Our first day at Colchester Farmers Market: Go team Black Cat!

Today marked an exciting milestone for us as we set up our stall at the Colchester Farmers Market for the very first time. We had so much fun meeting customers old and new, before retiring to Church St Tavern for a recovery Cosmopolitan.

For a long time I shied away from events like these - because I was juggling the bakery with motherhood, and doing painfully long shifts to meet demand as I worked alone. This year we've gone from a one woman band, to a four (super) woman team. This means that suddenly we're able to accommodate our regular clients and stockists, as well as take on exciting new challenges like this.

Preparations began on Tuesday, with Eleanor busy in the bakery preparing various components for our doughnuts and longbois. While she was baking, I was focused on sorting the boring bits needed to create a memorable stall experience for our visitors. This basically means screaming into the void when Vistaprint kept ruining my posters. The rest of the week saw Bec and Kate taking on the dough prep, as Eleanor powered through her marathon of custard, cremeux, ganache and biscuit making.

Saturday Morning Preparations

Our day began long before dawn. 3am to be precise. As the sun began to rise, the aroma of freshly baked sourdough spread through the upper Wivenhoe air. By 5am things were getting slightly more frantic, as the sheer number of doughnut flavours we were making dawned on us! And then we ran out of pistachios....black cat papa to the rescue! It would be an understatement to say that the milk and cookies doughnuts didn't travel well, but with a quick trip back to the bakery, some extra white chocolate ganache, and roping in a spouse to redeliver, we were back on track.

The farmers market buzzed with energy. Excited shoppers flocked to our stall, many curious about how you make a doughnut with sourdough. It was so exciting to meet someone who told us that she'd followed us on instagram for 2 years, but this was the first time she'd actually got her hands on our SourDoughnuts. I also saw lots of my friends and colleagues from my former life as a teacher. It was lovely to share what I'm doing with them now - how life has changed,

Sasha, chief SourDoughnut fiend, also dropped by to sample the goods. Forever grateful to have such an enthusiastic doughnut critic.

One of the best aspects of the Market was the chance to connect with other vendors. We met fellow artisans who shared their advice, stories and experiences. This camaraderie created a supportive environment for everyone involved. My favourite memory of today is giving another stallholder a doughnut, and being given pak choi in return.

A Day of Learning

Every event is an opportunity to learn, and today was no exception. After the initial chaos of setting up and serving customers, we took time to reflect on what went well and what could be improved for future markets. Luckily we don't have to wait long to try it out, as we'll be at Wivenhoe Regatta next Saturday (12th), with a FABULOUS line up of doughnuts, longbois, brioche buns, both sweet and savoury...

Celebrating Our Team

None of this would have happened without the incredible efforts of the Black Cat Sourdough team. Each member played a vital role. I feel so lucky to have met these women, and for the positive culture they've created in the bakery. Things can be stressful and frantic, but there's always togetherness, and we're never far from a giggle. Whether it's the special language we've created (which would seem mad if anyone overheard us), or pretending to be seagulls stealing doughnut scraps, this team is joy.

The market may have only been 4.5 hours long, but the planning, prep, and delivery took far longer. Thank you, team Black Cat, for your hard work and dedication; you truly are amazing!

And thank you all for being part of our adventure; we look forward to seeing you at the next market!