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Keeping it cool with the Meringue Girls
1:00 pm
Whilst working in the same Hackney restaurant just a few
years ago, friends Alex Hoffler and Stacey Gorman bonded over their love of all
things sweet.
Having both had formal kitchen training (Stacey in her native
New Zealand and Alex at Leiths School of Food and Wine), an opportunity to take
part in TV’s ‘Cooks to Market’ – hosted by chef Gizzi Erskine was just too good
to miss for the ambitious pair. All they needed was the right product. And of
course – it had to be sweet.
‘’Cupcakes, macaroons
and cake pops had all been done before’’ said Stacey. ‘But
we felt there was a real opportunity for us to do something fun and creative
with meringues.’’ And thus, the ‘Meringue Girls’ concept was born.
The girls first began creating their signature meringue
‘kisses’ in Alex’s kitchen, before renting shared commercial space to help them
cope with the increasing number of orders.
With innovative flavour combinations such as Gin and Tonic
and Pistachio and Rosewater it’s no surprise that demand continued to grow. Following
the success of their first book ‘’The Meringue Girls Cook Book’’ and a number
of high profile TV appearances, April 2014 saw the opening of their very own
bakery in Hackney’s Broadway Market Mews.
It’s from here that they now employ a number of part time
staff to help them fulfil weekly retail orders for the likes of Selfridges, Fortnum
& Mason and Harvey Nichols. As well as a
weekly stall at Broadway Market, the girls also offer a bespoke catering
service – supplying meringues for everything from weddings and press events to individual
orders – and that’s before they tackle the long waiting list for their much
anticipated ‘master-classes’!
The speed at which the Meringue Girls concept has taken off has meant the use of the very best equipment has been
crucial – with the bakery’s Polar Fridge and Freezer units playing an important role
in keeping ingredients fresh and ready to use.
‘’As our business has grown, so has our need
for reliable refrigeration’’ explains Stacey. ‘’We produce thousands of meringues every day - so there are an awful
lot of eggs to store!’’
‘’What’s
great about the Polar fridge is that the large 600Ltr capacity means there is
plenty of room - just what we need as we
continue to expand. And it also keeps the contents at a consistent temperature
– despite being frequently opened and closed when things get busy.’’
And with a
new book launch set for release in 2015 the large Polar units are sure to prove
invaluable as the girls experiment with various recipes.
‘’As
well as meringues, our next book will also feature lots of new and exciting
baking ideas’’ explains Stacey
‘’This means we’ll have a much wider range of ingredients to chill/freeze - so
it’s good to know that we can rely on our existing Polar models.’’
And it’s not just the Polar Fridge
and Freezer that can be found in the bakery – the Meringue Girls also use a
host of other Nisbets products including two Buffalo Planetary Mixers, Weighstation scales and numerous Vogue utensils.
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