Sarah Raisbeck

My all time love has always been baking. Even from as young as eight, my Uncle Roger used to ask me to bake the pavlova for their tennis club lunches.

I started baking properly in my early twenties after being inspired from my winter season in the alps, catering in a private chalet. I went on to study at Tante Marie in Surrey, where I completed a cordon bleu course that inspired me to be much more creative with my cooking. 

In my mid twenties I started up Potts Pantry, specialising in desserts and patisserie, I was very well known around Hampshire for puddings at local pubs and a stall twice monthly at Winchester Farmers Market.

From the start I entered competitions and won gold stars at the great taste awards, which led to winning best show by a new entrant.

The market days came to an end when my first daughter, Elsie, was born in 2011. I had met my now husband, Olly, the previous year and soon to follow after her were Merryn and then Rufus.

Spending a lot more time at home (having babies!) I was still always baking and this is where my love of sourdough began. For anyone that bakes sourdough you will be aware of how addictive it is! This was certainly the case for me. Never one to stand still, I started entering competitions. My first award winning King of the Sourdough with Hobbs House Bakery and my proudest moment was at the World Bread Awards in London winning in the sourdough category for best loaf.

Five years ago, I became plant-based. Once eating a plant-based diet I started to change the way I baked. I went from using butter to coconut oil, from caster sugar to coconut sugar and nut butters to create my bakes. I was extremely determined to bake beautiful, tasty cakes using all plant-based, natural, unrefined ingredients. 

Food all ties into living a natural lifestyle for me. I eat a very clean diet and am never one to eat or use anything that isn’t natural. This is all I have ever known, and I feel our bodies won’t function as well if we eat processed foods with ingredients that aren’t natural.

My daily life involves a plant based diet, cycling, walking, cold dips and plant-based medicine to support mine and my families’ health.

My love of essential oils comes into all parts of my everyday life. I incorporate it in so many ways.

I’m on a mission to show people how amazing these oils are when used in food. It is so exciting to know that flavours can so easily be created using essential oils in something like a cake cream.

I am now releasing my first cookbook which I always thought of as a dream. It's here and I'm very proud and excited to share it with you all.