For Brenda Cher, 29, and Melissa Lien, 26, the weeks leading up to the lunar new year have been spent in their kitchens as they created baked goods for their first-ever festive season in business.
During last year’s lockdown, many people found themselves with time to spare. Some took up exercise while others laid back and binge-watched box sets just to while away the time.
But midway through the MCO, both Cher and Lien decided to embark on something more adventurous: converting their hobbies into income by starting their own baking businesses.
Cher, a kindergarten teacher, started Cherful Bakes when schools were forced to shut temporarily. With a little encouragement from her baking “sifu”, she started to offer her burnt cheesecakes for sale in June.
She had some baking experience, having worked into the early hours of the mornings helping friends with their baking business when she was younger.
Fast forward a few years and she was teaching during the day and baking in the evenings.
“I’ve never baked so much stuff before but it’s a good thing. If I had more time of course I’d love to bake more, but for now, I’m quite satisfied with how it’s going,” she tells FMT.
“The most rewarding thing is seeing that people actually enjoy my products. One customer told me that the whole family is very picky with desserts, but they really loved my cheesecake. Now, they’re one of my returning customers,” she says.
Lien decided to pursue her baking business full-time in October. She tells FMT it had been on her mind for years after studying at the Malaysian Institute of Baking.
“Since we were all in lockdown, I felt that there would be no better time to start. I began to experiment and decided to start my own online baking shop called Melissa’s Cake Delight,” she beams proudly. “Making good quality cakes and cookies that people enjoy has always been a dream of mine.”
Having been a bakery customer for years, now that she’s on the other side of the counter she understands the hard work that goes into baking cookies for the festive season, yet also the satisfaction that comes from bringing joy to others.
“It’s definitely different being on this side of the table and it feels great delivering my products to people in their homes, knowing that they can celebrate the New Year with freshly baked cookies.
Among the things she is most grateful for is her family, who are her greatest supporters and helpers, assisting her with packing and delivering, and of course spreading the word on social media.
Business has had its ups and downs over the past few months, but her family have been her biggest cheerleaders right from the start.
Both Cher and Lien are simply grateful that after the buzz of all the baking leading up to the festivities, they’ll get to be with their families over the holiday season.
Both bakers have plans to expand their menus over the coming year.
“I’m constantly trying new things to be more creative, but always keeping an element of simplicity,” says Lien.
Cher says she’ll be looking to give her regulars and new customers more variety to choose from.
For more details on the tempting baked goods offered Cher and Lien, visit their Facebook pages Cherful Bakes and Melissa’s Cake Delight or find them on Instagram.