Lily + Honey Bakery

Q:What brought you to Oakham? Are you from here? Grow up here, come back here? Tell us about your journey.
A: Owners Nicolle & Robert both lived in Leicestershire prior to moving to Oakham 9 years ago for work.  Robert has always worked in the food industry & Nicolle previously worked in the insurance industry so it’s a total change to what they do now.

Q: Amazing! Now tell us what your favourite part about living here is?
A: We really do love everything, it’s most certainly “home” for us and always love coming back when we’ve been away.  Robert (Co-Owner) of Lily & Honey proclaims his love for Oakham at least once a week and will be an advocate for the place to anyone that listens!

Q: Any top tips or hidden gems you love?
A: Visit and use our small businesses. We are so lucky in Oakham so have some amazing independents that sell amazing products. Venture down Crown Walk, Knights Yard, Mill Street and The Maltings and perhaps take a visit to somewhere you haven’t been before.

Q: Those are some of my favourites too! Where did your concept / idea for Lily & Honey come from, how long have you been running it and how are you finding it all?
A: We started back in 2017 and it was just an idea at this stage, we’d do a few cakes here and there for family and friends but it really was a dream to open our own store. We then took the leap and Robert left his job to pursue Lily & Honey full time. We officially opened the bakery in November 2019 which really has flown by!

Q: What time do you start baking and how long does it take?
A: Our wake up times vary depending on the day or how much we have to bake, some days it can be a respectable 5:30am but others it’s a 1:30am wake up call! We’re baking throughout the day too so it can be very busy at times in a small space.

Q: Wow, that’s early! What’s your personal favourite thing off your menu and what do you think your customers love most? And where do you get your baking inspiration from?
A: This is SUCH a hard question, I would say our personal favourites change regularly which usually means we have eaten too much of something. Our cinnamon buns are always a winner, but we are always innovating and adding new products to our menu to keep it fresh and interesting for our customers and for us baking it!  Our spare room overflowing with cookbooks & foodie magazines so there is always inspiration on hand, and we also love seeing what other bakeries are doing around the world.

Q: I’m obsessed with the cinnamon buns! Where is your fave place to drink and eat in Oakham? What’s your favourite thing to drink and eat when you’re there?
A: Our favourite is most definitely Sarpech, it hits the spot everytime.  We always take friends there whenever they visit and they always absolutely love it.  Our favourite dish is the Paneer Makhani but we have recently tried the Dal Bukhara and would highly recommend it! They kept us going during the lockdown that’s for sure.

Q: What’s next?!

A: We’ve recently taken on a new bakery space which is around 4x the size of our current shop! More updates to come on our socials as they happen…@lilyandhoneybakery

We are so excited to follow you on your journey, you guys are doing some amazing things!