I've been lucky enough to travel the world with my work; after spending 2 years on the pastry team at Oxfordshire's Soho Farmhouse, I moved to Sydney, Australia for a year, working for the renowned Adriano Zumbo in his pâtisserie production kitchen, producing desserts for his shops as well as recreating the masterpieces featured on his TV show Zumbo's Just Desserts.
On September 2nd 2019, life took an unexpected turn when my beloved step-father Kim was tragically killed in a motorbike accident. Kim had always felt passionately that I should start my own business as he didn't approve of the low wages and long hours that are so often associated with hospitality. After his death, his words began to sink in and I felt like I should be living life on my own terms. With that, Annabel's Patisserie was born.
Starting this business has allowed me the freedom to create my own style, as well as honing my chocolate and macaron skills, in order to create one of a kind treats for you to enjoy. Experimenting with new flavours, seasonal produce & different techniques is what I live for, and I'm always happy to take new suggestions to help you create a cake or dessert for a special occasion.
Annabel's Patisserie was created in October 2019, by me, Annabel Latham. My career has been built on a series of whims, spontaneous decisions, and poor planning that have led to some unexpected successes!
Kitchen life for me began in the depths of a pot-wash corner, in a local village pub. As I was spending my school days feeling anxious and undecided about my future, it was then I realised how enticing the buzz from a professional kitchen really was.
At 18, I moved to London to get a Grande Diplòme de Pâtisserie at Le Cordon Bleu. Here I learnt everything from basic to superior pâtisserie, including entremets, chocolate tempering and sugar show pieces. This was a great foundation for me to begin my career as a pastry chef.
To my step-dad, Kim.
UPDATE
In April 2022, after nearly three years of growing the business, I converted Kim's old workshop into a commercial kitchen. I was also able to employ my childhood best friend, Kitty, who now helps me with packaging, admin, and deliveries.
I am continually humbled by the success of the business, and I feel so grateful to my loyal customer base who allow me to fulfil my dream on a daily basis!
2023 UPDATE
In September 2023, we welcomed the new trainee chocolatier, Sam! Sam is an enthusiastic 19 year old pastry chef de partie who has always had a love for cooking despite being extremely academic (unusual in this trade!). His first two working days coincided with the hottest September days on record (a mild 32c), leaving us unable to do anything with chocolate.
But, as he rightly said, it can only get better..
I'm hoping, with his help, we can smash the busiest Christmas period yet and embrace the growth of Annabel's Patisserie with a little less stress!
2025 UPDATE
After more growth, and with a lot of help from Sam, things continued to get busier. However in 2024 the chocolate world was hit with drastic price increases, up to 400% in some cases, due to global shortages of cocoa.
This is set to be a new normal as climate change makes it increasingly hard to get the right conditions for the crops. With this, I made the decision to slow the business down and broaden my horizons.
Sam has left to pursue fine dining in The Highlands, I'm training alongside this job as a counsellor, and I've scaled back my production. This just means you may see smaller batches on my website and less market attendances.
I'm forever grateful for the loyalty of my customer bases, as I continue to increase my prices to match the costs. Unfortunately, the cocoa industry is still rife with exploitation and these cost increases don't equate to fair wages for farmers, with the average cocoa farmer earning the same amount in one week as you would expect to spend on a bar of chocolate from the supermarket.
With that, I've swapped all my chocolate over to Valrhona, with its commitment to humanitarian and environmental ethics as well as traceability, you can guarantee the farmers are being paid fairly. This in turn comes with a hefty price tag, so if you're ever shocked to see the large increases in AP prices, this is why.