a decent conversation with Mor Bakery.

Mor is a micro bakery located in Remuera, delivering delicate and delicious pastries inspired by a combination of past influences, different flavours and techniques, while also giving a polite nod to the classics.

We chatted with Laura and Kelsie - owners of Mor about how to develop a loyal local, the importance of sustainability, pastries, and how to look after your mental health while running a business.

Can you tell us a bit about how Mor Bakery come about?

We studied patisserie together at AUT back in 2014, and always felt like we worked really well together! Fast forward 7 years, after both returning to Auckland from our time overseas - we shared a workbench yet again. We quickly realised that we had developed a very similar working style and we daydreamed about our shared vision of opening up our own bakery. We felt like there was a real gap in the market for the type of bakeries we were so inspired by while overseas. We were both really nervous but we just decided to take a chance and we’re so glad that we did.

 

It may sound a little cliche, but we think just being really authentic is so important! We are really enjoying having our little storefront after operating online for a little under a year before we found our home on Remuera Road. Having the opportunity to interact with our customers face to face is so lovely and we already have quite a few regulars which means the world to us. We really care about using top quality ingredients, and we pay attention to the smallest of details. We think people really appreciate the love that we put into our craft. 

 

We try our best to support sustainable brands that we align with! We love that decent care about our environment in such a way that they are actively trying to make a change through what they do.

 

We try our best to implement sustainable practices within Mor, no matter however small these may be - every little helps! We have very little food wastage, we try to utilise everything that we have on hand to the best of our ability. For example, when we roll out our croissants there are always ‘scraps’ once we measure and cut out all of the pastries. We mix a small percentage of these scraps back into our next batch of dough, and the rest get made into our popular ‘croissant loaves’. Though we try to do what we can, we are conscious that we can always work together to do more.

 

We actually share a personal favourite, our Kouign Amann, though some customers seem to be afraid of it.. perhaps because of its scary looking name? It’s our dream pastry, we use honey, fennel & sea salt so it’s the perfect balance of sweet & salty. 

 

One of the most important lessons we’ve learnt through starting Mor is to always trust your intuition! If something doesn’t feel right, it’s probably because it isn’t. We feel so lucky to be on this journey together and to be able to soundboard off of each other. Surrounding ourselves with people who support us, and understand our vision helps motivate us to keep going!

 

 

Whatever happens, we started this as friends and that’s really important. We make sure to be open, talk about how we’re feeling and we try our best to make sure we’re checking in with each other as much as we can! From the start, we agreed that we wouldn’t open more than 4 days a week, which is still a five (and a half) day working week for us. This means that we get one full day off at the weekend to make time for ourselves.

Loz - I just like to spend time with my loved ones, I don’t really mind what we’re doing - just getting that time with my family and friends is so important. My home is a really lovely place and I love just cooking dinner with my partner and having that downtime.

Kels - I’m very similar! I try to surround myself with my friends and family on days off which helps me switch off from business mode. Simple pleasures like sitting in the park or going for a walk do wonders for my mental health!

 

 

What are you most excited for in the future of Mor?

We’re already so proud of the little family we’ve created with our team at Mor, we’re excited to continue working together and to continue creating a really supportive workplace for our team. People always ask us where and when we’ll open a second location, but honestly we’re just enjoying where we’re at currently. In the near future we would both like to focus on establishing relationships with likeminded people/businesses and see where that takes us. Honestly this is all just as exciting for us now, as it was when we first opened our doors!

 

Instagram: @mor__bakery / morbakery.co.nz

158 Remuera Road, Auckland

 

 

Photos provided by  Sophie Scott (@soapscott)