An Amazing Bakery and Deli!

A few weeks ago, the Ibaraki Eats Duo was driving around Moriya enjoying the unusually warm February weather. We grabbed a delicious cafe latte from the local baristas at Knot Coffee (which I have talked about before on this blog), and then something donned on me. My friend Yuka, who is also a master barista with her coffee tent, All Right Coffee, (which I have also talked about on this blog before) told me that close to Moriya Station, there is a deli and bakery that I needed to try. She also told me that the good news was that both the bakery and deli were together in one shop. I told my wife about this and she said "Let's get some bread." Off we went to Geselle/Bok.

Geselle/Bok

Geselle is a bakery/deli located in central Moriya. It is in the Branch shopping center and park near Moriya station. If you are coming from Moriya Station, it is a short five-minute walk from there. There are plenty of parking spaces for cyclists and drivers. Drivers be warned, Branch's parking area is only free for up to 30 minutes. After that, you will have to pay a fee to leave the parking area.
My wife and I have been to this place twice. Once, to try the calzone and the other to order a cheese and meat plate for a birthday get-together. Both times we visited Geselle, we parked our car at the parking area and walked toward the Branch shopping area. Branch is a small outside shopping area with a supermarket, Coffee Factory, and a bunch of other shops and services. My wife and I walked passed the supermarket towards the park area. The park area at Branch is very nice and pet-friendly by the way. We turned right, went past Coffee Factory, and found Geselle.

Inside

When you walk into Geselle, the first thing you see is the bakery section of the shop. I am sorry that the bakery section of the photo is a bit bare, but my wife and I went at a late time and a lot of the baked goods were already sold out.
On the right side of the shop is the sandwich and deli section. Different owners run both sides but they are working together as well. The owners of the deli section are a Croatian guy and a Japanese woman who sell different cuts of meats and cheeses. They also sell amazing-looking olive oil and balsamic vinegar. If you are interested in either of those, the couple will let you try a free sample of both.
The bakery side is owned by one young Japanese baker who is always hard at work. He makes bagels, croissants, and a bunch of different baked goods. The baker is very popular in Moriya and a lot of locals go to his bakery to by their baked goods. Most of the bread is already gone by lunchtime.

The Menu

The deli side of Geselle has a menu full of drinks and sandwiches. Good news everyone! The menu is in both Japanese and English (sort of). The menu has calzones, paninis, and other different sandwiches. The meats and cheeses for all the sandwiches come from the deli side and the bread comes from the bakery section. The first time we visited Geselle, we decided to give the special four-cheese calzone a try.

Four Cheese Calzone

We waited a few minutes while the owners made our calzone. During that time, we were able to try the olive oil and balsamic vinegar that was on sale and they were both fantastic, a bit pricey, but fantastic. I told the owner of the deli that the next time I came I would buy the balsamic vinegar. The deli owner sliced some parmesan cheese, mozzarella, and two other cheeses that I do not remember. He then wrapped them in the calzone dough and cooked our calzone. Once it was done, it came out pipping hot and looking amazing. We had somewhere to be so we took our calzone to go and headed for our car.
While in our car, I took a bite out of the calzone and it was magical. I loved how fresh the cheeses were and how the different flavors of all the cheeses interacted with each other in cheezy harmony. I do wish the dough would have been a bit more crispy but otherwise, this calzone was a winner. My wife agreed and we decided to try to grab another sandwich next time we visited.

Party Platter

The second time we visited Geselle, we did not buy a sandwich, we bought the party platter. My wife and I had a birthday dinner to get to and we wanted to bring something special. Geselle makes a special party platter that takes ten minutes to make. All you have to do is let the deli owner know how many people will be at the party and he will add all the cheese and meats that should go in the platter. I believe you can request the meats you want but I left it up to the owner.
I should mention that we bought the balsamic vinegar and it is delicious. I am planning on using it tonight for dinner. After ten minutes, the owner showed us the party platter and it looked like a work of art. It brought; speck, prosciutto from Germany, ham from Spain, more prosciutto, coppa, prosciutto from the neck, roast beef, salami, spicy salami, fresh cheese, and old cheese. After looking at our party platter in awe for a little while, we thanked the deli owner, bought some bread from the bakery section, and headed to the birthday dinner.
I am not exaggerating when I say that everything on that party platter was a hit. I loved every single piece of meat in that platter and so did everyone else at the party. My favorites were the spicy salami which I still crave to this day, the old cheese which was amazing, and the prosciutto from Germany which was a perfect match with the old cheese. Wrapping that prosciutto around the old cheese made my evening. Everyone at the dinner loved the party platter and had their fill. We still had a few leftover meats and cheeses from the platter so we took them home and made a sandwich the next day.

Our Breakfast Sandwich

The next morning my wife and I made a small sandwich using some fresh cheese, prosciutto, ham from Spain, and a little bit of cream cheese. The bread is from the bakery side of Geselle and it was very tasty. We both especially liked all the seeds that were around the bread. I wish I could tell you the name of the bread but everything in the bakery section is listed in German (I think it was German). I, unfortunately, do not read German. All I can tell you is that this bread was incredible and made a fantastic sandwich. Biting into it and getting all those incredible flavors was the highlight of my morning.

Geselle, you make an excellent party platter and amazing bread. I wish I could go to your shop right now and buy some deli meats and bread. Unfortunately, you are all the way in Moriya and I am stuck in Tsuchiura working. Actually, that might be a good thing. I might end up buying all your deli meats and cheeses and go broke! I do hope to go back soon though and try one of your paninis.

So if you are around Moriya City and are looking for some fresh and delicious bread and deli meats and cheeses, why not give Geselle a chance? Who knows, you might see us there, enjoying a panini while ordering a huge amount of cheeses and meats.
Enjoy!

For more information on Geselle/Bok, check out their Instagram page:
https://www.instagram.com/geselle_bok/