Northampton father son baking duo whip up 1,000 brownies a day to keep up with UK's lockdown chocolate craving

A Northampton father/son baking duo say they have been baking more than 1,000 brownies a day to feed the UK's cravings for chocolate during the lockdown.

Northampton's-own Brooklyn Bakery has been battling to ship out box after box of its homemade brownies in the face of hundreds of customers using their time at home to get indulgent.

Now, baker John Lashley and his son Leo - the two-man team who run Brooklyn's kitchen - say they have had to retool their home to keep up with demand and are shipping out 1,000 brownies a day.

John said: "When the announcement went out that places needed to close for the lockdown I started looking for work immediately.

"But the next morning we woke up to 50 orders in a night. I thought it was a glitch.

"People kept ordering more every day. It was a nightmare at the start because I was standing in line for four to six hours a day in supermarkets just to get enough eggs, flour and chocolate."

The lockdown's impact on internet businesses and cravings for sweet treats has meant John and Leo have had to step up production at their Northampton home kitchen.

John said: "We've had to strip the dining room and office - they're now in the process of becoming out 'decorating and packing facility' with all stainless steel surfaces. I'm upgrading the kitchen with commercial ovens and fridges.

"At a push, we can bake around 1,008 brownies a day.

"Leo has been such a help. He has learned so much in talking to people, making deals, digital marketing and content creation in such a small time. He knows know anything is possible."

Now, Brooklyn Bakery has even scored a collaboration with The Chocolate Smiths, who picked John and Leo's recipe to craft a limited Biscoff brownie bar.

John said: "The Collaboration bar is all about showcasing independent small businesses and its something Steffi at The Chocolate Smiths is very passionate about as she knows how it is to start from nothing.

"After tasting our Biggie Scoff (Biscoff) brownie she was hooked and knew that she wanted to put that into one of her chocolate bars.

"We provide the brownies and the deconstructed recipe for our toppings and she has masterfully injected that all into this stunning Collaboration Bar. Even the wrapper tells our story and features us - it's such a milestone in our journey."

It comes after the pair started up the postal-order baking company in 2018.