Five years after first starting the business, Rosie Ginday unveiled the UK’s first Miss Macaroon shop in the Great Western Arcade, an informal venue where people can enjoy up to 30 different types of macaroons whilst enjoying a glass of carefully chosen Prosecco.

It is already proving a hit with City shoppers, workers and people looking for a different social meeting place, with the unique mixing decks allowing visitors to create their own great tasting macaroons.

Four new staff have been taken on to run the shop and profits generated here will go towards expanding the organisation’s Macaroons Make a Difference (MacsMAD) course that helps the long-term unemployed, ex-offenders or care leavers to gain vital training, employability skills and jobs.

“We have been working towards this moment for some time so I’m genuinely proud that we have been able to bring the first Miss Macaroon store to the people of Birmingham…my home city,” explained Rosie, who trained as a pastry chef under Glynn Purnell.

“Macaroons are becoming increasingly popular as a sweet snack, treat or even as a gift for someone special and we could tell from online sales and corporate interest from the likes of Karl Lagerfeld, NatWest and EY that there was a genuine market for a high street presence.”

She continued: “The unit we have in the Great Western Arcade is absolutely perfect as it’s turning into a bit of a destination venue for independent food and drink businesses. Hopefully, we’re going to bring something new to the scene and the initial response has been fantastic.”

The Miss Macaroon shop, which seats eight people inside and a further six alfresco to be added in Spring, will offer visitors up to 30 different flavours of macaroons, all freshly hand piped, baked and hand filled at its dedicated kitchen in Hockley.

New varieties of dark chocolate and cherry and matcha green tea will join traditional favourites of salted caramel, fresh raspberry and Sicilian pistachio, with Rosie also offering a world first personalised option, where customers can have logos, words or even their face printed on their macaroons in under one hour.

Prosecco, carefully matched to the sweetness of the macaroons by Connolly’s Wines, is available, along with a drinks menu that features indulgent hot chocolate by Valrhona and Aurelio golden artisan beer by Two Fingers Brewing Co, who direct their profits to Prostate Cancer UK.

“The shop is going to bring into focus our aim of making indulgence a virtue. We want the customer experience to be luxurious, with bubbles being served while the gorgeous French macaroons take centre stage,” explained Rosie.

“If we can achieve this aim we will be able to transform the fortunes of hundreds of people, who need support from our courses to learn new skills and gain the chance of employment. Although we are growing at pace, the social element is still core to everything we do.”