Sutton Coldfield baker Sebastian Clough has put his business on the map with artisan offerings and a huge array of tasty treats. Amy Norbury discovers more
When customers have been happily queueing for an hour or more to get their bread and cake fix throughout the coronavirus lockdown, you know you must be onto a good thing.
Tucked away down a quiet lane in Four Oaks, OnTheBreadLine has been enticing hungry punters with an array of baked goodies, from classic sourdoughs and intensely flavoured focaccias, to brilliant brownies and cakes galore. When the little bakery shop opens at 9am people flock to pick up their treats, eager to get in early before things sell out.
Amid the doom and gloom of the pandemic, it is refreshing to see a small, independent business adapting and thriving – thanks to the dedication and drive of its young owner.
Baking has long been a passion for 24-year-old Sebastian Clough, who opened OnTheBreadLine based at his family’s farm just over two years ago. And his hard work, extraordinarily long hours and oodles of culinary creativity have seen the little bakery flourish – and none more so than in these strangest of times.
“A couple of weeks into lockdown is when it just went crazy,” says Sebastian. “Social media has made a huge difference, but also a lot of it has been people out on their daily walks and finding us that way.
“I’d definitely say that I’m one of the lucky ones, because not many people have been able to stay open. And I’ve had amazing support from customers.
“I think we saw a change last year where people were more conscious of using local businesses, but now I think that feeling is stronger than ever. Your local butchers, your bakeries, independent local businesses – people are really valuing them. And I love supporting small, local businesses myself and putting back into the community.”
While lockdown has meant that many of us have barely left home during the past three months, for Sebastian, that way of life is par for the course.
“My mum says that I haven’t been out for the past two years,” he laughs.
“A lot of people say they don’t know how I do it, but I just love it too much; that’s what it comes down to. And if you love your job, it’s not really a job – I’m doing what I want to do and it doesn’t feel like work”
Starting at around 8.30pm in the evening, Sebastian bakes through the night, finally finishing when the shop opens at 9am. After a couple of hours’ break he’s back in the kitchen prepping his sourdough before grabbing some much-needed shut-eye in the late afternoon, ready to start again once 8.30pm comes around.
This dedication stems from the fact that baking is all Sebastian has ever wanted to do. He fell in love with all things food at a young age, inspired by watching television cookery programmes – with sweary chef extraordinaire Gordon Ramsey an early foodie hero.
“When anyone ever asked me what I wanted to become, it was always a pastry chef,” says Sebastian. “All my mates wanted to be footballers, police, firefighters and that kind of thing, but mine was always pastry chef.”
At the tender age of just 13, Sebastian spent his school holiday doing a taster course in cookery at University College Birmingham, showing dedication to his ambition of becoming a pastry chef. And after leaving school – where Sebastian admits he wasn’t a good student – he enrolled at UCB to study professional baking.
“I left UCB and had a year out; I had this goal that I wanted to own my own business before the age of 25 and I wanted to go to Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, but you have to be able to speak French, and my French is non-existent,” says Sebastian.
“Paris was the place I wanted to go, because it’s the home of patisserie and Le Cordon Bleu is the number one place in the world to study.”
While debating whether to jump straight into the world of work or take some time to follow his other passion of travelling, Sebastian came across the prestigious French Pastry School, based in Chicago – and he immediately realised it was the answer he’d been looking for.
“I love the US, it’s where we go on holiday, but I’d never been to Chicago – so I applied,” he says.
A Skype interview followed, and in November 2015 he discovered he’d won a place at the school, ready to start the following July.
“Chicago was amazing; it wasn’t just growing as a pastry chef, it was growing as a person,” says Sebastian. “I was 20, turning 21 over there, and the experience of living in another country at a young age was fantastic. I was there for about eight months, and if I didn’t have the dream of owning my own business I wouldn’t have come back!
“The chefs were so good, they worked one-to-one with you, and there was no speaking of failure, it was all about success. It opened so many doors and taught me so many skills that I hadn’t yet thought about, like chocolate sculptures, sugar sculptures and confectionery.
“And it was a really diverse class with people from all over the world, and of all ages. I was the youngest, and there were students who were already working in world-class kitchens and wanting to expand their skills, and people who were looking at complete career changes. It was such a different experience.”
But the ambition of owning his own business brought Sebastian back home once his course had finished. And it turned out that home was the perfect place for him to set up.
After looking at units to rent, and not finding anything suitable which would work financially, Sebastian saw the opportunity which was there right in front of his eyes – at his family home.
“The chefs were so good, they worked one-to-one with you, and there was no speaking of failure, it was all about success. It opened so many doors and taught me so many skills that I hadn’t yet thought about, like chocolate sculptures, sugar sculptures and confectionery.
“And it was a really diverse class with people from all over the world, and of all ages. I was the youngest, and there were students who were already working in world-class kitchens and wanting to expand their skills, and people who were looking at complete career changes. It was such a different experience.”
But the ambition of owning his own business brought Sebastian back home once his course had finished. And it turned out that home was the perfect place for him to set up.
After looking at units to rent, and not finding anything suitable which would work financially, Sebastian saw the opportunity which was there right in front of his eyes – at his family home.
Converting an unused garage and a stable into two kitchens gave Sebastian the space to work, while a wooden garden building makes for a quaint shop.
OnTheBreadLine has also become something of a family affair. Sebastian’s sister Rachel J runs the shop while his mum Martha helps out in the kitchen in the mornings and dad Neil pitches in with the extensive amount of washing up. Dad was also responsible for the OnTheBreadLine name, landing on the clever moniker after extensive brainstorming.
“It’s been interesting to get my family involved too,” says Sebastian. “I was ready for a good three months before we actually opened, but it was a confidence issue with me. I’m a shy person and not that confident, I’m not the most talkative person either so I needed to build my confidence to put a date on the launch.”
But when February 2018 came around, Sebastian decided to take the plunge. And he hasn’t looked back.
“Over the past two years the customers have made it into a community; it’s a bit of a hub. It’s amazing how it’s taken off.”
What sets OnTheBreadLine apart is the sheer variety of bakes available from day to day – no two days are the same, and Sebastian is constantly stretching his creative muscles.
“The one thing I wanted to do was to make sure people can come every day and have totally different options,” he explains. “The main breads I make every day are a white and brown sourdough, and my baguettes, but everything else is totally different each day.
“A favourite at the moment is my focaccia; I like to experiment with different flavours, so it’s really down to whatever comes into my head that I think would go together. And that’s the great thing about running your own business; I can change it every day and do what I want.
“The main thing I love to do is bread, and I love to try different flavours. One of my favourites is the dark chocolate and chilli sourdough, and I’m also a big fan of white truffle with focaccia so that’s one thing I like to do. It has a really nice, intense flavour which sits really well with focaccia.”
And while Sebastian was well ahead of his ‘own business at 25’ target, he’s far from finished with OnTheBreadLine’s development.
“We’re coming to a point now where I’m at full capacity; I can’t do any more for the shop,” says Sebastian. “So in the next two years I want to extend the kitchens and I’m hoping to get planning permission to build a bigger shop on site.
“The stuff that I do now is nothing like what I can do. My ultimate goal is to have a bakery that’s not just a bakery; you walk in and you can get chocolates and sweets, wedding cakes and occasion cakes, entremets, afternoon tea – everything all under one roof.
“When we extend the kitchen and get a team around me, I’ll be at the point where I’ll be able to say, ‘this is exactly what I wanted’.”
For more information find Sebastian online at www.instagram.com/onthebreadline or www.facebook.com/bySebastianClough or sample his range of goodies at OnTheBreadLine, Hillcrest Farm, Worcester Lane, Sutton Coldfield, B75 5QS.
