the pit stop general store – A Dream Come True

The Pit Stop General Store has opened in Folkestone Harbour Arm’s Marketplace.  There are freshly baked goodies, with a menu changing monthly.  There are regular items for your store cupboard which will be weekly must-buys, and also make wonderful gifts. The Store is the dream of wife and husband team Elles and Alex.  They’ve talked about it since they first met, and now have the opportunity to start their business in Folkestone.  Folkelife has not been bribed in anyway, but will just leave two words here – Croissant Crisps.  Once tried, never forgotten, and regularly eaten.  For details on how they are made (minus the secret ingredients) read on:

Elles: “I have always loved baking, and started my first baking business when I was 16 years old.  I’d make cakes for friends, and then it grew from there.  So much so, I decided to do go to culinary school and train to be a chef.  I went to Westminster Kingsway which was very industry realistic and spent three years training in all sorts of disciplines.  My favourite though was baking, and I got to work in the most amazing restaurants and hotels such as the Carlton Tower in Knightsbridge, Marriott County Hall on Southbank.  My longest stint was at The Ritz which was amazing, and I made afternoon tea for Princess Anne.  She didn’t really say much, but came for a tour of the kitchen, and I knew which bits I’d done so that made me happy! 

“London wasn’t really for me though, and I moved to Tenterden, which was a new town for me as I’d grown up in Sevenoaks and Tonbridge.  I thought the best way to meet new people, and people my age, would be to get a job in a local pub, and now I have a set of friends for life.  I met my husband there, so it turned out for the best!  Whilst there, I did all sorts of things; I worked behind the bar, was the sous chef in the kitchen, and then started supplying them with cakes for the counter.”

making friends with cakes

“That’s been the theme with me and every job I’ve had.  I worked at Chapel Down Vineyard for a bit and started to bring cake in there too.  But, as with everyone in the hospitality industry, Covid had an impact.  I got through that by baking for people, and my skills broadened to learning how to post cakes and so on, but as we came out of that I decided that I didn’t want to run a cake shop.  I did have one for a short time, but it was next door to a venue who had very loud DJs, and the vibrations of the music would shake my cakes off the shelves!

“Alex, my husband, and I have always talked about having our own business.  He’s a graphic designer by education but has always shared that with hospitality jobs.  Our ideas have varied from our own pub (but we quite like going to be early, and drink more tea that alcohol), a farm shop or a little café, and it’s always been talk and never got to anything more.  We were waiting for a sign, and maybe actually, we just needed to take the plunge and do it. Now, with the Marketplace, we have the opportunity to create our dream.  Alex is the manager at Sailbox, so he doesn’t have to come far to help me out!”

the pit stop general store

“We’d always referred to our little project as ‘pit stop’, and it being a shop that you would see on a journey to somewhere, and you’d want to pop in just to see what they have on the shelves.  I’d been quite ill; it turns out I have epilepsy which was induced by stress.  It was incredibly scary for Alex to witness, and I’ve had to take time out to recover and get my head around what it all means.  Now, with the right medication, I am so much better.  So it seemed to be that moment to just go with our idea, and enjoy seeing it come to life. 

“Alex had done all the graphics for the business, and that’s bought back his passion for that industry.  He was nearly thinking of giving up completely, and just working in hospitality, but no, he’s thoroughly enjoyed creating the look of our business.

“The Store itself has a modern feel of a farm shop.  We didn’t want to go all rustic and apple crates, so there’s a more Scandi design chic to it, but with really good products. We love Danish design, Danish food, all of that.  It’s who we are, which is good really as Alex is a designer and I’m a pastry chef, and all the best designers and pastries come from Denmark! 

“So, I’ve been baking and there will be a monthly menu of cakes and pastries, brioche and my GOAT cookie.  Honestly, this is the only cookie you need. I developed this when I was working at the Kent Cookery School and James, my boss, wouldn’t let me bake any other form of cookie.  It’s brown butter, toasted milk powder, dark chocolate and sea salt cookie.”

flavour parings

“I don’t want to overload anything with sugar.  So all of my bakes are good for kids, and grown ups but still feel a bit naughty.  I can honestly say that they’re all made by me, no added processed food or anything like that.  We have unusual flavour-parings and seasonal ingredients.  There will be my own jams and caramels to buy, and ganaches too. 

“We also want to have our own pre-packaged items, so one of my favourite things I’ve started doing is Croissant Crisps. If you have a day old croissant, pop it in the freezer and then slice it up finely.  Dip it into the magic mixture and bake it in the oven until they go all caramalised and crispy and crunchy.   It works with plain croissants and chocolate ones, where you get the extra hit of chocolate in the middle.  They’re so moreish, that you realise you’ve eaten two whole croissants before you know it!

“Once we get settled in there will be my own granola, homemade marshmallows, which are the best marshmallows ever!  They are the perfect toasting consistency, not foamy, but perfectly squidgy.  You can eat them on their own, put them into hot chocolate where they melt perfectly, and you can toast them over a fire or small barbeque. I make a vanilla bean classic, I did a hot cross bun one at Easter, a mince pie one at Christmas and strawberry and raspberry for the summer.”

local to folkestone

“We will also have items from other local producers that focus on small batch production.  These will be items that are delicious to snack on but also make good gifts. If you’ve spent the day at the Harbour and are going to friends for a barbeque, you can pick something nice from The Pit Stop and you will be the favourite guest!  There will be crisps, dips, chocolates and other picky food bits to grab on a whim. 

“It’s funny, we first came down here in around 2017, when there were far fewer huts and businesses.  We had food from a place called Sole Kitchen, which was Mark Babins’ (Sailbox) first business here.  He might even have served us.  Now we are here, connected to Sailbox and have our own business too. Folkestone has this wonderful feel to it, the lovely sea air, the culture, food and creativity.  I love the parks by the beach, and that you don’t have to get too sandy and sticky to enjoy the sea.  When you’re a kid you look at the old people sitting on the benches and wonder why they do that.  Now I know, and I love taking the time to sit on a bench and drink in the view. We’re really enjoying being part of what Folkestone Harbour Arm is all about.”