For our latest visit we stopped in on the fantastic Cottonrake Bakery. Featuring all sorts of home made baked goods, Cottonrake was founded by Stefan Spicknell in 2010. Originally starting as a quality catering company it gradually grew into what is now the Bakery on Hyndland Street in the West-End. We had a quick chat with Stefan about how the bakery came to be and his plans for the future…

Can you tell us a little about the history of Cottonrake?

Originally I set up Cottonrake as an outdoor catering business looking at creating quality food for events, conferences and private parties. I’ve worked in kitchens from the age of sixteen and have slowly gravitated to the pastry section, enjoying baking and creating sweet delicacies. After a year in the space on Hyndland St I had been keen to concentrate more on pastries and baking so the natural next step was to open the space to the public.

The Bakery on Hyndland Street seems to be really popular, was it always part of the Cottonrake Plan?

No, I think it all happened quite organically. I had been keen to use my skills to grow a business but not necessarily into a retail space. I have enjoyed the process though, the different products that have grown through the relationship of filling a shop, feedback from the customers and trying to create different flavours to fit the seasons has created interesting challenges and much more diverse results than I may have planned.

Where did the name Cottonrake come from?

The name is unusual and at first I wasn’t sure it was right. I have a passion for horse racing and it was the name of a racehorse, it is also the name of an old farming implement. I was keen for the name to hark back to old ideals, an ethos that we are keen to keep running through the Cottonrake brand.

What does the future hold for Cottonrake?

We’re currently looking for a new space as I’m keen to continue to grow the bakery. It would be great to have space for a few tables. I have been incredibly surprised by the success in these early stages and want to make sure as Cottonrake slowly grows we do not lose site of the Cottonrake vision.

Find Cottonrake at 31 Hyndland Street and online at http://www.facebook.com/cottonrake