A new "French style" patisserie is opening in Upminster after a local family followed their "dream" - despite being subject to a break-in only weeks ago.
Nalla Patisserie will open its doors in Corbets Tey Road for the first time this Saturday (August 8).
The new business has been stablished by the Halid family - who live only five minutes away - spearheaded by Nalyan Halid who has spent over 20 years baking in her own time.
Nalyan will be the head chef at Nalla Patisserie, assisted by her daughter Damla while her son Dzhan will take on the manager and barista roles.
Speaking to the Recorder, Dzhan, 19, said: “This is just pure family effort and we’ve all been involved, even my little sister who has helped my mum.
“This is all our dream but mostly it is my mum’s.
“This means so much to her because she’s been baking for over two decades, going to multiple courses across Europe and speaking to professional bakers."
“She’s been working so hard for this dream and it’s finally coming to life."
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Work to refurbish the unit at 61 Corbets Tey Road has been ongoing since October last year and anticipation is building locally, according to Dzhan.
“I used to go to Upminster Junior School and mum made cakes for the school every couple of months and all the teachers have been asking when she’s opening a shop – it’s where the demand sparked from originally," he said.
“They keep saying they’ll be the first to come and visit.
“We are very excited but also very stressed - this is a very new thing to us.
“I can make a coffee and my mum can make the best cakes but we don’t know how that’s going to translate until we open.
“I think a lot of people in Upminster are more excited than us – they just want to enter and see what it’s about."
However, the journey to opening hasn't been plain sailing.
On July 20, three weeks before the planned opening date, Nalla Patisserie was subject to a break-in, seeing the glass front door smashed and a pipe connected to the coffee machine cut, resulting in water damage.
Nothing was stolen from the premises but last week Dzhan told the Recorder it proved a "mental setback in terms of stress".
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Now back on track to open at the end of the week, Dzhan said the sweet treats sold at Nalla Patisserie will be "French style" including croissants, cakes and later down the line "hopefully" fresh bread.
He believes the freshness and hand-made touch will set the patisserie apart from competitors.
“We make everything in-house and for some reason it’s become a forgotten art," Dzhan added.
“Everyone has got a supplier or things are store bought but we make everything ourselves and use organic ingredients.
“When people come and taste the tarts, the croissants, the cakes, they’ll know why we stand out from the rest."
Also a major point of focus for Dzhan and his family was the interior design of the shop - with construction led by his dad Jack.
“We’ve focussed on the interior a lot – it looks sublime," said Dzhan.
“A lot of cafes, patisseries, bakeries have been opened by people who have opened 20 of them already.
“Because this is our first and only so far, we’ve focussed so much on it and a lot of people have told us the interior looks nice.
“Our short term goal is to create a community and a customer base that comes here regularly.
“We’re not looking to expand instantly – I’m focussed on Upminster because there’s not really a bakery here consistently selling fresh products.
“Our long term goal is to be the most known in the region and even Essex."
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