Our Story
From a hobby in Glasgow to The Focacceria in Belfast
Our Journey
The Beginning
The Hundredth Monkey Bakery began as a hobby and passion project for Ciarán. Living in Glasgow, he had just begun to get to grips with sourdough breads when COVID and the lockdowns arrived.
WhatsApp Orders & Growth
Based in Mount Florida, just next to Hampden Stadium, word started getting out about his breads. You'd get one by dropping him a message and a loaf would appear on your doorstep a day or two later.
Supplying Glasgow
Ciarán supplied cafes and restaurants around Glasgow. His sourdough tin loaf was developed for Honey & Salt, and the schiacciata was initially developed for a focaccia sandwich bar in Govanhill. He produced breads for Bar Brett, Bar Vini, Roots & Fruits, The Dam, St Luke's, Grain and Grind and many others.
Moving to Belfast
When the shared production kitchen lease wasn't renewed, Ciarán moved back home to Antrim and then to Belfast. The Hundredth Monkey Bakery got a redux from a shipping container just off Apollo Road in Boucher.
The Focacceria
After the shipping container site closure, a video on Instagram caught the attention of House Proud. The solution was to pivot from The Hundredth Monkey Bakery to The Focacceria, focusing on focaccia-based offerings in their incredible in-store restaurant space on Boucher Road.
Our Story
The Hundredth Monkey Bakery began in 2019 as a hobby and passion project for Ciarán. At the time he lived in Glasgow and had just began to get to grips with sourdough breads when covid and the lockdowns arrived. Having found himself furloughed from his job that he'd wanted to get away from for some years now, he saw his opportunity to try and force a career with his passion for food, cooking and baking.
It started out with WhatsApp messages. Based in Mount Florida, just next to Hampden Stadium, the word was starting to get out about his breads and you'd get one by dropping him a message and a loaf would appear on your doorstep, in your close or hung on your door handle a day or two later.
Ciarán would go on to supply some cafes and restaurants around Glasgow, many of his current breads were a solution to problems these clients had. His sourdough tin loaf, a more sandwich friendly and easy to cut loaf was developed for Honey & Salt using all kinds of trickery with roasters and water baths. The schiacciata, that flat focaccia The Focacceria is based around, was initially developed for a focaccia sandwich bar in Govanhill that's no longer around.
Ciarán would also produce breads for well know Glasgow establishments like Bar Brett, Bar Vini, Roots & Fruits, The Dam, St Luke's, Grain and Grind and many, many others over his nearly 2 years baking until the end of 2021.
Ciarán baked all his breads in a shared production kitchen and when the main tenant decided not to renew the lease he was left with a few months without a space to trade from. During this time he decided to move back home to Antrim and then eventually to Belfast, where The Hundredth Monkey Bakery would get a redux in late 2022, this time from a shipping container just off Apollo Road in Boucher.
It was far from ideal, it was certainly not cheap but it allowed Ciaran to get his 3 phase mixer and especially his Rational iCombi Pro powered up, the heartbeat of his operation, especially as then, a 1 man band.
The limitations with the shipping container made running from here a struggle but Ciarán did enjoy some successes, including winning a great taste award for his sourdough bagels but most importantly introducing himself and his cooking and baking to Belfast.
The site the shipping container was based on was set to be closed in February 2024, with no more than a weeks notice to move out. This threw the cat amongst the pigeons for The Hundredth Monkey Bakery's then residency at The John Hewitt and an urgent need for a new space to prep from.
A video on posted on instagram caught the attention of House Proud who were on the search for a new operator for their in-store restaurant just up Boucher Road. The space was incredible, but also huge, especially for a one man band moving from a shipping container with virtually no budget and the most modest of setups. The space was too good to turn down but it was probably (definitely) a step too far for a one man band so the solution was to pivot from The Hundredth Monkey Bakery to The Focacceria, focusing on focaccia-based offerings.
