Bakery tourism is booming as eager consumers travel far and wide to sample the latest delicacies going viral on TikTok – from the deep-filled beignets at Fortitude Bakehouse and the honey butter toast at Arôme in London, as well as the laminated pastries from Lannan in Edinburgh.
The hype has resulted in frequent queues at these bakeries, and many more like them across the UK, as shoppers wait patiently to get their hands on the items that are causing a stir online. Onlookers will no doubt be greeted by people posing with the baked goods in question, taking obnoxiously close-up shots from multiple angles, before delicately nibbling enough to form an opinion which will be shared online in the hopes of drumming up more followers and a few minutes of fame.
I know, I’m being facetious. As a millennial and bakery journalist, I have found myself in these queues, taking (a couple) of photos, before indelicately shovelling the doughnut/cookie/pastry into my mouth and licking my fingers in delight. Notably though, I keep my opinions off of TikTok.
While this type of fly-by shopper may not become a regular customer for a bakery, the temporary uplift in sales and increased interest is likely to be welcome. Most of the time, anyway.
The aforementioned Fortitude Bakehouse, which I had the privilege of visiting as part of a study tour last year, recently found itself caught up in an online debate after an influencer filmed their experience at the Bloomsbury-based bakery and posted it on TikTok, unfairly criticising the service they received in the process. Thankfully, the video appears to have been taken down now.
Many online jumped to the bakery employee’s defence, but as Fortitude pointed out in the response it shared on Instagram, the video isn’t the crux of the problem.
“What’s important is the broader issue: secretly filming hospitality staff and posting those moments online – often without context – can be unfair and damaging,” stated the bakery.
“Our team works hard every day to provide good service, and we ask that our staff are treated with the same respect and privacy that we all expect in our workplaces.”
“Any abuse, or any risk to staff safety, is simply wrong”
Some of this is about the toxic environment allowed to thrive on social media as those posting to platforms drum up needless or non-existent drama for views. But with more and more people flocking to bakeries just to post something on their feed, bakery staff are increasingly in the line of fire and (with or without their knowledge) being filmed. This is in turn placing even more pressure on employees and managers who are already faced with a host of challenges to simply keep the door open and the ovens firing.
Kate Nicholls, chair of trade body UKHospitality, was clear in her response to the situation. “Teams in hospitality venues across the country work extremely hard to deliver consistently fantastic service to guests. Any abuse of that service, or any risk to staff safety, is simply wrong,” she said. “Delivering excellent customer service is a key priority, so venues will be very happy to have conversations with customers who wish to raise any reasonable concerns about the service they may have received.”
My hope is that the above is an isolated incident, although the cynic in me suggests it’s not which is truly a shame.
In my experience, the bakers and front of house staff at bakeries are what makes them such a special part of any community. Their enthusiasm often knows no bounds and even in particularly busy environments the service (and freshly baked goodies) mean you leave with a smile.
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