Discover the History Behind the Lake District's Famous Grasmere Gingerbread
Sarah Nelson invented her famous Grasmere Gingerbread in 1854 and the shop in the quaint lakeland village which gave it its name has become a must-visit destination for foodies in the Lake District
The perfect blend of sweet and spicy, with a unique texture that’s balanced somewhere between a cake and a biscuit, Sarah Nelson’s Grasmere Gingerbread has been a favourite of tourists and locals alike since it was first invented 170 years ago. A trailblazer of its time, Sarah created a flourishing business out of her natural skill in the kitchen, and what initially began as a means to keep a roof over her head during hard times transformed into a legacy that survives to this day. Now run by Joanne Hunter and her husband Andrew, Grasmere Gingerbread is as popular now as it has ever been, thanks to the passion the pair bring to the business.
It’s fair to say that for Joanne, gingerbread is in her bones. ‘I was weaned on gingerbread and it’s been in my family nearly a hundred years,’ Joanne says, explaining that the business was originally passed to Sarah’s nieces and then run by Joanne’s great aunt and uncle, before eventually being taken over by her parents. Coincidentally, her grandfather worked as the nieces’ errand boy too. ‘He used to sit and talk to me when he was an old man and share his memories,’ she says. ‘He’d be the one who was doing the shopping for them, posting their letters and doing odd jobs.’
‘There’s so many customers who come in and say they’ve been coming for years, or they remember coming when they could only just see over the counter’
No stranger to hard work herself, Joanne put plenty of time in at the shop from a young age. ‘As a child, this was our lives and as soon as I was big enough I was in the shop with my mum behind the counter and standing on a box to serve customers, and my dad was in the bakery with my grandma and my brothers – it was very much a family business.’
Joanne believes that much of Grasmere Gingerbread’s magic comes from the rich history of the business and its dedication to tradition. The cottage the gingerbread is made in, for example, is the exact same building that Sarah baked in all those years ago. The team behind the counter also commit to the history of the place by wearing traditional outfits of the time. ‘What we have to think about is that we are actually just custodians of the business, because the business has a huge future and we’re only a blip in its history,’ says Joanne. ‘What’s wonderful is today, exactly the same thing happens, in the same kitchen. The gingerbread goes in, is wrapped in pure parchment with her trademark and the smell is going out the door as people pass the gate. So isn’t it wonderful that 170 years on it’s the same scenario?’
The team also appreciate that customers connect with the business emotionally. ‘We always say it’s the senses that help people to connect. There’s so many customers who come in and say they’ve been coming for years, or they remember coming when they could only just see over the counter,’ Joanne explains. ‘It’s a very emotive product because it connects with all your senses – the taste, the chatter of the bakery, the visuals of it being handmade. We might be moving into a digital world but actually people don’t always want that and we’re a prime example of that. We’re the furthest thing from it and we have the biggest queue outside our shop.
‘There is the human element too because it is a story about a real person who experienced real trauma and hardship, who succeeded in developing something great.’
Looking to the future, the prospects for Grasmere Gingerbread are bright. To celebrate their 170th birthday you can expect to see limited edition goodies in store (including a collectible tin), and there will also be a grand opening of a second store in Hawkshead, talk and taste events where you can find out more about the story of Grasmere Gingerbread, and more events to be announced. In the meantime though, Joanne offers some sage advice for novice gingerbread-makers: ‘If I was making a ginger biscuit at home or I was making the gingerbread – my top tip is give it love.’
