20
Sept 2024
Pudding Lab brings spectacular cakes to Harrogate with opening of new shop
This story is sponsored by Pudding Lab.
Two top chefs have joined forces to open their second spectacular pâtisserie, in Harrogate.
Ashley Close and Kian Lian opened their first Pudding Lab in Boston Spa three years ago and it has been so successful that they now want to bring their unique creations to Cold Bath Road. Pudding Lab Harrogate opens today.
Ashley said:
Pudding Lab is a British version of a French pâtisserie. We use French recipes that have been improved through the ages, and then add British flavours. So for example, we made a sticky toffee pudding petit gâteau, and an apple crumble-flavoured choux bun.
We’re both very creatively different with ideas and flavours. With patisserie, you’ve got to be very methodical about it – the amounts and the timings – so we work a lot like scientists, hence the name: Pudding Lab.
Ashley Close and Kian Lian, as they appeared on Bake Off - the Professionals.
Their creations are all hand-made by the chefs and their staff on the premises, and if they look amazing, they also taste incredible too. Their giant shiny blueberry, for example, is made with gluten-free juniper and almond sponge, macadamia nut crunch, blueberry compote and blueberry mousse, with a mirror glaze and tempered white chocolate décor.
Their apple crumble choux bun is made of a choux pastry bun with green craquelin, apple compote, cinnamon crème pâtissière, vanilla whipped ganache, apple caramel and oat crumble.
Kian, whose background is in fine dining restaurants in Yorkshire and Jersey, said:
It’s quite refined – more akin to the standard you’d find at a five-star restaurant. We don’t cut corners – we use the best-quality butter, the best-quality chocolate, the best-quality everything.
Seasonality is key: getting things at their best. The cherries and strawberries are over now, so we’ve moved on to plums, apples and blackberries. Seasonal produce is helpful too because it helps us come up with new ideas and innovate. But we use chocolate all year round!
Breakfast at Pudding Lab: yoghurt, fruit and granola
Pudding Lab has seating for 32 customers and also serves breakfast, brunch, elevenses, lunch, afternoon tea, sweet treats and take-out cakes. The coffee is from Leeds-based North Star and both chefs are also trained baristas.
Ashley, whose career has included years spent working as a chef on board private yachts all around the world, said the pair, who once appeared together on TV's Bake Off - the Professionals, hoped Pudding Lab will become a much-loved fixture of Harrogate's food scene.
The croque monsieur is made with Pain de mie bread, Yorkshire ham and Yorkshire cheddar
He said:
We want to replicate here what we’ve created in Boston Spa, where we’ve developed a very loyal following.
It’s really important for us that Pudding Lab has a family feel to it. Life’s stressful enough, so we want it to be fun to come here.
Cold Bath Road is full of independent businesses, and we want to add to that and help make the area even better.
Find out more
Pudding Lab is located at 123 Cold Bath Rd, Harrogate, HG2 0NU. For more information, follow the Facebook page.
0