Palestinian bakery in London represents the wholeness of Palestine, 'not just tragedy'

Owner Sara Assad-Mannings says her main aim is to be a 'proudly, unashamedly Palestinian business'

Rose and cardamom. Tahini and grape molasses. Sumac and labneh. Za'atar and Aleppo pepper. You might think you’re in the Middle East after glancing at Bunhead Bakery’s menu, but this small spot can be found just a stone’s throw from Herne Hill station in South London.

The brainchild of self-taught baker Sara Assad-Mannings, this Palestinian-operated bakery opened only four months ago, but already attracts queues that wrap around the block. Customers line up for a taste of the six-strong team’s sourdough buns, focaccia, cakes, biscuits and coffees, served Thursday through to Sunday. Often, the bakery shuts by 1pm after selling hundreds of buns in only a few short hours, as tagged Instagram posts attest.

“We make about 1,400 buns a week,” says Assad-Mannings, 30, as she takes a quick break from hand-rolling Bunhead’s signature bakes, most inspired by the flavours of her mother’s homeland. “I don't think we ever could have anticipated the response.”

The venue might be intimate, but this little bakery has a big mission. The sign emblazoned on the sherbet-yellow frontage proclaims “Sourdough buns, Palestinian flavours” yet Bunhead’s cause is more than the sum of these two parts.

“I understand the responsibility that comes with sharing my culture and my flavours,” says Assad-Mannings, who previously worked in TV and the charity sector. The daughter of a Palestinian mother and British father who met in the West Bank, Assad-Mannings was born and raised in London but often travelled to Palestine, where much of her family still lives.

“If we're going to have this much attention on us, then I feel a very deep responsibility to do something with that,” she adds.

This outlook has resulted in a brand that not only champions Palestinian culture through food, but also directly gives back by selling merchandise to support the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate. Branded T-shirts and totes have raised thousands for the cause, with Assad-Mannings’s family also distributing fundraising efforts on the ground.

The concept of Bunhead was first cooked up in 2020, when the UK went into pandemic-induced lockdowns. Assad-Mannings delivered baked goods around London, handcrafted from her one-bedroom flat, making Bunhead her full-time job two years later as interest – much like her bakes – kept rising. Last year, she began looking for a bricks-and-mortar venue and roped in university friend Georgia Wickremeratne, 31, to help run the business.

Thousands of buns, market stalls and a £12,000 crowdfunding campaign later, Bunhead Bakery was born.

There is a different menu every week, but stalwarts, such as the baklava bun and the salty bun, packed with za'atar, feta, olive oil and chilli, remain. The duo try to source as many ingredients as possible from Palestine, though admit this has become trickier since late last year. However, Assad-Mannings’s mother returned from the West Bank last month, and brought back two suitcases packed with produce for the bakery.

“The Palestinians who come through these doors say it smells like home, or reminds them of home, or just thank me. It's very powerful and it means a lot,” says Assad-Mannings.

Bunhead’s mission has taken on even more significance in the wake of October 7. But the duo – two young, female, entrepreneurs of colour – are keen to ensure the bakery remains a positive, celebratory space.

“It's important for us to give credence to [the war], but it's not the entirety of Palestinian people. We're not just the suffering and the oppression that we've experienced. You go to Palestine and there is so much life and joy and culture. This business is a representation of that. It’s the wholeness of Palestine, not just the tragedy of Palestine.”

While Assad-Mannings loves the mediative quality of baking, both she and Wickremeratne admit it’s been a slog getting the business off the ground, with many 4.30am starts and 14-hour days. But they still find time to dream big, even chatting about expansion plans during Wickremeratne’s recent wedding.

“We’d love a second site that's not open to the public; a more community-driven space with events and workshops,” says Wickremeratne. “It’s important for us to give back.”

Another goal is to launch a Bunhead supper club – and serve warm knafeh, interjects Assad-Mannings.

But, above all, the main aim is to be a “proudly, unashamedly, Palestinian business,” she adds. “I'm doing it for little me, who couldn't find anything that was Palestinian when she was growing up.”