‘Not quite Greggs’: TikTok creators put London’s ‘gentrified’ bakeries to the test

The video that started it all was innocuous enough: a woman in her 20s posted on TikTok about how she spends a perfect weekend in north London. On her list were the bakeries Jolene and Gail’s, and the De Beauvoir Deli.The reaction, however, was anything but. Many locals commented that they had never heard of the businesses she mentioned. One north Londoner, Moses Combe, 21, was equally incredulous. “If this is where all the north London girlies come in the morning, I’d be a bit surprised,” he said in a viral video.Combe dubbed his reviews the ‘Endz Department for Research’. Photograph: tiktok/m.combe07He set out on a mission to visit the establishments and see for himself what the fuss was about, heading into Jolene and buying a hot chocolate, sausage roll and his very first tiramisu cake, which he described as “bloody lovely”.So began a series of videos that the young Londoner has named the “Endz Department for Research”, in which he reviews upmarket cafés that he wouldn’t otherwise visit in his local area. A crowdfunder to continue the series, and “investigate the change going on in our own back yards”, has already raised £2,566 of its £3,000 target.The bill from Combe’s trip to Jolene – which he describes as “giving Gail’s Pro Max” – comes to £14.20. He tells his followers it’s “not quite Greggs”, but he enjoys the sausage roll. “They did not skimp out with that sausage, bro,” he said. “That, I put my hands up, is pretty decent.”Combe isn’t alone. Kobi Coker, a 27-year-old comedian and educator, said his videos exploring so-called “gentrified” spaces had not initially been intentional. He said he would notice new, upmarket establishments opening up on his road during his cycle to work and post about trying them.“They’ve always got a queue outside,” he said, which left him wondering: “What makes this place so popular?”“I’m just someone who likes exploring and doing new things,” he said. “I’d pop into these places here and there, but I didn’t really think anything of it.”Coker, who runs the comedy night Unruly Comedy, has reviewed the Dusty Knuckle bakery, Jolene, Gails and Pret. In one review, he jokes about the way he pronounces pain au chocolat. “Allow me please. I’m not French, I’m from Hackney.”Kobi Coker says the problem with gentrification is that people who made the area what is is ‘aren’t necessarily able to participate’ in it. Photograph: Linda Nylind/The GuardianHis haul from the Dusty Knuckle sets him back £17.30 – which he confesses to his audience with a sound effect of glass shattering – but he describes the egg and bacon hot cross buns as “absolutely sensational … I can’t think of many better sandwiches I’ve had in my life.” Ultimately, he encourages his followers to visit, citing the work the company does with at-risk young people in the area.On the question of gentrification, Coker said he had mixed feelings. “One half of me feels it’s good that we’re getting a new influx of things – some new people to bring new ideas.” But the problem, he added, was that “people that made the community what it is aren’t necessarily able to participate in it”.Matthew Roberts, operations manager at Jolene, has welcomed the attention their bakeries have got. “It’s all very positive. It’s really nice for people to be talking about us,” he said, adding in good spirit: “Even if we don’t necessarily measure up to Greggs in everyone’s view.”Jolene competes with national chains such as Gail’s. Photograph: Steve Tulley/AlamyConversations around gentrification could flatten businesses that operated on vastly different scales, he added. The Dusty Knuckle is a social enterprise with two sites; Jolene an independent bakery and restaurant that has expanded to four sites across the capital. They compete with national chains with hundreds of outlets across the UK, such as Gail’s, Pret and even Greggs.“I would hate to think our space is seen as exclusive in any way, because that’s really not how we see ourselves,” Roberts said. “We really do want to welcome absolutely everybody.”Harry Davies, from De Beauvoir Deli, said the recent attention had not led to any noticeable surge in customers, but acknowledged the videos were very funny.In one video, Daniel Poon reviewed Pret’s ube drink, which did not feel authentic. Photograph: tiktok/@danknowzbestHe described the comparisons of the prices of their sandwiches to supermarket meal deals as unfair. “We take a lot of pride in our sustainability, using good ingredients and paying people properly,” he said. “We’re a London living wage employer, and we use free-range meat in our sandwiches.”Davies added that the deli had always attracted a broad mix of customers. “People assume it’s full of people with £3m houses, but that’s not the case,” he said. “Everyone likes nice food.”For Daniel Poon, a 27-year-old content creator, the trend for local people reviewing businesses they wouldn’t normally go to was also just about trying something new.“I grew up in Woolwich and many of my friends were African, but I never actually got to eat African food,” he said. He set out to do so with his now viral format – stopping strangers to ask for recommendations – which has led him to a mix of neighbourhood staples, hidden gems and more upmarket cafes, such as Farmer J and Blank Street.He sometimes ends up reviewing mainstream chains when they release viral products drawn from other cuisines. In one video, he reviewed Pret’s ube drink, which he said did not feel authentic to the original Filipino flavour. Chains, he said, often “try to make it very western”, adapting products to their core customer base rather than the communities they borrowed from, though he does appreciate their efforts to branch out.“I actually quite like that people try different cuisines. I think it shows that they’re open, and London is all about diversity,” he said.