Saturday, March 12, 2016

Bakehouse at 124: £2.30? For a Pain au Chocolat. How can they justify that?...

A few mornings a week I tend to grab a free coffee from Waitrose on my way in to Mr. Books. Sometimes I also grab a sandwich for later and very occasionally a pastry for breakfast if I didn't have time at home. Today though, although I'd had no breakfast, I thought I'd give The Bakehouse at 124 a go. After all we are neighbours in the Tonbridge Business community so why not. Being honest, and being a bit of a skinflint, I do find their prices a little off putting. £2.30 for a pain au chocolat against 85p in Waitrose seems a little on the steep side. Nevertheless I thought I'd treat myself to a fresh baked one from a local bakery. When I'd finally set up the books outside my shop and turned the computer on ready to start the day I could finally settle down to eat my breakfast which was sitting on my desk enticing me by this time. What happened next I'm not making up.

After two or three mouthfuls I realised that by comparing a Waitrose pain au chocolat with the Bakehouse one was like trying to compare a burger from McDonalds with one made my Jamie Oliver. The difference between driving a Ford Focus on the M25 with the experience of driving a  Ferrari Testarossa into Monte Carlo! With every bite I was transported back to a holiday in France as a twenty year old with my girlfriend (now wife I hasten to add) sitting in a water front café in St. Malo, watching the waves lap up to the harbour walls. Every mouthful a buttery, sweet, chocolaty delight to my youthful taste buds. Tasting breakfast properly for the first time in my life. Bakehouse at 124 this morning helped me to relive those moments.
Now, if that's not worth £2.30 I don't know what is!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not very healthy, 100g one is over 400 calories, your extra special one was probable]y 500 calories, ask the baker.

Paul Bailey said...

There’s a lot of truth in the saying “You get what you pay for.” Not sure though that I’d pay £2.30 for a glorified croissant with a few lumps of chocolate in it. Business must be good!

Anonymous said...

I guess its each to his own taste TB and how much you are willing to pay. I suspect that PB will pay a lot more for a Hop Back Summer Lightning rather than a Tesco IPA.

Anonymous said...

So TB following the budget next year with business rates being exempt for most small shops coming in to force you will be able to eat 2 or more pain au chocolat each day and still be in profit. And more to come when all those dividends you earn are taxed at 17%!

Unknown said...

You must be a hoot at parties.

Unknown said...

You must be a hoot at parties.

Tonbridge blogger said...

You saying I look like an owl?!