Bao’s Bakery isn’t just a name we thought sounded cute (although it does). Bao is a part of our family and the inspiration behind the name.
We adopted Bao from Cats Protection in December 2022, along with her brother Percy. They were both born in May 2022 and came into our lives as tiny, very nervous kittens.
From the very beginning, Bao was the quieter one. Shy, cautious, and happiest observing from a safe distance, she took her time settling in. While Percy was quick to demand attention (and cause a lot of chaos – he’s broken about 5 plant pots to date), Bao preferred to move at her own pace.
Now, why would we name a bakery after Bao? Well, every Sunday afternoon, Bao gets herself up on the sofa, and starts to knead the blanket. It became a joke that she was getting ready for the week ahead, kneading her dough ready to bake on Monday morning. We laughed that she had such a busy bakery that she even had to work on a Sunday!
When we decided we wanted to open an independent home-bakery, we spent months going back and forward over name ideas. We had one which we spent a few months trying to design a logo for, but nothing felt right. We didn’t know what was wrong, but we knew it just wasn’t working. We then joked one Sunday afternoon, mid-knead for Bao, that Bao’s Bakery had a nice ring to it… And that was it. We couldn’t imagine a better name. Everything after that came easily and felt right.
So, here we are. Bao has her own bakery, and we are now joining her on Sunday, kneading our dough ready to bake on Monday morning.
What about Percy we hear you ask? Well, Percy is a very happy and active cat, but he can’t sit still and doesn’t have the patience to wait for dough to rise. So, you might see him roaming about the countryside in West Norwich, not contributing anything to Bao’s Bakery or rent, but having a lovely time nonetheless.