Sep 23, 2019

5 questions with Florin Grama

executive baker at the popular Pophams Bakery in London

We wander into Pophams at 8.30am, yawning, stretching, trying to come alive, and are greeted by a relaxed and charming baker named Florin who’s been working since midnight.

Florin and his team work through the night to avoid freezing their dough – a diligent process which denies them hours of sleep but gives Pophams’ pastries their impressive height and incredible texture.

We ask Florin 5 questions about his seemingly nocturnal lifestyle, and why he thrives in it.

QUESTION ONE We’re guessing you’re not a nine-to-fiver?

(laughs) Absolutely not! My alarm goes off as early as 11pm if my shift starts at midnight, and I sometimes end up staying here until 2pm, even if my shift ends earlier.

Then I go home, eat, spend time with my housemate, get a few hours sleep, then I’m back in here. It’s especially busy at the moment as we’ve just opened a new bakery.

I’ve been doing this for around 3 years, so it feels quite normal now. But it does take some getting used to – the first year was especially tough, as was summer because it’s too light to sleep.

QUESTION TWO what's the hardest thing about your routine?

Getting out of bed can be a challenge. When my alarm goes off, I get up quickly and go about my routine, otherwise I’ll change my mind and end up back in bed. The key is not to overthink too much in the morning (or evening); get up and get out.

But the hardest part of my job isn’t actually the lack of sleep, it’s being on your feet all day. You need to move around a lot and wear something light and comfortable on your feet.

(good thing we gifted Florin a pair of our lightweight, flexible mahabis flow)

QUESTION THREE how do you stay so upbeat and positive with the lack of sleep and downtime?

If you love what you do it doesn’t matter how much time you spend on it. I really enjoy what I do, so none of this feels like a chore. I have no reason to feel angry or frustrated.

Baking is one hundred percent an art, and Pophams really respects that. We don’t waste our time creating average products, we throw everything behind creating the best pastries, which is why it’s worth my time.

We don’t freeze our dough. We experiment with flavours. We encourage everyone to have a voice and an opinion. All these things make it a great place to work.

QUESTION FOUR baking seems like a large part of your life - you’ve even got a croissant tattoo– how do you switch off from it?

At the moment I have very little free time as I am focusing on developing my baking career, so it’s pretty difficult to switch off completely.

I do get two days off a week and I’ll read, run, try new restaurants, cook – anything but bake.

QUESTION FIVE you have come up with some amazing flavour combinations - what inspires you?

I try to eat at loads of different places and read a range of recipe books. But I am mostly inspired by the season – I like to play around with what’s available, fresh and local.

Sometimes you just hit upon something that works so well, like our maple and bacon Danish. And sometimes you have an idea you think is amazing and it doesn’t work – like my gin and tonic pastry which was horrible.

5 bonus quickfire questions

1. Favourite music to bake to

The 80s! we love listening to 80s music here

2. An invention that would make your job easier

Trays that self-turn in the oven

3. First things that goes through your head when alarm goes off:

Why am I doing this? (laughs)

4. Person you’d most like to bake for

Albert Adrià (a famous Michelin starred Spanish chef who was formerly head pastry chef at elBullo, a 3 starred restaurant)

5. Award you’d most love to win

I’d like to be the first baker with a Michelin star.