EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Gail Bakery tycoon Gail attacks rival Ottolenghi

With its artisan sourdough and cinnamon buns, the arrival of bakery chain Gail’s in a neighbourhood has replaced Waitrose as a symbol of gentrification.

Yet behind the genteel facade, its co-founder Gail Mejia is seething that one of her most celebrated former employees, Yotam Ottolenghi, has ‘lifted’ her blueprint for success.

Yotam, who now has his own hugely popular British-Israeli dining chain Ottolenghi, started off as the pastry chef at Baker & Spice, Mejia’s first venture that gained a cult following.

It also earned a regular custom from famous faces including former Beatle Sir Ringo Starr and Hollywood actress Julia Roberts, who stayed around the corner while filming Notting Hill.

Asked if she liked working with Ottolenghi, Mejia replies ‘no’ without hesitation. ‘He didn’t leave a mark,’ she tells Air Mail. ‘He didn’t bring us some sort of sensation, or cake recipe, or a new concept or product. Nothing of the kind.’

Ottolenghi did, however, strip Mejia’s kitchen of her entire team. She says of the betrayal: ‘You work for me for seven years. You have a fantastic time doing it. You have complete freedom to create whatever you damn well like.’

Mejia founded Gail’s in the 1990s with businessman Ran Avidan, and the first bakery was opened on Hampstead High Street in north London. The business was acquired by Bread Holdings in 2011, and it has since expanded to more than 130 bakeries across England, mostly in Greater London.

But plans to expand further have faced a backlash amid concerns they could force independent cafes to shut.

In Walthamstow, east London, more than 400 people signed a petition against a new branch, in the name of ‘protecting the unique identity of our community and safeguarding the soul of a beloved neighbourhood’.

Addressing concerns about gentrification, Mejia says: ‘This business of what happens to a neighbourhood if Gail’s opens? It is an insane argument... And I find it uniquely distasteful.’ 

Ottolenghi could not be reached for comment. 

Stars gather to sing from same carol sheet as Queen's nephew Sir Ben Elliot

While Advent does not begin until Sunday, stars including Gemma Arterton were getting in the festive mood early at the Quintessentially Foundation’s Fayre of St James’s carol concert.

The charity event, at St James’s Church in Piccadilly, was founded by Queen Camilla’s nephew Sir Ben Elliot, and raised money for the Firefly Project, which supports young people affected by poverty in London.

Former Bond girl Arterton, 38, who recited Thomas Hardy’s Christmas poem The Oxen, tells me: ‘I love carol singing and have to rein myself in, I used to sing in choirs when I was a kid.’ 

She struck a chord with Peep Show star Sophie Winkleman, 44, who attended with her husband Lord Frederick Windsor. ‘I’m sorry to boast – I don’t often – but I’m quite operatic,’ she declares.

Reality TV star Gemma Collins arrived 20 minutes late and had to be ushered to her front-row pew. Meanwhile, Philadelphia-born rapper Eve, played hits such as Let Me Blow Ya Mind.

More than £84,000 was raised at a silent auction, while a later auction at private members’ club

5 Hertford Street made £124,000.

Rapper Akala quashes Angelina Jolie romance rumours 

Angelina Jolie has been romantically linked to rapper Akala for over a year, spotted with him in places from Venice to New York.

But at the Rosewood London hotel’s Christmas party this week, Akala, 40, dispelled rumours of a romance with the actress, 49.

He arrived with Chanelle Newman introducing the film producer to fellow guests as his ‘girlfriend’.

Royal Guards to get WiFi at Victoria Barracks 

For more than a century, they have housed the troops that guard the monarch at Balmoral.

And now the era of modern communications has caught up with Victoria Barracks in Ballater.

Plans have been lodged to install DBI WiFi, with an application for listed building consent. 

This would benefit the wellbeing of the Royal Guards by making it easier to stay in touch from their northerly, and often isolating, Scottish posting.

Isabel Allende confesses she's 'no model grandma'

Novelist Isabel Allende admits she is no model grandma. ‘I’m not a very good grandparent,’ says The House Of The Spirits author, 82. 

‘When the kids were little, I would see them every day. But then they went to college and the family was dispersed for ever.’ 

She adds: ‘The moment I let go of them it was like breathing. Now I still love them but with no attachment.’ Clearly!