodgy, reggae pop from the 90s for a couple of hours of baking in the kitchen!
C: How’s everything going at Hobb’s House Bakery?
HH: It’s going really well. We’re working on a cookery school which is coming up [in March] and Tom and I are mainly working on that. It’s upstairs in the house we grew up in and we’re slowly converting it into a cookery school. We’ll be teaching people how to make sausages and chop up their meats. It’s one thing having your own cookery show, but it’s another thing to have an intimate group where you really delve into detail and get to know people. I’m really looking forward to that.
TH: It’s a tricky time because it’s January and things aren’t great on the high-street, but we’ve got so much going on with the new book, the new show and launching our cookery school. We’ve recently started supplying bread to Harrods in London too.
C: You’re fairly new to the public eye. Tell me about your best and worst fan experiences so far.
TH: I think the best ones are getting feedback from people where our recipes have really been a part of their lives. To hear from a lady saying her husband has never been in the kitchen and since he’s become a fan of the Baker Brothers, she can hardly get him out of there and it’s added a new lease of life to their marriage, well, you’d never guess would you! It gives me a huge amount of satisfaction knowing that something that we’ve tested in our kitchen has become a part of someone else’s life. The most alarming experience was after I filmed In Search of a Perfect Loaf on BBC 4 which was a documentary about my quest to make the perfect bread. They’d shown it a few times on TV. When I was at Glastonbury with my wife, this man-giant with a beard came towards me in a slightly possessed way and shouted ‘You’re the baker off the telly!’ and picked me up and kind of swung me around like I was a small child. I was thrilled and terrified at the same time.
C: Was it Hagrid?
TH: Yes! A ginger Hagrid.
C: As you know, Chaat! readers love their spice, so what curries have you been cooking up recently?
HH: I went to India for two and a half months just after I got married and realised how diverse curry dishes were. I really like having a curry and making some chapattis to go with it. That, for me, is perfection. My favourite is a fish curry, just because it’s really quick! You can make it delicious easily just with some curry leaves, a bit of shellfish and some fresh spices.
TH: The quick fish curry has been a great one. It’s cooked really quickly in a home-blend of spices. My favourite spicy dish? That’s like choosing between your children...
Full interview in Chaat! Magazine issue 12
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