Newington Green bakery Jolene boasts French bakes with English grains

Flour power: A selection of breads on display at Jolene in Newington Green
Samuel Fishwick @Fish_o_wick19 September 2018

Wafting into your nostrils over Newington Green, new bakery Jolene really may take your man away from you — at least for morning brunch. Fortunately, you can tag along too.

Taking over the old Dandy site, Jolene is the third restaurant from the team behind Holloway stalwarts Primeur and Westerns Laundry, and opened yesterday. It’s set to be a worthy successor, with rock-star credentials. Jeremie Cometto-Lingenheim and David Gingell have teamed up with Andy Cato, the former Groove Armada DJ turned Francophile farmer. The 45-year-old has been knighted for his services to agriculture in France, eschewing mass-production methods on his 110 acres in Gascony, after learning about the catastrophic effect of chemical farming on the human body.

Expect nutritious, vitamin-rich, slow-fermented doughs, raisin breads and sausage rolls. Sweet tooths will find madeleines, palmiers and financiers, taking their cue from classic French bakes, while croissants and cinnamon buns round off the freshly baked breakfast slot. It’s a French connection with an English base: grains will be sourced from farms in Goodwood, Sussex, and Priory Farm in Norfolk.

“Our approach at Primeur and Westerns Laundry has always been attuned to the need for sourcing well-farmed produce, ethically grown and tended with care,” say Cometto-Lingenheim and Gingell. “We’re bringing the same values and narrative to Jolene, this time with breads baked with Andy’s grains and inspired by his passion for sustainable, efficient and sensible farming methods.

Baking pros: Opened by David Gingell and Jeremie Cometto-Lingenheim
Patricia Niven

Leftover grains will be used in dishes on the daytime menu, such as fresh pasta, stews and salads. Jolene will adopt the habits of the Westerns Laundry and Primeur kitchens.

On evenings from Thursday through to Sunday, the lights turn low and simple plates are dished up, with vegetables from Flourish farm in Cambridge, ethically sourced fish from Cornwall and Devon, and meat from a farming collective in North Yorkshire. The wine list lives up to Dandy’s vivacious legacy, with whites, reds and sparkling wines picked by natural wine enthusiast Jeremie and his team of sommeliers from Primeur and Westerns. A smaller wine list allows for more beers, ciders — decent scrumpy in London at last — and cocktails. For those off the sauce, look to a daily fresh juice and in-house fermented drinks.

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