Our Story ‐ Konditor

While London is waking, we're baking and quietly unlocking the doors to our shops across London, getting ready for another caketastic day. But our story starts with a little boy in Germany...

1959 Gerhard Jenne grew up on a farm in Bahlingen, a village near Freiburg, Germany, licking the bowls and spoons after his mother had made her delicious Apfelkuchen.

1966-75 While Gerhard was still at school his older sister got engaged to the village baker. This opened the door for some work experience during school holidays. He rather like the sensual and creative craft associated with baking and after a few twists and turns he signed up for a two year apprenticeship as a baker.

1979 Gerhard loved cake making and decided to add a two year apprenticeship as pastry chef (Konditor) to his culinary studies. This took him to Munich from and a step closer to his dream of starting his own business.

1982 Gerhard started working for society grocer Justin de Blank in Knightsbridge. Justin was one of the foodie pioneers of the 1980's. His philosophy on food retail had a huge influence on Gerhard. Equipped with all the knowledge gained over the years, setting up his own business became his ultimate goal.

1993 In 1993, Gerhard came across a small bakery for sale on the corner of Cornwall Road in Waterloo - and so began Konditor. It caused an immediate sensation.

1994 We received a special request for a chocolate sponge cake with vanilla frosting from a superfan. We got creative & paired our rich dark chocolate sponge with a new vanilla frosting. the combo was a triumph but customers were confused by its outward white appearance. The solution was an overlay of piped curly whirly chocolate swirls - the rest is cake history!

1994 Konditor is always keen to help others, for example by being an in kind sponsor. The longest partnership has been the one with the BFI. Every yeare since 1994 Konditor has baked a Press Launch Cake for their LGBTQ film festival now called Flare at the BFI Southbank.

2001 Konditor's popularity spread and led to us running the cafe of the Young Vic Theatre and to become the first new food retailer in a revived Borough Market. People north of the river were crying out for our cakes - their call was heeded and we followed it with the opening of a shop and kitchen at 46 Grays Inn Road near Chancery Lane Station.

2010 Paul, Gerhard's husband, manages Konditor while Gerhard's focus is on the creative side. Together they are a proud gay owned family business.

2012 Konditor was invited to help celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. We did so by creating a pixelated cake portrait of Her Majesty, composed of 3124 indivual sqaure cakes, one for each week of her reign. It was a cake of epic proportions and required a lot of planning and dedication.

2013 For our 20th Anniversary we celebrated with a street party; this included mince pie speed eating, meringue bobbing, pie wrestling and a challenge to decorate Miss Curly Whirly's delectably delicious dress. That same year we also revealed our secrets in book featuring a fine collection of our legendary baking recipes!

2014 The Curly Whirly Cake hits Eurovision! British entrant Molly Smitten Downs gets her Green Room surprise in the form of her favourite cake from her favourite bakery. Cake afficionados worldwide recognise the iconic curly whrily swirls instantly.

2019 From the start we thought London deserves more than one Konditor. The area around St Paul's Cathedral had been circled on a map for some time. Finally, following a refreshing rebrand, we opened in Bow Lane at the intersection with Wattling Sreet. Feast your eyes on our cakes or turn your head left to admire Wren's masterpiece!

2023 Our newest shop at 15 Cullum Street is a stone's throw from Leadenhall Market & the Gherkin. This has finally end the devastating cake drought in this part of the City! Stock up on mouth-watering cakes, brilliant brownies & moreish biscuits and at the same time marvel at the unique Art Nouveau facade of our new home.