Mar 21 - Ballito Umhl

Crafting loaves with love
There is no ‘secret recipe’ for the little wood-fired oven bakery in Sheffield having
become such a popular place to stock up on sourdough loaves, croissants and pastries.
It’s simply about good, slow food, made sustainably, served with love.
Text: Leah Shone | Photographs: Mary-Ann Palmer
“There is something romantic about
going to your local bakery or butchery
and buying food from someone who
knows your name. I like that. Isn’t that
what food is all about?”
It was a combination of necessity and
a passion for imparting knowledge
with others that led to Swiss-born
David Henry launching his bakery,
Breadologie, on Claremont Farm near
Sheffield Beach at the end of last year.
With years of management
experience in the hospitality industry
under his belt, David initially set out
to open a training centre (something
he still plans to do) on the site where
the bakery now sits. “The bakery
seemed like a good place to start. It
was always going to be a part of the
‘live learning centre’, and if we do go
back into a hard lockdown, we will
be able to stay open because we are
considered an essential service.”
Although born in Switzerland, David spent most of his life in Mozambique,
having moved there with his family when he was 9 years old. The youngest of
four children, David says he had an idyllic childhood in Mozambique, attending
an international school where he learnt English and Portuguese and was
exposed to wide variety of cultures.
It was this experience, he believes, that guided him towards his career in
hospitality. “I always loved to cook from a young age and learned a lot from my
mom who is an amazing cook.”
After graduating from hotel school in Switzerland in 2008, David returned to
Africa. “Most people were going to Dubai, but I liked the idea of working in a
smaller hotel or lodge with a sustainable ethos, rather than a golf course in the
middle of the dessert!”
Back in Mozambique, David and his fiancé Monica found a job as the
management couple of a small, eco-lodge in a remote part of Mozambique.
After three years (and contracting malaria more than 10 times each!), the couple
headed back to Switzerland for a while. It was there, while working as a food and
beverage lecturer at a hotel school, that David discovered his passion for training.
“I fell in love with teaching and training and we both missed Africa. We returned
to Mozambique and set out to start a professional hospitality training company.”
Things didn’t go as planned, and they decided to move to South Africa, and
Ballito.
20 Get It • Ballito Umhlanga March 2021