CREATIVE Miles Pettit has left the world of film-making to concentrate on being a baker with his own business in the island.
The 31-year-old is aiming to make a name for himself by opening the Noa Bakehouse in Fort Street, Douglas.
As a visual effects producer his name has been on the credits for hot commercials including Barclaycard, Honda and Adidas.
Now Londoner Miles has returned to the island to concentrate on being a baker. He and his Manx wife Pippa, 31, also have a nine-month-old daughter Anouk Ruby.
He is full of praise for local professionals who have been preparing the bakehouse on the site of the old Quality Furnishings showroom. And family and friends have also chipped in.
The place officially opens for business on Friday (January 18) but Miles has already started selling his bread wholesale and customers include Portofino restaurant, the Bath and Bottle and leading chef Stephen Dedman at the Regency Hotel.
Miles said he is passionate about baking and says every loaf is different.
He and Pippa said their original dream was to run a ‘little bakery by the sea’. They said the site was fantastic and ideal for their needs.
Miles said: ‘We are tenants of the Osbornes, they have been fantastic, really friendly and supportive. In fact everyone has been great in the island. We are really excited about this new business.’ Miles described how he and Pippa love the island and are delighted to be here building up a bakery business where everything is open plan.
He is also full of praise for the Department of Economic Development’s small business start up scheme which he said had been invaluable for learning the nitty gritty of starting your own business.
Miles described himself as a ‘back over’.
Originally from London he came to the island with his family when he was 10 and attended the QE II High School at Peel.
He developed a keen interest in film and got involved in the Manx Multimedia centre where he began to build links with the island’s film industry.
‘I got involved with the Isle of Man Film Commission just when it was starting to happen and I was in the right place at the right time,’ said Miles.
He worked as a camera trainee on films such as Before You Go and Gabriel and Me.
At one time he found himself in London working on a TV film drama project called Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married which was due to be shown on ITV but was canned halfway through.
He recalled being a stand-in for the then little-known actor Gerard Butler who was not so well known then but has since become big in the movie world and is something of a heartthob with adoring fans.
After completing an MA in visual arts Miles went on to join leading London Company The Mill, which collaborates on award-winning moving image, design and digital projects for the advertising, film, TV, games and music industries.
Miles’s name appears on the credits for a string of commercials as visual effects producer at the Mill.
Miles explained the seeds for setting up his own bakery business were sown when he started going to the E5 Bakehouse, an acclaimed East London artisan bakery and coffee shop.
He would work four days a week on his film work and then would spend a day and sometimes the weekends volunteering at E5 which is passionate about sourdough and the lost traditions of our baking ancestors. Using organic, locally-sourced ingredients, they serve daily-baked breads, fresh lunches, homemade cakes and coffee.
The E5 head bakers also share their knowledge and expertise in a weekly bread course.
Miles said his former colleagues in the film world think he’s ‘mad’ to pursue a new career as a baker.
Noa is a Manx word meaning fresh or new and Miles and Pippa are genuinely excited.
Family and friends have rallied round to help including an uncle who came over from England.
Miles said: ‘He’s a trained carpenter and has been absolutely invaluable as have other people including the professional companies who have been so helpful with things such as the electrics and the plumbing.
‘I taught my uncle some of the sour dough process and now he is hoping to start a bakery business of his own in Kent. Like me he has found a passion for baking.’
Miles waxes lyrical about making bread and compares the creativity involved as being something akin to film making.
At the heart of the Noa Bakehouse bread making process is something rather affectionately known as ‘The Mother’.
It’s not a person but a wild yeast.
The Mother is at the heart of the process and Miles says it’s a ‘living wild yeast’ which constantly ferments like a beer.
‘It’s a constant process’, said Miles.
As far as possible he is determind to use local ingredients and customers will be able to sit down and enjoy sandwiches and coffee while watching Miles weave his magic in open view.
Miles and Pippa, who live in Port Erin, also thanked the professional workmen who were hired to work on things like the electrics and plumbing.
Pippa, who is still on maternity leave, is wholeheartedly helping her husband of two years get things ready for the launch.
She and Miles believe there is a place for their bakehouse in the island and there has been a tremendous amount of interest from people passing by and wondering what is going on.