It’s Monday and my week begins … I grab a huge mug of earl grey tea and out come my books …. Of lists. I write , or rewrite THE LIST for the week. The “WTF do I need to do to get through this week” list. It has everything on it – what do I need to shop for? Anything that I can’t get delivered by my suppliers, what do I need to make, who do I need to contact, anything that I need to get done this week – if it’s not on the list it just doesn’t happen. 

Tuesday and I”m up fairly early, my big bakery supplier delivers any time from 3.30 am onwards. I work at home so I need to be up  to take delivery. Other foodstuffs are dropped next – milk, cream, cheese, veg (all are sourced locally). Meat comes a bit later; sausage meat made by my local butcher is fantastic. Eggs will be brought – I use dozens and dozens. In the height of the summer I typically use 500 a week (eggs not dozens) they are free range and laid just up the road.  The morning is full of gear being delivered and packed away ( a teeny tiny kitchen needs organisation) Much of the food that I use is bought at farmers’ markets, from the local producers therein)  apples, speciality cheese, quails eggs, certain meats. I need to get my preparation underway (I’m a one-woman, one part timer business). I make a ton of pastry (there’s no pastry roller in my kitchen) I make puff, sweet, cheese, plain, variations of these. I make curds and chutneys (lemon, clementine, plum, onion relish, etc).

Wednesday and I’m up early – this is a constant theme – I’m ALWAYS up early. I gather all the baking tins that I‘ll need this week – tins for sweet tarts, large tart rings, pie dishes, muffin tins for savoury tarts, cake tins, loaf tins. They all get prepared ready. I make fillings, roast vegetables, meat. I make frangipane, cookies, brownies, cakes …

On a Thursday I start getting bits together. Making ferments for croissants, doughs, brioche, doughnuts, and so on. I start making up pasties, sausage rolls, galettes for the fridge – they’ll get cooked on Friday. 

Then come to Friday … this is the day when you think that’s it then … but I’m up for 3 and this one I’ll keep going til it’s done. This is the day for getting everything through the ovens. I have a range master and an electric oven. No deck ovens here either – there’d be no room in the house for me. So you rack things in and out! I get more ferments done for bread, focaccia is made up and popped in the fridge for overnight proving. Croissants are made and rolled (3 times) and they go in the fridge for over night proving. Cakes are finished open tarts are made, brioche are shaped and in the fridge, scones are made …

By the time we get to Saturday then it’s making breads, pulling pastries from the fridge, brioche etc and these all get baked off. The kitchen at this stage is steaming and when I go to do a farmers’  market I have no idea what the temperature is like. 

This is also the most likely time for me to walk out of the house with out my coat – in January.