21/11/2024
The best bread in the world is just a few meters away from D Townhouse...
Every morning, you can practically savour the aroma of freshly baked bread 👌 Well done to the Micallef family!
"L-aqwa ċertifikat jagħtihulek il-ħafna turisti li jiġu hawn u jgħidulek: ‘You have the best bread in the world’.
Ta' 4 snin kont diġà niġri fil-fran ta' Ħal Qormi. Dan qed insemmu 70 sena ilu. Ix-xogħol fil-forn komplejt fih, tgħallimt is-sengħa biex komplejtu bħala n-negozju tiegħi. Meta kont tifel, ma kontx immur biex noqgħod inħares, imma dejjem meddejt idejja. Biex taħdem fil-fran trid tkun tifhem fil-proċess kollu; il-kwalità tad-dqiq, l-għaġna, it-tinsila, it-temperatura tal-forn, eċċ. Meta x-xogħol tieħdu bħala delizzju, fis-sens li tkun tħobb tagħmlu, u mhux għax ta' bilfors il-prodott jiġi mill-qalb.
Trid tkun kritiku tiegħek innifsek. Biex xi ħadd jikkritikak, irid ikun jaf is-sengħa tiegħek. Barra l-esperjenza, trid tipprova għax minn hemm titgħallem. Issa ilni bil-forn f'Tas-Sliema 'l fuq minn 56 sena. Daqshekk. Miegħi kienu ngħaqdu ħuti s-subien. Illum hawn se ssib ukoll liż-żewġt ibniet tiegħi, Elaine u Meldor li jiġu jgħinuni. Dawn trabbew hawn. Meta kienu żgħar biex jiltaqgħu miegħi kienu jiġu l-forn u kienu diġa’ jtuni daqqa t’id.
Illum il-ħajja nbidlet u anki l-bejgħ tal-ħobż. Kollox affettwana; il-mara saret toħroġ taħdem, hawn ħafna kapriċċi, il-kobor tal-familji naqas, min hu gluten-free, ħinijiet tal-ftuħ differenti...
Jiena rnexxejt għax żammejt ix-xogħol sewwa. Għalkemm kbirt, xorta bqajt niġi, għax irrid nara li l-prodott joħroġ sewwa. Fis-2:30am hawn inkun u issa, fl-10:30 se mmur nistrieħ. Qatt m'għedna xi dwejjaq sejrin għax-xogħol!” – Carmelo, Elaine, Meldor
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"The best certificate is given to you by the many tourists who come here and say: "You have the best bread in the world".
At the age of 4, I was already running around the bakeries of Qormi. This was 70 years ago. I continued working in bakeries, learnt the trade and opened my own business. When I was a young boy I wouldn't just sit and watch but I used to get my hands dirty. In order to be able to work in a bakery you must understand the entire process; the quality of the flour, the pastry, the starter, the oven temperature, etc. When you treat your work like a hobby, in the sense that you love doing it not because you have to, the product comes from the heart.
You need to be your own worst critic. In order for anyone to criticise your work they must know your craft. Besides experience, you need to try because that is where knowledge comes from. I have had this bakery in Sliema for over 56 years. That much. My brothers had joined me. Now you also find my two daughters with me, Elaine and Meldor who come to help me out. They grew up here. When they were young, in order to spend time with me they used to come here to help me.
Times have changed and so has the way in which bread is sold. Everything has effected us; women now go out to work, people have a lot of expectations, families have grown smaller, some have a gluten-free diet, different opening times...
I survived because I kept a high standard. Even though I have grown older I still come here because I want to make sure that the products being sold from here are they way they should be. I am here by 2:30am and now I go to rest around 10:30. We have never felt sad coming to work!" - Carmelo, Elaine, Meldor
