Behind the Counter is a warm and nostalgic memoir about growing up, friendship, grief, and finding confidence in unexpected places.
At sixteen, James Burton takes a Saturday job at a small Baker's Oven bakery on Rye Lane in Peckham, South London. What begins as a way to earn a little pocket money soon becomes far more than a job. Over the next nineteen years, through the changing fortunes of Baker's Oven and Greggs, he experiences the laughter, challenges and life lessons that come from working alongside an unforgettable cast of colleagues and customers.
Set against the backdrop of South London in the 1990s and early 2000s, Behind the Counter captures a time before smartphones, social media and online shopping transformed everyday life. It was an era of early morning deliveries, busy Saturday queues, handwritten rotas and communities built through face-to-face conversations. For many readers, it will be a journey back to a Britain that feels both familiar and increasingly distant.
Through stories of first wages, lasting friendships, workplace pranks, difficult customers, personal loss and unexpected acts of kindness, James reflects on the people who helped shape his character. At the heart of the book is the loss of his mother and the support, guidance and sense of belonging he found among the bakery teams that became a second family during some of the most important years of his life.
Honest, funny and deeply personal, Behind the Counter is more than a memoir about working in a bakery. It is a celebration of ordinary people, working-class communities and the relationships that quietly influence the course of our lives. Filled with humour, warmth and nostalgia, it is a story for anyone who remembers their first job, values friendship, or appreciates the power of everyday moments that stay with us forever.