Redefining Scottish Pastry: A conversation with Baker-Owner Emily Black, Ems & Co. Pastry Shop
- James Massoud
- Sep 22
- 6 min read
From Michelin starred kitchens such as The Latymer located at Pennyhill
Park Hotel in Surrey, to three rosette awarded The Gannet in Glasgow and a stint as chef de partie at the Chez Roux restaurant at Cromlix, and now to her own thriving Ems & Co. Pastry Shop in Crieff, Perthshire, Emily Black is carving out a bold new chapter in Scotland’s baking scene. In her store, she blends classic French techniques with foraged Highland ingredients and global influences, creating everything from mille-feuille with poached quince to whisky-soaked Danish pastries. In this exclusive interview with The Knife, Emily shares the inspirations, challenges and flavours shaping her journey.
Your menu moves effortlessly from Tunisian Orange Cake to Turkish Flatbreads. How do you decide which international flavours to bring into your Scottish pastry shop?
We move with the seasons, and also like to try to strike a balance with dietary requirements and provide a nice variety of textures on the counter. For example the Tunisian orange is gluten and dairy free, and the Turkish flatbreads are a good vegan base, but we don’t want our customers with those dietaries to get bored so we like to change the options. At the moment we’re giving the Turkish flatbreads a rest and replacing the “bread” element with fig, bresaola and burrata topped focaccia, and making a caponata and cous cous filo pie as a vegan savoury option. The Tunisian orange is being switched out for a spiced pumpkin, maple and pecan loaf. We try to have a real range of flavours and make the most of seasonal ingredients like greengages, damsons and quince when it’s their time to shine.
You’ve said foraging and seasonal produce are key inspirations, what’s the most surprising wild ingredient you’ve baked with recently?
To be honest I’m quite a safe player when it comes to foraging, only picking ingredients that I'm certain I’ve correctly identified and are from locations with minimal pollution. Each year I tend to stick to wild garlic, elderflower, gorse flower, rose-hip, wood sorrel, girolles, brambles, raspberries and blackberries. I’m lucky to be from a croft in the Highlands that my parents still run, they’re currently sending me edible flowers from the garden, fig leaves for custard and also wild girolles for a pumpkin, potato rosti and girolle Danish pastry. The wild blackberries will be ready soon and I think we’ll make compote with lemon verbena to stuff in croissants with whipped mascarpone. In addition there is an enormous patch of wood sorrel not too far from where we live in Crieff, and it is one of my favourite garnishes for sweets with its light citrus flavour.
Mille-feuille and knotted cinnamon buns sit side by side at Ems & Co. How do you strike a balance between refined patisserie and comforting bakes?
I think one of the key things about the shop is that you can come in to get a bun or cake to go with your morning cup of tea, or you could get something fit for dessert at a dinner party. Things like cinnamon buns are counter staples, and I don’t think I’ll ever stop making them. We tend to switch between mille-feuille and tarts based on what we fancy making and the fruit available. Quince is one of my favourite fruits and they are about to come into season, so I’m going to make poached quince and hazelnut mille-feuille with cinnamon puff pastry. Overall, I think we probably have more comforting bakes than high end, but we try to strike a balance and fundamentally we are a shop trying to pack lots of flavour into bakes that are affordable for most people. It’s a bit of a numbers game to guess how much of each type of bake we might sell in a day. We want to sell almost everything every day, and there are definitely more people having a bun and a cup of tea than there are looking for a full blown dessert.
Having run pastry at Cromlix for weddings, afternoon teas and more, what lessons did you take from the luxury hotel world that you now bring to a small-town bakery?
Running the pastry at Cromlix was all about consistently meeting the five star standard. We bring that discipline and consistency into the shop every day, and strive to make products that would be worthy of service in a luxury hotel. Writing the afternoon tea and three Rosette dessert menus at Cromlix gave me more confidence to mix international flavours with local produce.
Your academic background is in immunology, does that scientific training influence the way you approach precision in pastry?
I think my degree in immunology has been of huge benefit to me, in the way that I problem solve when a recipe isn’t quite working the way I would like, or when I’m organising our workflow to maximise efficiency. Thinking scientifically about things can help to understand the processes at work, and also recognise variables. It has also helped from a business sense to be able to calculate margins and wastage relatively easily.
Moving Ems & Co. from Dingwall to Crieff is a big shift. How have your customers shaped the way your menu has evolved?
The people of Crieff have been very supportive since we opened, and really as long as we can describe the items we have on the counter they’ve been happy to try everything we have made so far. There have also been a huge number of people who have made the trip from Dingwall to Crieff, which has been lovely. Some make requests for special items, such as pecan maple tart or almond croissants, but most take a selection home of whatever’s on the counter. I think in general, people are more willing to try something different than they were a few years ago, especially if they can see it’s homemade and talk about it with the person that made it.
Pastry can be rooted in tradition, but also thrives on innovation. Which side excites you more as a baker?
That very much depends on the day, I love both sides of it. A perfect classic Pain au Suisse is a thing of beauty, but also more modern stuffed croissants, bows and spheres are super cool. I’m very lucky to have trained in the classics in a Roux restaurant, but enjoy keeping the flavours and pairings interesting.
What freedoms and challenges does independence give you?
Running the shop gives me and my partner Andrew a huge amount of creative freedom. Being able to make the most of produce at its peak, and change what we’re doing quickly is extremely liberating. Obviously, opening an independent business comes with a lot of cost and the ongoing balancing act of keeping wastage very low and keeping items on the counter profitable, but also value for money for the customer. The devil is in the details, and everything matters, from the amount of greaseproof paper on a tray to the number of hand towels you use to dry your hands, it’s the little things that add up.
Scottish produce is renowned for its high quality. Which local ingredients are non-negotiables in your pastry case?
Anything that my parents can grow on the croft is always front and centre on the counter, from Highland peaches to berries and tomatoes. Aside from this we use Grants of Speyside black pudding in our sausage rolls; I’ve tried a lot of black pudding in my life, and honestly think it’s one of the best in the country. When it’s in season, Denhead Farm asparagus is a must, so too are all the local berries. We’re lucky that so much is grown in Perthshire. We use Edinburgh Butter in our croissants, and Katy Rogers' creme fraiche and crowdie cannot be surpassed in quality; one or the other is usually in use at all times.
If you could collaborate with another Scottish producer, who would it be and what would you create together?
I’d love to collaborate with The Singleton of Glen Ord Distillery and make a brown butter, almond and whisky Danish pastry. Glen Ord Distillery is local to my family croft and many years ago, my grandfather grew barley that went into their whisky. My grandfather isn’t around any more, but a few years ago I found a bottle in their shop that he had grown some barley for, it was very expensive, so I think I’ve got a lot of croissants to sell before I can afford it!
For someone walking into Ems & Co. for the very first time, which bake best captures your style and story?
Any of our cross-laminated filled croissants. Whether Ginger Cake and Caramel, Valrhona Chocolate Cake and Raspberry or Rabbit Rillette and Mustard, they use classic techniques but (hopefully) give you a nice surprise when you eat them.
How do you see Scottish pastry evolving, and where do you want Ems & Co. to sit within that future?
Scottish pastry is evolving really quickly, bakeries are having a moment right now, with many people willing to travel for a good one. I’m hopeful that Ems & Co. can stand the test of time and be a local bakery for many years to come. In an ideal world, I’d love for us to sit alongside the best bakeries of the country and continue to forge a path filled with eclectic flavours.
