Leeds Beckett chefs rise to the challenge

The crusty baguettes and bread rolls are the brainchild of our Executive Chef David Parker, who has developed the product with Haighs Bakery in Guiseley, Leeds.

David, who joined Leeds Beckett University in 2014 after almost 20 years’ experience as Executive Chef at the iconic luxury brand, Bettys and Taylor's of Harrogate says:

“It’s fantastic that our new Beckett Bread is now here after months of hard work by our team and we’re delighted with the end result. We had identified a continental style bread which we felt would work perfectly on our deli bar and with our fresh soups. Working with Haighs has allowed us to develop this new product with a local bakers who offer a wealth of knowledge and history who we knew could bring to life our ideas.”

Following several tests with different types of ingredients and methods David and Haighs Bakery have found the winning formula. Haighs Bakery is a family business which began operating in 1950 and produces all the bread used in our Food Court and Campus Shops.

Adam Haigh, from Haighs Bakery, says:

“In order to achieve consistency it was decided that we would make a French stick type dough using French flour milled in the UK, with the addition of wheat sour dough to provide the desired crust.”

Haighs Bakery, prove the bread for 2 hours, baking slowly from 3am allowing the bread to be delivered to campus at 7am.

“This bake and delivery time is important because the finished product, just like the traditional French Stick, has a short shelf life and we needed to ensure optimum product quality.”

The new baguettes are available as part of The Deli counter in the Food Court on both the City and Headingley Campuses. The new range of Beckett Bread baguettes will also be available in our Campus Shops and you can now enjoy our fresh soup with one of our new crusty rolls.

Tell us what you think of our new Beckett Bread on Twitter, by email or by filling out one of our Food Court feedback forms.