French VillageBotanic

Henry French opened French Village as a home bakery in 1981, building a business that now supplies bread, cakes and buns to cafes, restaurants and hotels across Belfast. His son Ashley French took over as director in 2007 and moved production to a purpose-built bakehouse in 2014. The Botanic Avenue shop, trading as French Village Botanic, opened in December 2009 and combines a bakery counter with deli and brew bar service. Like the company's other Belfast outlets, it operates a walk-in-only policy with no table bookings. The shop's celebration cakes are made using recipes developed by Henry French and carried forward by his son, alongside daily bread and pastry lines.