Nestled between trays lined with proving pain au chocolats and setting custard slices, I sat down with Darcie Maher, Lannan’s founder, to discuss her experience with the bakery and new pantry; from social media to her industry perspective as a young woman, to the Lannan community.
Throwing herself into the deep end, Maher opened Lannan Bakery in 2023, when she was only 23. With a high social media presence even before opening, since then, locals and tourists have flocked to Stockbridge for the daily pilgrimage to Lannan’s sacred laminated pastries. The latest edition to the company came in October, when Maher opened the doors of their neighbouring space as the freshly renovated Lannan Pantry, showcasing handpicked local and French artisanal food, pottery and accessories, with “the idea […] always to sell things I like using at home”. Central to the innovative addition, though, was the chance for preorders: making Lannan’s beautiful pastries “more accessible for people who can’t queue, don’t want to queue.”
Further discussing Lannan’s virtually permanent queue, it was clear Maher viewed social media both as a blessing and a curse. For Lannan, its TikTok craze has jet-packed the business to the popular position it’s in today, but at the same time it takes away from Maher’s hard work behind the scenes, with her commenting how “it stings a little bit when people call us a TikTok bakery”. Maher has curated every single aspect that makes Lannan so appealing, from the cappuccino-coloured exterior to wonderful window displays, but this is not for social media. For Maher, who creates all the content, social media is only a tiny part of her job, saying “I don’t do anything different from any other bakery”. But the aesthetics of Lannan have resulted in this endless draw of influencers from across the globe, only enhancing the bakery’s social media phenomenon. It’s no secret though that social media is inevitably harmful, with Maher disclosing how both herself and the Lannan team are “subject to a lot of abuse”. The general public are continually taking Lannan’s widespread online presence as consent to act differently towards the business, failing to regard the personal impacts it has.
Additionally, as a young woman, Maher has seen the difference in how she and her business are treated, commenting that “we seem to get a lot of disgruntled members of the public and I do sometimes think that is because I’m a young woman.” On the whole, the industry is not particularly welcoming to young women, but Maher is ensuring this is not the case in Lannan, stating this “is a culture that we have to stamp out.” When talking to her, it was clear she vowed to uphold the principles of respect, kindness and consideration at Lannan, with Maher even paying for taxis of every member of staff on early starts to support their safety even before work begins. These crucial changes to how the industry works may only be on a local scale for now, but I am sure Maher’s supportive practices will have rippling effects throughout kitchens globally.
Overall, the importance of Lannan to Maher was unequivocal, especially when talking about her team, saying how “it blows my mind that people come all the way here to be part of this little idea that I had.” This sense of awe, gratitude and achievement is clear in Lannan’s execution, from the personal details in the bakery and pantry, to the friendly staff. With a fond smile, Maher further noted “it’s such a good atmosphere when everyone’s in here in the morning prepping everything.”
Despite significant and continual challenges, Maher has created a truly homely feel to Lannan Bakery and Pantry, which will remain an Edinburgh staple for years to come. With a vast future ahead of her, I’m sure Darcie Maher has many more tricks (or croissants) up her sleeve.
Image provided by Stephen Lister