A Belle’s Barkery
I have a dream. A dream to spend my days baking tasty treats for my special friend. A dream, that one day, I can hopefully turn into reality – a Barkery. No that’s not a spelling mistake, a barkery – a bakery for dogs.
Barkeries are quite common in the US (visit thebarkerybistro.com/the-bakery) and are starting to pop up here with Harrods teaming up with the Canine Cookie Company to service London’s pampered pooches.
And with the recent launching of K99, London’s first dog ice cream van, I started to think about my new friend’s diet and delved into the doggie dietary world.
There is something delightful about feeding those you love and dogs are most appreciative when a bowl of delishiness is placed in front of them. I’ve always worked on the 80/20 theory when it comes to my pets – 80 per cent of sensible, nourishing, well balanced food and 20 per cent of fun food.
We all know people have a problem with food but dogs can also suffer with obesity and one in three pets in the UK are overweight according to the Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association (PFMA). A glut of fatty food and lack of exercise have expanded our pooches’ waistlines significantly. It has become such a problem the PFMA have developed the Pet Size O-metre which helps determine if your pooch is sitting on the wrong side of puppy fat.
So with that information to hand I’ve been looking at ways I can spoil my future friend with fun food but without tipping the scales.
Fitness food
Like every Belle I want to be in tip top condition so why should my dog be any different. With this in mind I referred to Cooking For Your Dog for some helpful hints. This bible of the four legged world gave me recipes promoting fitness and health such as biscuits for healthy teeth, a crunchy cure for wind and the dog alternative of chicken soup for those days when you’re not at your best.
Tasty treats
But some days you just need a pick me up and crave the naughty, fun things in life. Dogs can eat many things as long as you stay away from some of a Belle’s little joys like chocolate and champagne. To my surprise pancakes, beef crunchies and banana chips are definitely on the menu to make any dog wag their tail.
Café culture
A doggichino and pupcake to go is the way of the future for today’s urban pooch. I dream of visiting the dog equivalent of Notting Hill’s Hummingbird Bakery one day where I can snatch up a quick snack as we make our way to play in the park. In fact I reckon this could be my niche.
I’m well on my way to making my barkery dream a reality… but first how much is that doggie in the window?
