He’s the man behind one of the most successful bakeries in Glasgow, but the chances are you won’t be familiar with Ian Pedriani.
It is, however, likely that you enjoyed one of his culinary creations at a staggering range of cafes and restaurants across the city or at his Southside shop, the Big Bear Bakery.
“We don’t get much press” Ian admitted.
“Actually this is the first time in 15 years that I’ve been interviewed.
“It’s pretty bizarre, we’ve never really had to go looking for business, although we work really hard.
“It's all been very organic.”
Despite a surprising lack of self-promotion for a man who has spent 15 years at the top of the baking game, Ian’s story is a true testament to just how far some hard graft and a passion for what you do will carry you.
After a stint of working in bars during his younger years, he found himself bored of his management role and at the age of 23 made a chance request that would set him on a path to sweet success.
He said: “One night, when I was working at a bar in Bristol, I asked the chef if I could do a couple of shifts.
“Within a week he had offered me a full-time kitchen job.
“After that, I worked a couple of seasons in the Alps and New Zealand before moving back to Scotland.
“I started working with a friend who owned a catering company and decided it was something I would like to try for myself.
“It worked.”
The first year of Ian’s new venture saw him split time between baking from a converted kitchen (‘the very first micro-bakery,’ he jokes) at his family home in Ayrshire, delivering to his customers and commuting in and out of Glasgow.
Although his bakes soon started to earn him a reputation, it was still some time before his business evolved into what it is today.
He said: “Back in 2007 when I started no one else was doing wholesale cakes.
“The market was there for the taking.
“For the first 10 years or so I was just ‘Ian the cake guy’.
“That’s how my name got passed around every restaurant or cafe, there was no Big Bear Bakery.
“It wasn’t until the shop opened that all of that changed and suddenly everyone was tagging us in their posts.”
It’s no surprise that his suppliers were keen to hitch their wagon to the Big Bear Bakery name as they opened their first shop in the city’s Southside.
The Sinclair Drive spot was an instant hit with locals and soon became synonymous with the long queues which were guaranteed to form in anticipation of opening time come rain or shine.
Regulars will no doubt recognise his wife and co-owner of the bakery, Dominique, who is responsible for front-of-house duties.
Interestingly though, Ian says he finds joy in a continued sense of anonymity that has allowed him to truly appreciate the shop's success.
He explained: “I’m not in a customer-facing role so sometimes I like to act almost like a secret shopper.
“I stand in the queues to hear feedback and see what people are buying.
“I live nearby too so sometimes I see people walking around eating our stuff, but they don’t know who I am.
“That’s always given me great satisfaction.”
With 15 years of experience and thousands of bakes under his belt, Ian and his team have developed a failsafe menu that features everything from signature empire biscuits and breads to light as a feather pastries filled with an ever-changing selection of fillings.
Reflecting on his growth as a baker, Ian said: “A few years ago I read an article somewhere that said in order to be a true baker you had to be able to make a baguette, a brioche, a croissant and a loaf of bread.
“It was around the time that a lot of burger restaurants had opened in Glasgow so we were already making around 5000 brioche buns by hand every week so I thought I had better teach myself how to make the others.
“It was trial and error for a year until one day we got it right.
“We had a little market in the Glad Cafe and sold out within an hour.
“I think that’s when we realised there was something in it.”
Nowadays Ian is a firm believer in a ‘more is more’ approach and, with the help of his team, thrives on keeping a fully stocked counter at Big Bear HQ.
The location for their new West End shop is still a tightly guarded secret, but Ian hopes that they can maintain the level of consistency and skill that has seen them flourish without any self-created social media fanfare for over a decade.
He said: “We stock our Southside shop full every day so the amount of product that’s moved is phenomenal.
“This far down the line I still can’t really believe it.
“It’s humbling for me, my wife and the team to see that we’re doing something special.
“It’s a tough time for anyone working in the food industry thanks to rising costs. Almost everything has doubled in price already.
“With the West End shop the proof will be in the pudding, we’ll have to see if people come.
“But Glasgow seems to like what we do.”
For more information on the Big Bear Bakery click here.
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