West Kent Local News
Loaf Story's market stall, with sourdough loaves, focaccia and French pastries. Image courtesy of Loaf Story.
From Redundancy to Award-Winning Sourdough: The Story Behind Tonbridge's Loaf Story
A microbakery run out of South Tonbridge has just picked up one of the Tonbridge Business Awards' top honours - and the story behind it starts not in a professional kitchen, but with a pregnant woman missing the bread of her French childhood.
From corporate career to kitchen table
Helene Lo moved to the UK from France in 2008 and spent the next 16 years at a global beauty corporation. It was during her first pregnancy that she began craving the crusty loaves and buttery croissants of home, and wanting her daughter to grow up with those same traditions, she started baking them herself. What began as a personal project grew into a real passion, and after her second daughter was born, Helene started selling what she baked. A redundancy package at the start of 2025 turned out to be the push she needed: within two weeks of baking for a small group of local mothers, her first proper order came in, and in February 2025 she made it official, leaving corporate life behind to run Loaf Story, full-time.
Micro Business of the Year
That leap has paid off: Loaf Story was named Micro Business of the Year at the Tonbridge Business Awards 2026, beating highly commended entries Chambers Farm Flowers and Rootes Wealth Management, and was separately shortlisted in the Food & Drink category too (won by The Greyhound Charcott and Ridings Café). The awards evening raised £3,520 for Scotts Project Trust and West Kent Mind.
What she bakes
Everything is sourdough-based - just flour, water, starter and salt - with loaves and focaccia both taken through a slow, three-day fermentation for flavour and texture. The core range is a country sourdough made with a rye starter and a mix of strong white and wholemeal flour, and a rosemary focaccia topped with Maldon sea salt and olive oil, alongside traditional French pastries: croissants, pain au chocolat and hand-braided cinnamon knots, all built up in buttery layers over the same three-day process.
Where to find her
Loaf Story is a home bakery, not a shop - most of the business runs on direct orders, placed by emailing loafstoryuk@gmail.com for collection or delivery, with growth so far driven almost entirely by word of mouth among local parents, teachers and school families. Beyond that, Helene turns up in person at local markets and events: she has a stall at Tonbridge Farmers' Market, and appeared at this year's Tonbridge Food Festival with a fusion sausage roll - a spring roll filling wrapped in hand-laminated puff pastry. She also runs occasional sourdough baking courses.
Catch her in person
Tonbridge Farmers' Market, Sovereign Way car park (TN9 1RG), second Sunday of every month, 9.30am-1.30pm - the next one falls this Sunday, 8 November.
