In which Croydon corners might you conceivably expect to find a marvellous micro-bakery? Sprawling, well-to-do Sanderstead perhaps? Somewhere around Thornton Heath? Maybe amid ever-trendier South Norwood, accompanying its craft-beer bar and indie cafes. But, presumably, not on the little-visited southeastern flanks of Lloyd Park, off Oaks Lane and within a hideaway private estate of four houses overlooked by grand old Coombe House.

The approach to Pavilion Cottage

Yet that’s precisely where Bread & Butter awaits. Launched last December by Nia Payne-James, this small-batch operation lives up to its name by selling various handmade savoury breads and butters alongside rye-sourdough choc-chip cookies, mini-chocolate olive-oil cakes and loaves of chocolate and orange babka bread, all of them made using top-notch ingredients. It currently opens just once a week: between 9-10am on Saturday mornings for collections or, pending availability, walk-in orders. You can drive there, or walk through Lloyd Park.

Pavilion Cottage

At the time of writing, Bread & Butter has earned 27 reviews on Google, and every one is 5/5. That makes more sense once one absorbs Payne-James’s CV. After training at Le Cordon Bleu, she worked at the Michelin-starred London restaurants Pied à Terre – where her very first job, fittingly, involved baking breads – and Core by Clare Smyth before becoming an in-demand private chef for the visiting royals and other seriously wealthy folk.

“With both restaurant jobs,” Payne-James, now 26, remembers, “I missed the intimacy of directly cooking for someone – so that fuelled my move to working privately early in 2023.”

She still does that – “I love it” – but now only part-time in order to focus more on Bread & Butter. The idea of starting a small-batch bakery had been gestating for several years, although finally taking the plunge proved daunting.

Bread & Butter’s walk-in menu, and Bread & Butter’s cookies

“I remember thinking: ‘what if it’s just me standing here in front of all my breads and no-one shows up’,” Payne-James recalls. “But the local community has been incredibly supportive from day one.” Having initially relied on flyering, plus past clients from her music-tutor days – she is also a classically-trained pianist – word of mouth is now spreading fast. “I’ve met so many people of different ages and backgrounds who I don’t think I’d have spoken to otherwise. And orders have recently reached capacity, which is incredible.”

Why the concentration on bread and its number-one sidekick? “Firstly, because I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love freshly-made bread, especially when a generous amount of butter is melting on top of it!” Then there’s a nostalgia element. “Growing up,” Payne-James smiles, “Mum would often bake ready for when my brother and I got home from school. That was my happy place.”

Buildings nearby: Coombe House’s rear, seen from outside Pavilion Cottage; Winwood Cottage, which makes honey

Alongside occasional deliveries, the bulk of her ciabattas, cookies and so forth are sold directly from a hatch at the back of a house to which Payne-James’ parents moved ten years ago. Flanked by Coombe House’s rich red bricks, a sprawling garden and Lloyd Park’s rugby posts, meadows and hedgerows, Pavilion Cottage is delightfully bucolic in feel. “It’s really peaceful,” agrees Payne-James, “and has this enchanted feel.” So too does Winwood Cottage, a yellow-tinged house on the same estate whose residents produce and sell their own honey.

What does the future hold for Bread & Butter? In the near-term, increased walk-in hours this summer; beyond that, Payne-James is hoping for gradual growth while maintaining the concentration on good-quality small-batch baking. “I would like to expand, but only at a very steady pace,” she reveals. “It would be really gutting if that personal touch was lost.”

Her ultimate goal is for Bread & Butter to provide access to the cheffing world for other young women, particularly those from minority groups unable to afford places at reputable but oh-so-pricey culinary schools. “My dream is to partner with a school and offer fully-compensated tuition as well as hands-on experience. If I could pull that off, I’d be over the moon. We’ll see…”

Nia Payne-James

Bread & Butter is located at Pavilion Cottage, Oaks Road, Croydon, CR0 5HN, and is open on Saturday mornings between 9 and 10am. Check out their website for their menu and how to order.

Posted by guest writer Richard Mellor (with photos courtesy of Richard).

Croydonist guest writer Richard is a freelance travel (mainly) journalist and native Croydonian who now lives on the borough’s fringes in Crystal Palace.