This is the best news since sliced bread. And cheaper cab fares. And VAT-free shopping. Alright, January 2023 has been a treasure trove of good news and we’re beginning to love the dreaded ‘Monday of months’. Now, this latest announcement is making us fall more in loaf with the year – legendary London bakery Bread Ahead is setting up shop permanently in Dubai with a store in Mall of the Emirates (MOE).
During their brief stint at Expo 2020’s Mobility District in 2021, Dubai gourmands queued up for hours outside Bread Ahead’s pop-up restaurant to sample their revered doughnuts, sourdough bread, and other pastry treats, which sold like, well, hot cakes.
Items they could otherwise only munch on during a trip to London at one of its many locations, the Borough Market outpost being the flagship outlet.
The pastry shop is something of an institution amongst Londoners, so much so that our colleagues at Secret London swear by their produce, describing eating their cream-filled doughnuts (chocolate ganache and honeycomb are hit flavours) as one of the “greatest joys in life”.
We for one are glad to be able to avail of that lifetime happiness without the steep cost of an air ticket to the Big Smoke. Come February, this iconic artisanal bakery will have a permanent home in MOE’s Level 1, near Marina Home. A specific opening dates hasn’t been announced yet but they’ve got an official Bread Ahead UAE Instagram account and everything set up. Just knowing that love and loaf (at least the mouthwatering aroma of one freshly baked) will fill the air in February of 2023 is all that we need to know.
What aspiring bakers knead to know though is that Bread Ahead’s famed Bakery School will also be returning at the end of the year as a permanent fixture in Dubai. The classroom sessions proved to be such a success during Expo 2020 that they’ll now train both seasoned and amateur bakers all year round who will find themselves under the tutelage of some of the greatest bakers in the world. Instead of watching the Great British Bake Off, you can live it in real-time.
Bread Ahead is the second of Expo 2020’s international pop-up restaurants that couldn’t resist Dubai’s siren call and have returned to rest here eternally. Los Angeles’ Adrift Burger Bar traced its way to Dubai’s food scene on a more permanent basis last year with pop-ups across Rove Hotels.
We’re welcoming them all with open arms, full hearts, and expansive stomachs. Much like bread, Dubai’s foodies are ready to rise to the challenge of more good food 24/7!