May 8, 2024 Written by Marisa Olsen
You can celebrate something sweet in Scituate Harbor thanks to new bakery, pastry shop, and cafe Knead Kitchen. Founded and founded by Hingham resident cupcake bakery superstar and noted mountaineer Victoria Donnelly (more on that later), her Knead is a welcoming and thoughtful addition to the South Shore. This is a deep addition store.
From cupcakes, lattes, pastries, tartines, and smoothie bowls, Knead has a little bit of everything. It's a place you'll want to hang out for hours, and it's intentionally designed that way. It took Victoria nearly two years for him to find the right space, and he finally settled on a storefront at 133 Front Street. The space is L-shaped with high ceilings, cream-colored walls, large windows, and decorated in light wood tones. Brass and glass globe light fixtures hang from the industrial ceiling, and plants cascade throughout, creating an inviting atmosphere.
Customers enter the corner of Front Street and Allen Place and line up (and drool) past the variety of pastries displayed on colorful vintage cake stands. Once you've placed your order, head around the corner and choose from a variety of seating options, including two large wooden communal tables with plush seating, colorful corner sofas, and bar seating.
During my visit to Knead, I was able to sample their homemade sourdough bread thanks to Harriet. He is an 11 year old starter that Victoria brought back from England last year. Gifted to me by a London opera singer who teaches a sourdough class, the bread does not disappoint. We also enjoyed an open-faced sandwich, one of Victoria's famous tartines. Smoked Salmon Tartine is delicately layered with luscious smoked salmon, tzatziki and salty capers on roasted sourdough, finished with lemon zest. The appetizers were delicious, colorful, and easy to eat without using a fork and knife.
Unfortunately, the croissant that our customers were raving about was sold out, but we will definitely be back.
During my visit to Knead, I had the opportunity to speak with Victoria and learn more about her background, her passion for baking, mountaineering, and of course her favorite pastry.
Could you tell us a little about yourself?
I was born in the UK and moved to the US for graduate school in 2004 to pursue a master's degree in journalism. Baking has always been a secret passion project, and after working in children's media, I decided I wanted to become a baker.
I entered Cupcake Wars and actually won the show. Then I quit my job and opened Cakeology in Boston's Downtown Crossing, where I focused on cupcakes and custom cakes. Two years later, we opened our second store. We had so much fun baking cupcakes and delivering them all over Boston in our colorful van. After a few years, I wanted a change, so my family and I decided to move to the South Shore and settled in Hingham. In Hingham, I was able to build a solid custom cake business. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, I decided to sell a selection of mini cupcakes to my customers during the holiday season and donate a portion of the proceeds to various charities. I loved delivering delicious food and making others happy. And people have been generous with their support for a variety of causes. After that, I wanted to do something bigger and started looking for my own space to open a bakery, and two years later, I finally found it.
We've had a great response since opening this winter. We had to hire more bakers, so we hope to add another baker to our team this summer.
How do you express your needs?
When we opened Knead, we really wanted a spacious, comfortable place for everyone to hang out, with strollers, laptops, grandmas, whatever. Comfort was key. We wanted people to feel welcome to stay and stay, so we chose communal tables to allow guests to interact with each other and create an engaging experience.
Hospitality is another Knead mantra. We want our staff to remember our customers' names, and it's nice to have regulars already.
We felt we really needed this type of experience post-corona. We love our location and are excited to provide our guests with a memorable experience.
Business hours are Tuesday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed on Monday for preparation.
How would you describe the menu?
We were really excited to bring a European style bakery with a diverse menu to Scituate.the
A fast-casual restaurant with a simple, approachable concept and the finest ingredients, yet fresh and authentic. Everything here is made in-house, and the bakers start their mornings at 4 a.m. every day.
In addition to myself, we have four full-time bakers, all with different specialties: brownies, cakes, croissants, breads, and breads.
When we were creating the menu, we really felt that tartines would be a hit because people don't necessarily want a huge, messy sandwich. Currently, the best seller is the classic French croque monsieur. Some customers may be unfamiliar with this type of sandwich, but our friendly staff will be happy to explain more. (For those unfamiliar, Croque's Monsieur includes ham, béchamel, mustard, and melted Gruyère cheese.) For something a little simpler, check out his ode to Scituate, Ai Classic menu items include Rich Cheddar Grilled Cheese.
We pride ourselves on using natural ingredients with no preservatives and only 3 ingredients are used in our breads. We recently introduced Rare Breed Her Coffee, an organic, woman-owned business from New Hampshire. We like this company's hands-on attitude. They came on site and taught us how to brew the drinks correctly. For my home roast, I chose a light and bright citrusy blend that pairs well with the pastry.
When you’re not baking bread or running your own company, what do you like to do?
I have two daughters, ages 9 and 6, and I love having them come to Knead and help me. These were essential to the process. Since my oldest daughter was in kindergarten, she has had a Knead logo she drew on her bedroom wall.
When I'm not with my family or baking bread, I'm climbing mountains. My dream is to climb the seven peaks (Kilimanjaro, Elbrus, Aconcagua, Pyramid of Carstens, Denali, Vinson Massif, Everest). So far I have climbed Kilimanjaro and Aconcagua, but next summer I will be training to climb Denali, which will take about six months. It's very fun and rewarding, but very few women do it.
What else do you want your patrons to know?
We hope to expand Knead into community events, classes, speakers, book clubs, and more for the fall. We also want you to know that we do catering and make custom cakes. We want to help people take the worry out of special events and focus on what's important. So whether you need a platter, fresh flowers or a delicious cake, we can take care of it all.
###
Need Kitchen & Bakery
133 Front St, Scituate, MA 02066
Tuesday to Sunday: 7am to 5pm
(617) 412-6746
