Profile: Jemma Wilson!

Hi everyone! I'm so excited to share this post with you all, firstly I just need to say how lovely Jemma is and secondly you're all in for an absolute treat! I invited baker Jemma Wilson (the brains behind the amazing cupcake company Crumbs and Doilies) to join me on my blog for a good old natter to talk about all things cake. Just to let all you YouTube addicts know Jemma also has her own YouTube channel and is part of Jamie Oliver's Food Tube network, I'll leave the link to her channel at the end of this post! 

Mini Roberts radio cakes made by the team at Crumbs and Doilies

So when did you begin baking?

I’d been at Rose Bakery for a year and, while I loved my job, I felt I couldn’t go any further with it. I was 27 and I wanted to create something of my own. I wanted people to be eating MY cakes and bakes. When I left Rose Bakery I didn’t have a plan but it came to  me one day that I should start a market stall selling my cakes and cupcakes. I got a pitch at Sunday UpMarket in Brick Lane and off I went. Everything that Crumbs & Doilies has become started there in that stuffy indoor market.

I am a tad obsessed with your YouTube channel, I literally cannot stop thinking about those Chocolate Teacake High-Hat Cupcakes you made recently. What are some of your favourite bakes you've created?

My absolute favourite has got to be the S’Mores Brownie. I actually didn’t have a clue how it was going to turn out. Usually I like to be sure that my recipes will work and be awesome but on that particular day I’d left it all a bit to the last minute and I was kind of scrabbling around for something to make and the idea just popped in to my head. So, when I’m eating it on camera that is genuine glee! It was so flipping good! The Halloween videos we’re about to release on Halloween week are also some of my favourites but that’s mainly because Halloween is THE BEST!

Perhaps quite a generic question but where do you get your inspiration from?

I get inspiration from all over the place. I have a sweet tooth so I always try and eat dessert when I go out for dinner, to see what all the chefs are creating, and what’s current. American treats are a big inspiration for me too. They have some of the best sweets and snacks in the whole world and I like to deconstruct them and see how they might work as a cupcake or some other kind of bake or dessert. 

Jemma's incredible Deftones cupcakes!

Do you have any secret food spots you love to visit in London? 

I don’t think I have any that are secret but there are some that I keep going back to because of how brilliant they are. Patisserie des Reves in Marylebone is one of them. It is a bit on the expensive side but I understand all too well the amount of work that goes in to the pastries they create so I don’t really mind. They do something called a Grand Cru Vanille which is heavily and their Paris Brest is the best I have ever tasted. For non-sweet food I have so many favourites but El Parador in Mornington Crescent and Barrica on Goodge Street are two of the best tapas restaurants in London, in my opinion, but without all the hype. Real honest, seasonal, beautifully prepared and reasonably priced food. Check them out!

Who would you love to bake for?

I like baking for all people. There isn’t any one in particular I think should eat my cakes. No one famous or important. Every mouth is equal! The only exception would be my friends, who are my biggest fans so I always get a really positive reaction from them!

If you were only able to eat three things for the rest of your life what would you choose?

Risotto, bread and that S’mores Brownie probably. If someone told me I couldn’t eat bread anymore I would be devastated!

Amazing layered cakes made by the team at Crumbs and Doilies

You're also part of Jamie Oliver's Food Tube which is pretty incredible. How did you become involved with that and what is he like to work with?

I met Jamie by chance at an event he hosted and a few months later he got in touch to see if I would come and do some filming for a show he was working on. That went so well that I actually featured on the show and then a few months later, when Food Tube was being born, they gave me my own channel and a book deal! It was all a bit nuts really. Jamie is brilliant. He is so generous with his time and his wisdom. He has been such a massive support for me this year. He’s really fun to work with. He’s been doing this gig for a really long time so he’s very professional but because everyone that he works with are all great fun and good friends there is always a really fun vibe and loads of laughs. He’s got a very naughty sense of humour, as do I! 

Do you ever get bored of baking or being surrounded by cake? ( I struggle to think that anyone would!)

Yes and no. I never get bored of the cupcakes we make at Crumbs & Doilies. It’s crazy because I must have eaten thousands over the years. They are just delicious, that’s all there is to it. I do get a little tired of eating sugar sometimes. I actually gave it up for about 4 years because it was sending me a bit loopy. But I realised that I couldn’t really do my job without it. Not only because it’s important that I taste our cupcakes and make sure they are as good as they can be but also I need to eat sweet food for inspiration and knowledge (good excuse right?). I started eating it again a couple of years ago and while I love it, I do sometimes yearn for something really savoury instead.

Lastly, what's next for you?

Well, Crumbs & Doilies is opening a shop! So that’s pretty exciting and scary and awesome. It’s going to be in Soho and we’re hoping to be open before Christmas this year, fingers crossed. Meanwhile, my channel is ticking along and I’m really enjoying making the videos. It gives me a chance to bake new things. But my main focus right now is on getting the shop ready which is a dream come true for me and my partner, Sam. It’s the right time for us and I hope it does really well and smashes the competition!

If you want to find out more about Jemma you can watch her on YouTube, visit her companies website for the most amazing cakes you'll ever see and you can buy her book here!

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