The Kuala Lumpur-born former tax advisor was a fan of shows like “Friends” in her teenage years, and was fascinated whenever it featured classic American desserts like chocolate chip cookies, brownies and apple pie. Her mother being a great baker only added to her interest.
“I wanted to try these for myself. Back in the day though, I don’t think you could really find them in Malaysia. So I had no choice but to learn to bake them myself!” Yasmin, 39, told FMT Lifestyle.
And she did. Little did she know, however, that she would eventually become a home baker, and later, the founder of “All About Chew”, a thriving cookie brand with outlets all over the Klang Valley.
Yasmin’s business gets its name from the distinct and delicious chewy textures of her baked treats: no, there is no one named “Chew” involved with it.
“We get that a lot! We get questions sometimes, from people who ask if we’re halal-certified. And they get surprised when my staff tell them it’s fully Muslim-owned! “Chew” comes from the texture of our cookies,” the mother of four said with a laugh.
Their signature product is the Chewibacca: this cookie named after a Wookiee contains chocolate chips and a sprinkle of sea salt. It’s a scrumptious soft-baked treat, best enjoyed with a hot drink.
The store also sells big soft cookies called “softies”, with the most popular flavours being Tangy Raspberry and the rich Dark Chocolate and Walnut. There’s certainly nothing cookie cutter about these sweet treats.
Developing a quality cookie recipe was no easy task. Yasmin, who described herself as a perfectionist, said she likely went through about 20-30 recipes in the early stages of her research in order to make the perfect cookie.
Quality ingredients are top priority: for example, Yasmin only uses Valrhona chocolate and butter from France for her creations.
Yasmin never planned to start a business: she began by baking for friends and family members. One day, however, her sister-in-law recommended she cater a birthday party for her niece. Her treats proved to be a smash hit, snowballing Yasmin into starting a small home baking business.
Things escalated a year later, when the pandemic struck. Yasmin initially believed this would end her business: to her surprise, orders for her cookies poured in. Apparently being stuck at home for prolonged periods of time builds up people’s appetites.
“It felt like I was just baking 360 out of 365 days,” Yasmin quipped.
One thing she believes helps her business to stand out amongst all the other cookie stores is dedication to customer service. At the end of the day, she hopes “All About Chew” is “all about you.”
“It’s all about our customers. We aim to provide a service akin to you walking into a retail store. I try to make sure everyone is cared for, and treated like the exclusive customer that they are,” Yasmin said.
Last year, Yasmin opened her first cookie kiosk at “The Five” in Bukit Damansara. This was soon followed by two more outlets, in Mont Kiara’s 163 Retail Park and KL’s TRX Exchange.
All outlets are supplied with freshly-baked dough from their central kitchen in Sentul. The TRX Exchange outlet, for example, has been known to make 700-1,000 cookies a day.
Yasmin has plans to open in at least two more locations, and maybe even venture overseas soon. Also in the pipeline is a “Cookie Club,” a community platform for her customers.
Managing her outlets can be a tiring job: sometimes, Yasmin misses the simpler days of just being a home baker. But creating “All About Chew” and watching it grow has truly been an amazing experience for her.
“At ‘All About Chew,’ we believe in simple and traditional, but well done,” Yasmin concluded. “If you have cravings, I promise you we can satisfy it. Having a bad day, and need a good cookie? You can depend on us!”
Follow ‘All About Chew’ on Instagram.