Henry Herbert

Retail Director, Hobbs House Bakery

https://www.hobbshousebakery.co.uk

Biography

As a graduate from Westminster Catering College, a 5th generation baker and an enthusiastic butcher, I am passionate about carefully sourced good quality seasonal ingredients. I feel very strongly about English heritage and preserving all this country has to offer. During my time as Head Chef of Clerkenwell's award winning pub, The Coach & Horses, I carefully selected small suppliers with whom I could develop a personal relationship, and used their produce to maximum effect by using every part, with little waste. This style of cooking helped to develop a unique menu, where the whole of edible nature was celebrated to the full. Then running Hobbs House Butchery for two years I wanted to bring a youthful energy to an amazing craft that has fallen from favour in recent years. It was here that I honed my love of retail and selling to customers a product we were proud of. It was a natural progression to teaching classes at our new cookery school above the butchery and bakery. I love the feeling of teaching someone something new and seeing them leave enthused and happy. It is now that I take on my biggest challenge as Retail Director; with my huge energy and enthusiasm for people and good food I can really help Hobbs House Bakery to grow within the retail market and create shops that offer excellent customer service and a tasty buying experience. I may be the youngest but watch this space.

Roald Dahl's Revolting Recipes

Roald Dahl

First cookbook I ever owned and I still love looking at it. I never did get the enormous crocodile made for a birthday party.

The Professional Chef

Culinary Institute of America

I got this just before I moved to London to go to catering college. in the time before you tube it was a wealth of skills, tips and dishes. I devoured it up, amazed by what could be done with simple ingredients. I still go to this book time and again.

Roast Chicken & Other Stories

Simon Hopkinson and Lindsey Bareham

I loved this book, how even the introductions to a recipe would give insight into another way of cooking a certain dish. It keeps on giving and I love it for that.

Nose to Tail Eating

Fergus Henderson

This opened my eyes to a whole new way of looking at food. I used to take girlfriends on dates to st John as a test to see if they appreciated food the right way.

English Food

Jane Grigson

As a young chef interested in what it meant to be English, Mrs Grigson showed me what this country had to offer and what had been lost. For a book with no pictures her writing makes you want to try it all.

The Fat Duck Cookbook

Heston Blumenthal

This book raised the bar in my eyes of what a cook book should be. I read it cover to cover and probably tried three things but I still found it massively inspiring of what is possible.

The 4 Hour Chef

Tim Ferriss

I love this book. So geeky and bold. I’m not sure if I believe everything he write but I kind of want too. I love the idea of learning to speak Hungarian in a train journey or how to poach salmon in a hotel basin because the water is too hot.

Countryman's Cooking

W.M.W. Fowler

My dad bought me this and it’s a total gem. Not only does it have advice on how to lure a local lass over to make your pie pastry with a bottle of gin, it also has a recipe for a Cormorant. You will have to read it to see what I mean.

Pitt Cue Co. The Cookbook

Tom Adams , Jamie Berger , Simon Anderson and Richard H Turner

Having run a butchery and got quite into bbq in the last few years, this book summed up what I loved most about food. It’s the kind of book that I wish I had written.

Manual of a Traditional Bacon Curer

Maynard Davies

When I ran the butchery this book was a great guide and very inspirational. I love how he writes, an excellent story teller.