Jess Murphy on How She Started a Stealth Micro Bakery in the Heart of Galway

“At first, I called it the Accidental Bakery because it all kind of happened by accident,” laughs Jess Murphy, reflecting on the success of Kai's “little sister”, Hápi Bakery.

The micro-bakery, which operates out of Galway’s West End and has been in business for over two years now, was born out of a genuine need: “We had no space in the Kai kitchen, so the bakers were starting at four o’clock in the morning and we were pushing them out at noon to get started with lunch, which was unsustainable,” she remembers.

“I didn’t want to be all big and bolshy about it. We always had this ‘if it doesn't work out no one dies’ kind of attitude.”

On the QT: Starting a stealth micro bakery in Galway’s Westend

Jess teamed up with Massimo’s Karen Healy to rent out a baking space, with Kai as the fledgling bakery’s first client. Around the same time, the beloved Galway City bakery Marmalade shut down, and they had been supplying bread to West End greengrocer Ernie’s. 

“I remember saying to Ernie: we can’t give you sourdough because we don’t know how to make it yet,” chuckles Jess. “But we can do brown bread, cinnamon buns and focaccia.” And so, Hápi had its second client – and soon, word started to get out about Kai’s “secret” bakery project.

Feverish WhatsApps were exchanged trying to ascertain the optimal time to arrive at Ernie’s and secure the goods, be they delightfully indulgent focaccia (“so oily it falls through the bag, as it should”) or devilishly soft and pillowy cinnamon buns. 

But even as word spread, Jess continued to soft launch the brand, with minimal press and promotion. “I’m not a man, so I didn’t want to be all big and bolshy about it,” she asserts. “We always had this ‘if it doesn't work out no one dies’ kind of attitude."

Kai cakes, at home

The cake display at Kai has always been a big draw, but ordering them to enjoy at home was never something the restaurant could really offer. “Before, it was very ad-hoc – if you’d been a regular for ten years then sure, we could work something out, but we couldn’t make cakes to order at scale,” explains Jess. 

The Hápi team is now headed up by Molly Fitzpatrick, who trained at Dublin’s Bread 41. The team creates show-stopping creations – from a buttermilk chocolate cake with salted caramel and pecan brittle to a spiced chai carrot cake with cream cheese, not to mention endless seasonal tarts.

Wonder bread: launching Galway's new favourite sandwich

The next natural step? Why sandwiches, of course. “I had always been a fan of Turkey and the Wolf in the US, and I love making sandwiches – I used to make them when I worked at Sheridan’s,” Jess recalls. 

Kai now also supplies sandwiches to local cafes Plamas and Fairhill. Unsurprisingly, the sandwiches, too, soon developed a cult following of their own, thanks in part to their tongue-in-cheek names (“The Macho Macha Chiken” and “Very demure, Very Mindful, Vegan Banh Mi” being recent favourites) and accompanying irreverent social media.

Sustainability first: A Michelin Green Star approach

Kai holds a Michelin Green Star, given to restaurants at the forefront of the industry when it comes to sustainable practices, and their circular economy approach is very much alive in Hápi. 

“All the leftover cooked spuds from Kai go into the Hápi focaccia,” explains Jess. Many of the herbs used are grown in Massimo’s rooftop garden and any leftover loaves from the bakery inevitably make their way to the breadbasket at Kai that night. Looking back, Jess is glad they took the slow and steady route: “We had to f**k everything up a bit, burn a few things to get it right.” And get it right they have.

@hapibakery

Photography by Nathalie Marquez Courtney