In the short time since it opened in July 2023, the 27-year-old Lannan Bakery of Darcie Maher not only became an integral part of the independent food scene from Edinburgh, but has also accumulated a committed support for regular guests and international Instagram fans. Locals and tourists go on the pilgrimage, which follows the queue in one of the most beautiful corners of Stockbridge at 6 a.m., and desperately hoped to grab pastry before they are sold out.
“Everyone always asks: 'Why don't you just do more?' Well, we cannot physically, ”says Maher with a laugh. Find out at a maximum of how many pastries can fit in their shells and in their ovens – but the new redesign is good news for all Lannan hope.
Lannan closed all of January 2025 for a renovation that converts the entire lower floor into an extensive preparation area. “It is planned to double the production that we will gradually do and will open more days a week.” The pastry is still baked on the top floor with the help of a newly added elevator so that the guests are greeted by the smell of freshly baked Viennese at the entrance.
While the practicability was the driving force behind the renovation, the expansion is as aesthetically appealing as the rest of the room. “The ground floor will feel like Lannan, although it is primarily a work area”. “I want it to be a nice, inspiring environment for the bakers.”
Maher left the school at the age of 15 and worked as a cook for five years before he was applied for the bakeries in Edinburgh – and was rejected by it. This triggered a stay outside of Manchester, which worked for meal water salt before returning to Edinburgh and then to her house in the Scottish borders. When the pandemic escaped its plans for moving to Australia in 2020, she spent recipes and advice for other bakeries next year, while she appeared on what would ultimately become Lannan.