How it all started
I took Home Economics at school. In grade 11 (2017) we had the assignment to bake a cake for a special occasion. We could choose the occasion ourselves and how the cake should look. We had to work in groups of two. My friend and I decided to bake a cake similar to one by Buddy Valastro from Cake Boss and to make it a wedding cake. I made roses at home and added the Mr & Mrs made from fondant. We baked and decorated the cake at school and took it to the teacher to be marked. We got full marks for the cake! The reaction of people when they saw the cake was amazing, which made you feel proud of your hard work. It was then and there that I decided that this is what I wanted to do in life.
Decision to make it a business
The year 2019 was my first year out of school and I wanted to go and study to become a pastry chef. My mom and dad said I should rather take a gap year and decide if this is really what I wanted to do. In that year I started baking cakes and cupcakes and my mom and dad took it to work to sell. The people just enjoyed everything I sent with my parents all the time. I would sit on the living room floor every end of the month and count the money I got from the cakes and cupcakes. Every time I just got more and more excited when I saw I’m just getting more and more money. I then just realized again that this was really what I wanted to do and that I have a passion for it.
In 2020 I enrolled at CTIA in Stellenbosch for a 1 year pastry chef course. During the first 6 months I had to do the Foundation Program in Professional Cookery and during the last 6 months the Pastry Program. The final assignment was a 3 tier cake for a special occasion. It had to have certain amounts of certain items on top. I made a pink Baby Shower cake for which I got the highest marks in the class! Then I realized again that I was in the right direction with what I wanted to do.
The last part of the course was practical industry experience, which I did at Sheena Henry Creative in Edgemead, because I looked up to Sheena for what she did in this business field. Now I have my own business for a few years already. The new kitchen for Brigitte Bakes has been completed just before my 21st birthday on 19 September 2021. This is the place from where I can follow and enjoy my passion.
Achievements
Click on any photo to see a larger version. Then click on the left or right arrow (or press or on the keyboard) to browse through the large photos.
