Name: Libby West.
Business Name: Patisserie Lewes.
What do you do? I have just opened a new patisserie on Station Street to provide Lewes with high quality French bread and pastries, delivered fresh daily, coffee and fine tarts.
Where do you get your products from? Our main supplier is Maison Blanc (Raymond Blanc’s London-based Patisserie). We also stock a variety of organic and Fairtrade drinks, ice creams, crisps, biscuits and coffee beans. Originally, I was planning to have daily deliveries direct from France, but unfortunately the ferry schedule is currently too erratic for this to work.
How long have you been running the business? We’ve been open for just over a week. Personally, I’ve lived in Lewes for the last twelve years.
What was on the premises before? It was the Amy B shoe shop, which moved in to Renwick Clarke.
What’s the most expensive product you sell? We sell a ten-portion Tentation - which is a raspberry truffle and dark chocolate sponge, laced with fresh raspberry puree - for £35.75.
And the cheapest? Fresh olive bread rolls from 47p.
And the most unusual? We sell a range of, organic and Fairtrade, flavoured sugars at £2 per pot.
What sort of people do you want to use the shop? We’re open from 7am to enable local people and commuters to buy fresh bread in the morning, but we aim to appeal to anyone who appreciates the quality of our range.
Is their anything that irritates you about your business? It’s all new to me, and I’m still in the 'everything’s exciting' phase.