In 2011 @stephenfry, actor, comedian, writer and famed alumnus of Cambridge University, tweeted:
'No! No! Say it ain't so – not Fitzbillies? Why I tweeted a pic of one of their peerless Chelsea buns but a sixmonth ago.'
Recession had driven the legendary Cambridge bakery into bankruptcy and it had shut its doors. Alison Wright and Tim Hayward read Stephen's tweet:
Alison: 'Did you see the tweet?' Tim: 'I did. Terribly sad. Awful how places like that are going...' Alison: 'I've called the agents. We're going to view it on Monday.'
And so a single Twitter post prompted Tim and Alison to abandon a life in London and to embark on rebuilding this beloved institution in the university city of Cambridge. Over the past 100 years Fitzbillies has welcomed students, dons and residents of the city, who flock to the café to tuck into their celebrated Chelsea buns, fancy cakes and afternoon teas.
Featuring over 50 recipes, Fitzbillies celebrates a centenary of the shop, staff and cakes that have fed generations of writers, philosophers, Nobel prize-winning scientists, comedians, internationally renowned historians, musicians and film stars alike.