M’s Bakery
In conversation with István Nádházi and Marta Nagy, co-founders of M's Bakery. Words by Chipo Muwowo .
March 2020 feels like a lifetime ago now. Back then, the UK went into its first Coronavirus lockdown. The disconcerting news ushered in new rhythms and routines to our lives overnight. So you can imagine the relief when we found out that our favourite local bakery was still operating.
As trivial as it may sound, still being able to purchase our favourite treats from M's Bakery in Pokesdown represented one small form of normalcy. My wife and I have been customers since 2018. As our children have come along, they too have embraced the delights of M's.
Favourites in our home include the pain au chocolats, nicely bronzed croissants, sticky cinnamon buns, rosemary and sea salt focaccia, sausage rolls, and the bakery's staple pain au levain sourdough bread.
For its owners István Nádházi and Marta Nagy, it's been quite a journey. “It was Marta's dream,” István tells me. “We opened the bakery in 2016 but for a year before that, baked at home and sold at the market in Boscombe.”
A lot has happened since 2016. The family-run business has won numerous local and national awards, opened a second shop in Christchurch, and expanded its team.
Its most recent success was at the 2022 Tiptree World Bread Awards in London where they won three Golds for the People's Choice award, the Plain Authentic Sourdough award, and the Vegan award.
“[The awards] were a big surprise. They also came at a good time for us,” István says. “The situation recently has been quite difficult with the cost of living crisis. Everybody's looking at what they're spending. But with the awards, we're thankfully busier than before.”
Since opening the Christchurch shop, the couple have had to work differently. Marta oversees the team there (with their son managing the shop) while István continues to manage the Pokesdown branch.
“For a long time, we were looking for other premises because we needed extra space for the patisserie kitchen,” István says. “We were exploring a few different options and that's when we found the shop in Christchurch.”
With over 20 years of experience, passion is what drives Marta. She attended a food production school back in Hungary, picked baking, and stuck with it. That attitude still informs her approach today. “I only make what I like. If I don't like it, I don't make it,” she says.
Whether it's creating French sourdough bread, Hungarian cheese scones, or challah (Jewish bread), the pair say it's always a whole team effort. For them, it's also about being local. They live in Boscombe and are appreciative of the many regulars who walk through their doors.
This festive season, my wife and I are keen to buy more of our usual favourites. But we'll also be trying the traditional Hungarian Christmas log beigli for the first time.
Looking to the future, will there be a book that reveals all their culinary secrets? “No book unfortunately!” István laughs.
I guess we'll just have to make do with another visit.
Website → msbakery.co.uk
Instagram → @msbakeryuk
