Early risers Dave and Silvia from Sunny South Yeast Bakery are up well before dawn to preheat the oven that bakes their sublime sourdough breads. Lockdown was the lift this energetic couple needed to begin their business venture; which grew from blissfully baking for their neighbourhood, to supplying local outlets and markets via their food truck, to recently opening their own premises in the city centre.
Well Dave! What’s the background to your bakery success?
We started as a sourdough micro bakery delivering breads during COVID to older members of the community and those who were immunocompromised. Everyone deserves fresh bread! Then we moved into wholesale connecting with some lovely local businesses such as The Stable Yard Bakery and The Book Bar. For almost two years we delivered across Waterford city and county every Saturday before setting up our food truck at markets. This year has been really exciting because in May we opened our very own bakery here on Barrack Street in Waterford city.
This year has been really exciting because in May we opened our very own bakery here on Barrack Street in Waterford city”.
Breadwinners
What’s your favourite thing about running your own business?
“It’s your own money you’re wasting!”(that doesn’t seem like a positive does it?!) What we mean is- you’ve always got the option to say “no” to people when you are your own boss. When taking a risk the only people who will lose money will be us, not our bosses! However, it’s been rare that we’ve had to put this into practice.
We’ve met some incredible people since we started our business. As you get older, we appreciate spending time around and dealing with people that we care about and respect. Life is definitely easier around people you get on with.
And what do you find is the most frustrating?
Dave: Working with Silvia 😉 | Silvia: Working with Dave 😉
Describe an average workday.
Usually, we both start between about 4- 4.30am everyday at the bakery. We have a bread oven that we love, but it takes time to heat up. In the meantime, I (Dave) start making our sourdough for the following day (this takes up most of my day) as we let our loaves ferment for at least one full day before baking. Silvia starts on pastries, she slices the wholesale sourdough orders, cakes and more for our shop-opening time, which is currently 9am (but we’re hoping to be ready to open at 8am very soon!). We try to take a couple of hours in the afternoon to do paperwork and the like. Then later that night, at least one of us goes back to the bakery to bake the loaves for our suppliers the following morning. These need time to cool before they’re sliced.
Love of Food
What keeps you going or inspires you?
I think it’s fair to stay that both of us love food. I’m from Waterford, and Silvia is from Barcelona. We try to take inspiration from both of our cultures and upbringings. We both love to chat about what we bake as we put a whole lot of time and energy into it. Seeing other incredible food businesses around Waterford thrive has been really special. It’s really becoming a food hub, and people are getting more interested in where their food comes from and how it’s made.
Seeing other incredible food businesses around Waterford thrive has been really special. It’s really becoming a food hub and people are getting more interested in where their food comes from and how it’s made”.
Initially, did you manage to get any support or funding for your business?
In 2020, we decided that in growing the business, one key thing was that we didn’t want to owe anyone money. We saved for our food truck and any upgrades it needed- it was important to us to build everything from scratch, together. Later on, after expanding, we visited the Local Enterprise Office for support. Now, we even cater to the LEO and the Mayor’s office sometimes! Both of our families have been really supportive of us too.
Supplier Supports
Can you see your business expanding further or have you any other projects that you’re working on?
We’re really picky about expanding or entering a project that isn’t right for us. We’ve only just begun at the bakery so the next step is to get in a great quality coffee machine. Eoin McGrath from Mean Bean has been really helpful on that front plus he’s only up the road from us. We try to support as local as possible, so getting our coffee there will be great. On that note, we get all of our flour from Kells Flours over in Kilkenny. They’ve been great suppliers even if they’re from the wrong side of the bridge! Another person worth mentioning is Fiona at Granny’s Table in Dunhill Ecopark. She’s got a wonderful farm shop packed with the sort of artisan stuff we love to eat and drink.
Do you have any ‘time saving’ tips for business owners?
‘Mise en place’ was one of the first culinary terms that I was taught. Get organised, get your prep done and the rest will follow. That’s an over-simplification, but you’ll find whether it’s with kitchen prep, invoicing your clients or pitching in meetings; if you do your prep work- it pays off!
Has having an online presence helped or hindered your business?
We’ve met some incredible people through social media since we started in 2020. I was working as a chef for years and I loved every bit of it, but then COVID came along and the restaurant I was a part of came under new ownership. The time seemed right for myself and my long-term culinary-guru Marek Redvai to seek greener pastures. He’s doing a great job in MOMO restaurant now. While I swapped the late nights for early mornings in the bakery. To be honest, I was never much of a fan of social media, or of spending too much time on the phone. However, about two weeks before COVID hit, myself and Silvia had our first weekend away in years, and she forcibly took my phone and created an Instagram account for me. That account became the Sunny South Yeast account months later. Now, we’ve about 6,000 followers on it, and another 10,000 on Facebook. I don’t have to say that she was right, do I?
For both of us, it’s important to try to switch-off and spend time together not talking about work and walking our dog Roy”.
How do you engage with your online customer?
Come visit us in-person at 58 Barrack Street! Aside from that, we usually stick to Instagram more than other platforms. Regularly, what tends to happen is that we finish a 16-hour-plus day and then check our phones to see a huge number of notifications. That’s when what should be some great personal interaction, turns into a job. For both of us, it’s important to try to switch-off and spend time together not talking about work and walking our dog Roy. Although we do have a rule to always get back to people but we’ll wait until we can give it our full attention. That’s not to discount the work people do by sharing and promoting our business and other local businesses online via social media; they help build a thriving local food community.
Trust your Gut & Feed you Gut
What advice would you offer someone who is thinking of starting their own food business?
- Our advice is to do your homework, plan and see if it’s feasible before anything else. If it is, talk to everyone you know in that subset of the food industry. Ask them- do they think you’re crazy? Do they think you’re on to something? And even then, when you’ve done all the research, you’re going to have to jump in with two feet eventually!
- Trust your gut more than anything, if something doesn’t seem right, it’s probably not. You don’t have to take every single opportunity that comes your way for the sake of it, especially if it affects your mental health.
- Eat well, eat sourdough bread, it helps your gut make solid decisions!
Cheers Dave, wishing you both rising success with the bakery!
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