Pump Street Workshop provides a range of courses specialising in baking and chocolate making. Attendees can explore, understand and master their chosen discipline, guided by our expert leaders who have decades of industry experience.
When you come to Pump Street Workshop we want you to feel like one of the team and the experience is an authentic exploration of how we approach our work. Sharing the approach which has seen us win various awards will hopefully inspire you on your own baking or chocolate journey.
We also have inspirational guest classes from our network which is filled with some of the world’s best chefs, bakers and chocolate makers. Some of them are household names and others are the stars of the future, either way, opportunities not to be missed.
The Space
You will have access to our dedicated space, filled with the latest technology, from grinders to mixers, to ovens and custom refrigeration. We invite you to get to know these tools we use, and put them to use to support your understanding of what happens in the transformative processes use in our baking and chocolate making.
£195.00
From the winners of the Observer Food Monthly “Best Producer” award 2022 comes a five-hour deep dive into everything you need to know about sourdough. Myths busted, skills shared and a great day out on the Suffolk coast.
Pump Street’s journey started with a quest to master the art of making sourdough bread. After a decade of trials, tribulations and many thousands of loaves later - we are finally sharing everything we have learned along the way.
This is the perfect course for someone who has tried baking sourdough at home and wants to understand the process better, allowing them to make delicious bread for themselves, friends and family. That said, no experience is necessary and if you want to start your sourdough journey here then it’s an excellent place to do so.
We will cover everything from grain, flour and fermentation to shaping, proving and baking. A comprehensive course delivered from our bakery on the Suffolk coast with a delicious lunch, copious coffee and fresh pastries.
What to expect:
Through a range of tasks you will delve into the magic of sourdough bread making and we will help you to understand it better. The flavour is the only aspect that should be complex. You will leave with a sourdough starter, two baked loaves, some fermented dough to shape at home, some freshly milled flour and enough knowledge to bake whenever you choose.
Stages of the day:
Arrival.
Don’t be late as you won’t want to miss out on fresh pastries from the bakery and Monmouth coffee.
Stage 1: Shaping.
We will go through why and how to shape our dough.
Stage 2: Back to the Beginning: Growing, Milling and Mixing Grain.
Discover the characteristics of different types of flour and how to use them to boost the nutrition, appearance and activity of your bread.
Stage 3: Fermentation: Form and Flavour.
Explore the murky world of microbes, how they function and how we can keep them busy in our bread dough.
Lunch.
We will break for a family style meal with time to let the morning’s work settle in. Copious amounts of bread guaranteed. All our meals are vegetarian as standard, alternatives will be provided for anyone with dietary requirements.
Stage 4: Proving.
We will discover how our dough prepares itself for the final transformation into bread. You will learn what to look out for and how to control the speed of the final proof to fit in with your schedule.
Stage 5: Baking.
We will bake the loaves that were shaped at the beginning of the day. The course leader will go through the science and practicalities of the baking stage so that students can improve their baking at home.
End.
You’ll walk out with armfuls of warm bread and plenty of knowledge to take home.
You can learn more about our Workshop here.
£95.00
From the winners of the Observer Food Monthly “Best Producer” award 2022 comes a two-hour exploration of craft chocolate. Taste and create with the finest cocoa nibs and have a great time on the beautiful Suffolk coast.
Starting with the farms where we source our cocoa beans we will guide you through our process, shining a light on the details that set our chocolate apart.
Come prepared to taste your way through our stand-out chocolates and even taste chocolate in various stages of production - something we have until now only allowed our expert chocolate makers to do.
The experience ends with the opportunity to select some of our bakery inclusions and create two truly original bars to take home and enjoy. Led by our team of experts you’ll be treated to a real exploration of craft chocolate.
Stages of the afternoon:
Arrival.
Make sure you're on time for registration for Monmouth coffee and sweet treats prepared by our bakery team.
Stage 1: Farm to Factory.
We explain the Pump Street Chocolate process and history. After this there will be an extensive tasting experience showcasing all of the kinds of chocolate that Pump Street makes.
Stage 2: Processing.
Here we discuss how we can impact the final flavour with how we turn beans into chocolate.
Stage 3: Inclusions.
Here we discuss how we make our bakery inclusions and why it makes sense to combine our chocolate with our bread and pastry.
Stage 4: Making bars.
Each person will make two bars with inclusions of their choice to take home.
End.
You can learn more about our Workshop here.
£10.00 - £195.00
Course Vouchers:
Would you like to give the gift of a carefully curated, in person experience at our new Workshop space? Choose from Understanding Sourdough or Exploring Craft Chocolate from the drop down, or purchase an E-Gift card for the amount of your choosing.
The value of any voucher or gift card can be redeemed against any class of your choice.
You will receive an e-voucher by email, which you can print or email to the recipient, or please get in touch with us at info@pumpstreetchocolate.com and we would be happy to send a physical gift card to the recipient in the post.
Class dates will be available throughout 2025.
E-Gift Cards:
Shopping for someone else but not sure what to give them? Give them the gift of choice with a Pump Street Chocolate gift card.
Gift cards are delivered by email and contain instructions to redeem them at checkout. Our gift cards have no additional processing fees.
You can choose to purchase a gift card of any amount, which can be used to purchase any product online.
Please be aware our gift cards can only be redeemed online and not at our bakery or chocolate shop.
£30.00
Our heavy cotton canvas aprons are embroidered with our Pump Street Workshop logo and are the same ones we use in all our classes. Built to last and made from 100% cotton this will quickly become your go-to apron at home.
The dimensions are 28" Wide by 34" Long.
Our workshop team
Chris Brennan
Chris Brennan is Co-Founder of Pump Street along with his daughter Joanna. He came to sourdough baking and chocolate making later in life, after a long career at IBM. His insatiable curiosity for real bread, fermentation and bean to bar chocolate has been the fuel for our development as bakers and chocolate makers
Joanna Brennan
Joanna Brennan is Co-Founder (along with her Father, Chris) and Director of Pump Street. Joanna leads our team of more than thirty-five passionate professionals in maintaining our excellence in baking, chocolate making, hospitality and customer service
David Wright
David Wright is the Workshop Co-Ordinator and a former Head Baker at Pump Street. He has over 25 years experience in the baking industry and writes regularly for publications on his favourite subject of bread.
Chizuru becker
Chizuru Becker is a graduate of our Pump Street Trainee scheme and one of few team members with experience in every department of our business. Now a seasoned member of our Pastry Department, Chizuru also helps co-ordinate and run the Workshop space so you're likely to see her (hopefully with a tray of freshly baked croissants).
David Bailey
David Bailey has been instrumental in Pump Street’s success over the years, having worked in both the bakery and leading the chocolate making department. His passion is his strongest suit and he is a wonderful teacher across all our courses.
Corporate, Private Hire and Personalised Experiences
We would be delighted to help you plan and execute your event. If you would like to book out the whole space for a special occasion or a bespoke business experience then get in touch with us here. Whether you’re looking for an activity for a group of friends or an end of year presentation with some added fun, we can provide a full boardroom environment, dining space and activities. We can host various group sizes depending on whether the event is for dining, presentations, activities or standing.
Have more questions?
Find our specially curated FAQ's here. If you have any other questions please email info@pumpstreetchocolate.com