OUR BAKERY ADVENTURE

He started his career in England with nothing. Today, he has become the owner of the bakery supplying bread and bakery produce to 60 shops, including two of the company’s own stores covering an area of 200sq km. Miroslaw Zubicki is not going to stop.

He is a real all-rounder. When he is needed, he helps on the production line, supervises accountancy or watches the quality of his produce. There is always something to be done.

“Our bread is very specific. Our customers travel long distance to buy a few loaves. Even when they go on holiday to Poland, they buy some bread to show their families what a fantastic bakery they have here” says Miroslaw. He reveals that the secret lays in the old recipe from the 1970s. Contrary to modern bakeries that use artificial ingredients, Miroslaw uses a natural sourdough starter in his produce. He does agree that it requires longer working hours (up to 16 and not 2 as in a standard production), but the result is very impressive.

According to Mr Zubicki, people are often  unaware that every individual should  choose the bread type they eat based on their preferences and the ingredients of the produce, especially the amount of the sourdough which affects not only the aroma and taste of the bread, but also the functioning of our natural gut flora.

Mr Zubicki was raised by a poor family in Olawa, Poland. His mother used to be a cleaner and his father was a builder. The family was too poor to provide him with a packed lunch for school, pocket money was just a dream and any earnings he saved up while doing some seasonal field work he always handed over to his parents. He had many duties at home, including chopping wood and carrying coal. The family lived in the loft while the shared toilet was on the ground floor. For many years, they used to bathe in a big washtub in the kitchen and instead of the fridge they had a hook outside the window where they hanged their food.

Regardless the situation, Miroslaw used to be a curious and lively boy who played football all day and read books at night. He did not have any difficulties at school – he received many awards and moved to each school year with top marks. It seemed obvious that he was going to study at a university one day. However, due to the financial reasons, after graduating from primary school, Miroslaw chose a vocational training to study bakery. There was a real bakery not so far away from his parents’ home and the smell of freshly baked bread always tempted everyone who was passing by.

After gaining the qualification, Miroslaw completed the compulsory military service in Gliwice, Poland. He managed really well and was often praised for his service. He was even recognised as a distinguished grenade launcher shooter by the ‘’Zolnierz Polski’’ magazine. While in the army he met his future wife, Danuta, a graduate of a railway vocational school, with whom he has had four children – three sons and one daughter. They have also adopted the son of Miroslaw’s deceased sister.

It was not easy to make ends meet. Mr Zubicki worked in various bakeries in Olawa and surrounding towns.  Every summer him and his wife worked as a fruit pickers in Gierstadt, Germany, where they worked for up to twelve hours a day, seven days a week for 12 consecutive years.

“It was a very hard work. Danuta was afraid to climb the ladder so I had to pick the apples, pears and plums while she was carrying four buckets with fruit at a time for weighing. When it was raining, I used to make doughnuts and sweet buns and sell them among the local community.” recalls Mr Zubicki adding that  his kids were staying in Poland during those times being looked after by their  grandparents and aunties.

England. The country of residence of many Polish fellow countrymen. What does he like best in here? No bureaucracy, easy way of resolving official problems, people smiling. If only the weather had been a bit better…

Mr Zubicki admits that he likes reading good books in his free time, although he does not have a lot of it.  The books about World War II and ‘the cursed soldiers’ are his cup of tea. He also likes the trilogy by Stanislaw Grzesiuk: ‘’Five years in concentration camps’’, ‘’Barefoot but with spurs’’ and ‘’On the margin of life’’. He has read it several times always admiring the author’s character thanks to which he managed to survive difficult times.

Mr Zubicki has never been afraid of challenges. In November 2004, not long after Poland has joined the EU, being 40 years old, he has emigrated to England  and settled in Worksop, Nottinghamshire where he worked in the local sandwich factory for a while. After the deduction of his accommodation costs, he was usually left with £70 per week. He would keep £15 for himself and send the rest to his wife back in Poland. He shared his room with 10 other roommates; the only food he was able to afford were bread and butter, eggs and chips.

He finally got lucky:  half a year later he became the first Polish person in the town who received a Council house. Regardless the insecure location and bad state of the house, Miroslaw was very happy as he soon was joined by his wife and children (aged 8-18 at that time). They started adjusting to the English reality. They used to sleep on the floor and the basic equipment was being bought after every payday. The cutlery, fridge, hoover… all second-hand of course.

Mr Zubicki was employed in a factory, but he also was making doughnuts and baked bread in his spare time to aid the family budget. Finally, after 10 years of being a resident in the UK, he decided to open his own bakery. It was December 2014, few days before Christmas, when Miroslaw invested all his savings in the business he has always wanted, including the money left from selling his flat in Poland.

Together with my partner I decided to risk it. He was a mechanic, I knew the baking profession, what could have gone wrong? We found a very small 50 sqm place. All the machinery and equipment were brought from Poland. Many people doubted we could have become successful. – says Miroslaw and highlights that today the bakery looks different to the one  at the start of the business as  an additional room was added to the facilities. Initially, him and his wife  worked on night shifts  then, during the day, he and his partner (whom he parted with 2 years ago) worked alternative shifts behind the counter. A few months later he employed a baker and a pastry chef and the production has increased. They had to start looking for new shops: short nap after the night shift, bread bag into the car and off he was going promoting  the produce in the neighbourhood.

Medium and long-distance running. How great it is to put your trainers on, reset your own thoughts, fight with your weaknesses. Mr Zubicki took part in many competitions like a marathon in Venice, 11 half-marathons as well as a 25 km challenge in the Alps in Lichtenstein. He can still remember the ‘’Brutal’’ run across a military compound in Longmoor. It was a real challenge: muddy route, ditches, hills, half-frozen lake to swim through. There were many difficult moments but when he reached the finish, he was more than happy.

That was seven years ago but I still picture that moment in my mind. Great memories and the faith in your abilities. – says Mr Zubicki admitting that the determination he gained during the competitions is very helpful now, when leading the business.

He always keeps in touch with the bakery, even when on family holidays. Together with his wife, he visited many interesting countries: Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Italy, Greece, Croatia, Lichtenstein, Spain. Their best memories are from Morocco where they travelled 4000km in a rented car. On their own, with no travel agency involved, they visited remote places not necessarily explored by tourists. In Egypt they did not get bored either. They spent some time in a Nubian village where they were warmly welcomed by the natives and in Cairo where they wondered in the streets at night drinking bamboo juice and smoking shisha with the locals.

Tourists do not usually do such things, but I like adventures. My wife trusts me and she knows that if I decided to do something, it must be ok.- ensures Miroslaw.