‘I used to start work at 3am. These days I come in a bit later – around 6.30am. I like to be in thebakery by then to finalise things for the morning’s production and ensure all our baked goods go out to the high standard we require. Everything is usually ready for the shop by 7.30am. After that I’ll spend time in the kitchen, prepping for the coffee shop and cooking all the locally sourced Irish meats we are proud to serve here.  Around 9am the phone starts ringing, that’s when I tend to start getting annoyed! Actually most calls are pleasant, but there’s always a few that would get to you!  In between answering the phone,  I spend the morning finishing off confectionary  I might have started the day before. Today I also heat treated 80lbs of honey extracted from my own hives, ready to be jarred and sold in the shop. Bee keeping is another love.  This is the second batch of honey this year. We got Sycamore earlier in the year, then Willow Herb, Clover and Blackberry. There’s currently Himalyan Balsam blossom so they are gathering from that. The other night I also discovered Eucryphia – a late flowering plant from Australia. I moved a couple of hives underneath it and I’m amazed how much honey the bees have made the last two days. Lunch is generally around 1pm. A working lunch in front of the computer,  answering emails. In the afternoons I tidy up a bit and usually do our meat preparation – I tend to enjoy the space of an empty kitchen and having a free cooker to myself! We also practice new recipes – this week it’s all about the new Cronut – all the rage in New York – a mix of croissant and donut dough.  I may leave the bakery early some days, depending on what’s happening. Usually I go back about 5pm to close the office.   I’m just having a moment of relaxation, watching a thrush feeding on the huge crop of blackberries outside the window. In the evenings I spend time in the garden at home. I have my own vegetable garden,  hens and fantail pigeons,  which I’m babysitting at the moment because a pair of young sparrowhawks want to eat them! We also feed wild birds, so for the sparrowhawks it’s like a fly- through McDonald’s  – easy pickings.  Sunday mornings I get up early to listen to my own personal wake up call. The blackbirds start first then it’s the thrushes, chaffinches and robins.  Fantastic sound.  That close relationship with nature is really important. Read more about Dittys here Buy Dittys Oatcakes