Home bakers steal the show

KOCHI: This Christmas, home bakers take the cake. Earlier this year, while the pandemic wrecked big and small businesses, the world took comfort in sweet baked goodies. This led to binge-watching of YouTube tutorials on getting the ABCs of cooking and baking right. Established home bakers in the city took it upon themselves to conduct virtual classes thereby leading to an influx of aspiring bakers who have no qualms in exhibiting their new techniques on Instagram. With the festive season here, while restaurants and bakeries have recorded poor sales, home bakers have noted a substantial increase in cake orders. 

Fathima Azeem, the owner of @baketales_byfia, has been in the business for the past five years. The baker and cake decorator recorded a rise in orders this year, compared to 2019. She said that while there were a handful of them in the hitherto niche market, the pandemic has indeed given birth to many more bakers who charge lower prices for their cakes. 

“As a result, many people prefer newer entrants. Nevertheless, I have my repeat customers and new clients this year,” she adds. Certified pastry chef and owner of @sugarbowl_cochin, Candida Rodriguez, resonated Fathima’s sentiments. “The business has been doing extremely well. In the initial part of the lockdown, I wasn’t sure about the status of orders but as the festive season approached, there has been a turnabout. It has been eight years and the sales get better every year,” says Candida. 

For those intrigued about the techniques of baking, chef, connoisseur and founder of Eva’s Healthy Bakes, Jeemol Koruth, had launched virtual baking classes during the lockdown. Almost nine months later, her students have gone on to set up their ventures with an array of orders.“The growth of budding home bakers has, in turn, helped increase the sales of baking tools and accessories,” she says. 

Jeemol highlighted that people are willing to spend on festive treats, despite the pandemic. 
“Corporate orders have been reduced by 30 per cent but regular customers have always been around. I created only limited hampers this year as I was busy with classes and personal matters. Regardless, the situation for home bakers has been rather positive,” she adds.