Step aside Mary Berry, Bath‘s longest-serving current player, who recently reached 200 appearances for the club, has swapped scrummaging for a shift in one of the city’s legendary tea houses giving a centuries-old Sally Lunn’s Bun recipe his own signature makeover.
Larger-than-life hooker, Tom Dunn, has been earning his crust to prepare for Bath’s Friday night showdown against local rivals Bristol Bears this week, by surprising guests at the world-famous Sally Lunn’s tea and eating house in the city.
The historic tearoom and museum, which has been serving up its eponymous Sally Lunn’s Buns to diners and tourists from across the globe since 1680, welcomed Bath’s own current playing legend to try his hand at conjuring up some signature recipes of his own as a daily special.
After rising to the challenge of not revealing the secret recipe behind the Bath delicacy, the hooker was left with more than a soggy bottom after opting to create his own sweet and savoury version.
Talking about his signature bun, Tom said: “I’m a Bath man born and bred so to get to try Sally Lunn’s Buns for the first time was a no brainer. I can’t actually believe I’ve never been down to the teahouse before!
“Naturally I came up with my own take on Sally Lunn’s Bun which went down well with some of the lads. I always say big is beautiful and I feel I gave the buns a good crack.”
Aptly called the Tom Dunn Sally Lunn’s Bun, the sweet and savoury signature featured cinnamon butter, with lashings of bacon and a large squirt of whipped cream.
Whilst Tom may not be in line for star baker any time soon, his recipe was a hit with his Bath Rugby teammates who turned out to taste test his unusual creation and give it a thumbs up for effort.
Danielle George, General Manager from Sally Lunn’s tea and eating house, said: “We loved meeting Tom who brought all of his creativity and handling skills from the rugby pitch to create his own signature bun. The Sally Lunn Bun is the original Bath Bun and whilst the recipe remains top secret, Tom did a great job bringing his own version life.”
Sally Lunn’s is a world-famous tea and eating house in the centre of the historic city and features the actual kitchen used by the creator of the authentic regional speciality, Sally Lunn in Georgian Bath.
Kick-off for Bath’s Gallagher Premiership Round Six fixture against Bristol Bears is at 19:45 on Friday 17 November.
