Exeter’s cult café The Exploding Bakery is partnering with independent Paddington-based hotel The Pilgrm to host their first ever London residency this summer. The Devon-based artisan bakery will be popping up at The Pilgrm for one month only from the 30th of August, offering Londoners and guests of the hotel a chance to experience their iconic cakes and brownies. Along with bringing The Exploding Bakery Café from Exeter to London, the partnership will also see a special new brunch dish joining the menu at The Pilgrm for the month of September.
Dedicated to building genuine partnerships and providing its guests with memorable experiences in the heart of bustling London, The Pilgrm has been collaborating with independent creatives from the capital and beyond over the last few years, cementing itself as a space to celebrate artists and talent of all kinds. Being located just a stone’s throw from Paddington station, The Pilgrm team are excited to be partnering with a South-West based brand and are proud to champion incredible, independent out-of-London businesses like The Exploding Bakery.
Jason Catifeoglou, co-founder of The Pilgrm comments: “We’re really excited to have The Exploding Bakery at The Pilgrm this summer. We love what Tom and Oli are doing, especially their attention to sustainability and provenance. Mostly though, we want to celebrate great people who love what they do, and with these guys there’s no mistaking their genuine joy and the skill that goes into their baking.”
Due to launch in late August, the exciting pop-up will spread across the hotel, with a full Exploding Bakery take-over of The Pilgrm’s ground floor coffee shop as well as the addition of an exciting new brunch dish and an afternoon cake menu on the hotel’s first floor lounge as well as a brand new Paddington Brownie that will be available exclusively during the month’s take over.
Selected by The Pilgrm team and set to change regularly, the exclusive cake menu, which will be available through September, will include some of Exploding Bakery’s most iconic sweet treats such as their signature brownie, rich and also sold in Fortnum & Mason, a chocolate stout cake made of Colombian dark chocolate and an added splash of smooth and rich Mena Dhu Stout from St. Austell Brewery, orange, almond & pecan cake, a voyeuristic view into the marriage of the orange and its beloved pecan, and sour cherry & pistachio cake, which resembles a Souk with its vibrant Middle Eastern colours. And of course the exclusive Paddington Brownie, marmalade and chocolate, what’s not to love.
Along with the regularly changing cake menu that guests will be able to choose from both at the downstairs counter and the upstairs lounge, the partnership also sees the creation of a new dish on The Pilgrm’s well loved brunch menu. Combining one of the hotel’s brunch staples with an Exploding Bakery twist, The Pilgrm’s classic French toast will be turned into a deliciously sweet and indulgent Banana Bread French Toast, made with the toasted Exploding Bakery’s banana and chocolate bread and served with Nutella, honey, rosemary glazed pears, roasted hazelnuts, a scoop of ice cream and chocolate sauce.
Tom Oxford and Oliver Coysh, founders of The Exploding Bakery comment: “We are thrilled to be bringing our cakes to the capital for the very first time and are so happy to be working with The Pilgrm for this pop up. It was important for us to find the right space and partner with someone who shares the same vision, which we’re happy to have found with Jason and the team. We look forward to bringing our recipes and love for what we do to the London crowd. “
For those looking to recreate The Exploding Bakery sweet treats at home, Tom and Oli’s cookbook ‘Bake It. Slice It. Eat It.’ will be available to purchase at The Pilgrm throughout September in The Pilgrm’s downstairs coffee shop.