Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Inside Peterculter’s first bakery Crust, where duo plan to save ‘dying craft’ of artisan baking

Dave Crocker and Nagi El-Kahout plan to serve homemade bakes made with locally sourced ingredients.

Dave Crocker and Nagi El-Khatoun outside Crust bakery on Peterculter. Image: DC Thomson.
Dave Crocker and Nagi El-Khatoun outside Crust bakery on Peterculter. Image: DC Thomson.

Peterculter’s first bakery, Crust, is preparing to open this summer.

Owners Dave Crocker and Nagi El-Kahout hope their business, on Aberdeen‘s North Deeside Road, will help save the “dying craft” of artisan baking.

While the opening date and menu have yet to be finalised, they plan to serve bread, cakes and pies before introducing more experimental bakes.

The duo plan to make all of the products sold in-store themselves. Image: DC Thomson.

The finished shop, which they hope to open by August, will allow customers to see the kitchen and watch the duo, who plan to do most of the baking themselves.

Dave, 59, recently retired from being a lecturer at North East Scotland College, where he first met Nagi, one of his students.

Nagi, who works as a chef at Six by Nico in Aberdeen, specialises in patisserie and hopes to bring his Greek and Egyptian heritage into some products.

He told The Press and Journal: “Customers need to understand that what they are eating isn’t ultra-processed and that it is made with ingredients that are locally sourced.

“An artisan bakery is not just a business, it is the heart of a community.”

Dave added: “We’ve got the knowledge behind us.

“We want to educate as well as provide a product.

“When people come in we can advise them on what they are looking for.

“People can expect a good level of product made with enthusiasm, passion and traditional techniques.”

Mr El-Kahout was also keen to offer coffee with their freshly baked goods. Image: DC Thomson.

The pair hope to elevate traditional products using new and exotic flavours.

They are eager to take on feedback once they open and hope to bring back rum babas, a sweet treat Mr Crocker says is hard to find.

“We want to take it to a different level and let people try things they haven’t had before,” added Mr Crocker.

The business partners are passionate about educating customers on the importance of homemade goods made with locally sourced ingredients.

They plan to hire three counter staff and in time hope to bring on two apprentices and pass on their knowledge of artisan baking to a younger generation.

Crust bakery owners hope to ‘save the craft’ of artisan baking

Mr Crocker said: “The idea behind this is to train young people, give them a future as there are no jobs for bakers.

“We can provide a place for young people to enter the industry. It’s the most important thing – to save the craft.

“We are open to people coming into the store to try their hand.

“We will be doing breadmaking and cake decorating days and if people want to learn, they can roll up their sleeves and get stuck in.”

Conversation