In this week-long series dedicated to women working in food and drink, Julia Bryce speaks to the mothers, daughters and sisters working together to build their business empires.
International Women’s Day is a global celebration highlighting the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.
This year’s theme of Choose to Challenge” seems rather fitting with many food and drink and hospitality firms battling to stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic which hit the UK last March.
And while many businesses and families have faced unprecedented times, some enterprises have managed to flourish by diversifying and adapting their business models to survive.
One business that has achieved that is Aberdeen French patisserie Almondine, which is headed up by three strong women; macaron sisters Jenny Bromley and Suzanne Horne, and their mum, Susan Williamson.
Specialising in French patisserie, and most notably their in-demand macarons, the trio have worked together for a decade now, having started their Almondine journey in February 2011.
It was a vision in bringing something new to the city and discovering macarons in a cook book which resulted in a year and a half of recipe development before the business officially launched in 2013.
Jenny said: “We started the business in February 2011 – that’s when we started making macarons. We came across them in a recipe book and decided to give them a try. They are tricky to make and it took us around a year and a half until we were happy with them and making them consistently.
“This started our passion for pastry and I did a course down in London for a few months and it has all grown from there. The more we got into it the more passionate we became.
“We did pop-up shops initially but our first shop opened in December 2013. It was a really small shop on Thistle Street with two or three tables and was a great starting point for us. We were lucky enough to expand it and more recently we’ve moved into a shop on Chapel Street which we’re thrilled about.”
Female empowerment
Leading an all-female team, with the exception of their delivery driver Michel, Suzanne and Jenny are both passionate about motivating their team and say that working together has helped them shape the business in ways they could never have imagined.
Jenny: “There’s myself and a few chefs in the kitchen just now, although I’m not doing as much of the day-to-day stuff. I really enjoy working in the kitchen and coming up with new ideas. Suzanne looks after front of house so it is a great split. We’re really lucky how it has all worked out.
“The business wouldn’t be where it is today without all three of us. Mum’s not doing any baking now, although she does bake for pleasure all the time, but in terms of the business she is helping with the admin, dealing with wholesalers and helping us get the new shop ready.
“My dad kits out our kitchens so it is a real family affair. They enjoy being part of it and it is great to work with our family. Of course we have our moments, but it is usually smoothed out really quickly. We’re all quite like-minded so it works really well.
Suzanne added: “We all have our own separate areas that we’re responsible for and have our own teams to look after which is quite good. Because we work with family, you have to get over small disagreements quickly.
“Our mum does a lot of stuff behind the scenes like booking keeping, ordering and banking, but she still likes to pop in from time to time to see everyone. It has always been the three of us since we started, and there’s so many things Jenny and I haven’t had time to do that our mum has been able to do for us.”
Quirky products
Offering a range of French patisserie including a range of petit gateaux, caneles, and large and small macarons, the creativity in the kitchen has seen Almondine become one of the go-to places for afternoon tea in Aberdeen.
Jenny: “Instagram is really helpful to come up with ideas. We have loads of recipe books and are inspired by lots of chefs like William Curley. We just want to have different things each year and we’re working on Easter products now. The different things definitely cheer people up.
“We maybe decide on what we want something to look like them work in the flavours, or do it the other way around. Colour is also very important to us. That’s the really fun part.”
Suzanne: “People like something special and will spend their hard-earned money on nice things so we like to ensure they are getting the best when they order from us. We want to wow our customers every time they come in, and I think that is so important.”
Future
Inspired to keep innovating, the move to offer their afternoon teas and patisserie for delivery or collection has seen Almondine thrive over the past year and, as a result, will stay in place when hospitality is finally given the green light to reopen.
“We’re really just looking forward to getting the shop open. We’ve been closed since Boxing Day but we know it has to be done,” said Jenny.
“The delivery side of things has kept us going this past year but we’re really eager to get the shop open to get their afternoon tea. We want to keep going with the deliveries when the shop reopens, too. We can’t seem to bake enough at the moment – our Mother’s Day offering sold out in less than two hours. We feel very lucky! We have an amazing team and we’re really lucky to have them.”
And Suzanne is also looking forward to getting the venue reopened.
She added: “There’s four girls who work front of house and our delivery driver looks after all of the deliveries. We’ve got one girl off of furlough just now who has been helping us organise our deliveries. We’re looking forward to getting everyone back!”
“I think a lot of people would think it would be a nightmare for a mum and two daughters to work together, but I love seeing people go into business with their families and best friends.
“There’s so many opportunities in Aberdeen and there are a lot of things people could add to it. If there’s something you love abroad, then give it a go and try it in Aberdeen. You never know what might happen…”
Mum’s the word
But what does mum Susan think of the business’s success and her daughters’ abilities to continuously adapt during what has been one of Almondine’s most challenging times?
As most mums are, she is extremely proud.
She said: “We all share a love of anything French and we wanted to bring a flavour of France to Aberdeen. We knew there wasn’t anything on the patisserie side of things available, but little did we know how difficult they are to make. A lot of hard work and determination went into perfecting our recipe.
“It has been an amazing journey. It has been a lot of hard work. I feel very lucky and privileged to be working with the girls. Fortunately, we’ve all got on so well over the past nearly 10 years. It has been a great experience and I’m so proud of them and our achievements too.
“I’m mostly proud of the self belief that we all had from the beginning. The vision we had in creating the Almondine brand, but to be known for our high standards of patisserie is just wonderful. We wanted to give everyone something different, so it is great we’ve achieved that. The last year has been so challenging for everyone, but fortunately we’ve managed to keep going.”
