I'm sitting in our little office at the back of the bakery. It's 8am on Christmas Eve and we are done.
Well, done but for the bread selling. The baker just left, after starting at 3pm yesterday afternoon (so that's 16 hours of baking). And I am here, having arrived to help at 1am. I'm trying to get away, but I'm waiting for some danish to freeze solid for a customer to bake their own while we are closed.
This is our first Christmas as small business owners. It has been a huge year, and we have dealt with so much, well out of our areas of expertise, I can't even think how we have done it. Even the baker said this week 'Wow, Christmas! I thought we'd be divorced by now!'. Thrilling that we aren't. Thrilling that we are still going. Daunting to wonder how we will do it for another year.
Some BIG business must do's in 2010
- hire and keep a baker with interest, talent and skills. They can provide them , or we will train!
- do my own books. It's not hard but for some reason I'm terrified of messing up the computer. The motivation is to keep the book keepers salary for myself!
- get the furniture, permits and staff I need to open the shop later and Sundays.
- better and more beautiful, creative baking. Can't wait to see what recipe books Santa brings...
Best wishes for the season.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
christmas cards
Tis the season and the christmas cards are rolling in fast. Collecting the cards this year has become a lovely part of the afternoon routine for my family- checking the letter box, bringing in the pile, opening the cards, talking about who they're from, what's on the front, why we don't have snow here at christmas...Cards are really helping build the Christmas momentum in our house.
However, since we own a business we are getting a lot of cards from people we deal with, suppliers and such. I have to say, a card from a business is not such a joy. Maybe I feel like this because our first card was from the broker who sold us the business (who gained about $5000 from the transaction) with whom we have had no contact since. Then a card came from the accountant's office, signed by everyone in the office. Which is nice, but currently we are still waiting on our tax figures from our 'swamped' accountant, but apparently she's busy signing christmas cards. Then a sales man who I deal with sporadically dropped in a card. But he was really only checking out what we are using and if there is a sales opportunity there.
I do realise that christmas is a massive marketing tool. Every business book recommends sending a christmas 'something' to your customer data base to remind them you exist. But isn't christmas supposed to be about something else? Family, friends, personal reflection during a sacred and spiritual time. It's not the best opportunity for people with whom you have an account to 'remind you they exist'. I get those reminders every month..
What about those who don't participate in Christmas? I have received nothing from my Indian drygood supplier, nothing from the Jewish papergoods people. What about the faux pas of sending them a card? In our multicultural world, it's potentially a very bad decision to use a religious holiday as a business opportunity. What say you on that, marketers?
So, I've decided that a business custom thank-you and New Year acknowledgement on the Christmas statement, along with our holiday trading hours is the most appropriate action for us. I'm comfortable with it and it's as sincere as I can be. Afterall, it's just business.
However, since we own a business we are getting a lot of cards from people we deal with, suppliers and such. I have to say, a card from a business is not such a joy. Maybe I feel like this because our first card was from the broker who sold us the business (who gained about $5000 from the transaction) with whom we have had no contact since. Then a card came from the accountant's office, signed by everyone in the office. Which is nice, but currently we are still waiting on our tax figures from our 'swamped' accountant, but apparently she's busy signing christmas cards. Then a sales man who I deal with sporadically dropped in a card. But he was really only checking out what we are using and if there is a sales opportunity there.
I do realise that christmas is a massive marketing tool. Every business book recommends sending a christmas 'something' to your customer data base to remind them you exist. But isn't christmas supposed to be about something else? Family, friends, personal reflection during a sacred and spiritual time. It's not the best opportunity for people with whom you have an account to 'remind you they exist'. I get those reminders every month..
What about those who don't participate in Christmas? I have received nothing from my Indian drygood supplier, nothing from the Jewish papergoods people. What about the faux pas of sending them a card? In our multicultural world, it's potentially a very bad decision to use a religious holiday as a business opportunity. What say you on that, marketers?
So, I've decided that a business custom thank-you and New Year acknowledgement on the Christmas statement, along with our holiday trading hours is the most appropriate action for us. I'm comfortable with it and it's as sincere as I can be. Afterall, it's just business.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Hey! A wonderful chef and his wife (with whom I have both worked) have just bought a restaurant. Yay! Congratulations to them and best wishes for a great start on their own.
It's called Colenso and it's in Woodend.
Check out the menu on their website www.colenso.com.au and pay attention to the Prix Fixe menu on Friday and Saturday nights. Gorgeous and great price too.
A lovely weekend away in a little B&B wth dinner and breakfast at Colenso might be just what the body needs.
FYI- Woodend is about 40mins from Melbourne at the foot of the Macedon ranges and the spa country (meaning not far from Daylesford).
It's called Colenso and it's in Woodend.
Check out the menu on their website www.colenso.com.au and pay attention to the Prix Fixe menu on Friday and Saturday nights. Gorgeous and great price too.
A lovely weekend away in a little B&B wth dinner and breakfast at Colenso might be just what the body needs.
FYI- Woodend is about 40mins from Melbourne at the foot of the Macedon ranges and the spa country (meaning not far from Daylesford).
food-centric tales
Today playing chasey in the backyard, my son named himself the Gingerbread Man
(run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man,)
and he named the baker, his father, the Muffin Man.
Yes, absolutely, everything in our house revolves around baking. Yep, everything.
(run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man,)
and he named the baker, his father, the Muffin Man.
Yes, absolutely, everything in our house revolves around baking. Yep, everything.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
the cake
Christmas cake is a very hard thing, both as a baker and an eater. I suppose, as with all food, it's about personal preferences. Dark or light? Heavy? Moist and crumbly? Nuts or not? Gross red cherry things or not? Boozy? Citrusy? Jammy, figgy puddin' cake?
I find it really hard to do christmas cake. The time and the cost make me hesitate, and then the recipe variations are too many. I've really yet to find my true cake, the one I would make every year forever. The christmas cake my grandchildren would remember me by. I'm still trying.
But, of course I had to make something for my customers. So we have cake. It has no butter in the recipe and heaps of soaked, boozy fruit. The cake is really just there to hold the fruit together. It's a nice cake, baked weeks ago and aged as it should be. I was worth it (the trouble, time, effort and stress), but I want better.
What's my perfect christmas cake? I think it is not light or dark, but a golden medium colour cake, with moist, juicy fruits of all kinds, even cherries. It also has walnuts and the fragrant hint of marzipan. It is crumbly and cakey, not a heavy fruity brick. And no white icing.
Once I made a marzipan fruit cake from a Nigella recipe I think it was. I'm searching it out now, for my second wind of christmas cakes in the bakery. I'll be doing a 'quick Christmas cake' for the last two weeks in December, a bit cheaper than the Christmas cake, because it's more a simple fruit cake. In fact that's probably where I'm going wrong in my quest. I'm reading Christmas cake recipes, when I really want to get myself a brilliant fruit cake recipe.
The same issues can arise when making fruit mince pies. But for me this is easier, because I know how I like my fruit mince pies to be and so I make them that way. Pastry with a bit of baking powder and egg, so it's cakey, light and soft. It creates a gentle pillow around the fruit and carries it beautifully into your mouth. And warmed with cream it's like a little sweet pudding from heaven.
But I've had criticism about my style of pies, from my very own household even. All I can say is there's no right or wrong, it's a preference. Shortcrust mince pies and light christmas cake are fine for some people, dark, heavy cake and soft pillow pies for others. I just hope I've got enough cuatomers who like my christmas style, and then enough pies and cakes for those who do!
I find it really hard to do christmas cake. The time and the cost make me hesitate, and then the recipe variations are too many. I've really yet to find my true cake, the one I would make every year forever. The christmas cake my grandchildren would remember me by. I'm still trying.
But, of course I had to make something for my customers. So we have cake. It has no butter in the recipe and heaps of soaked, boozy fruit. The cake is really just there to hold the fruit together. It's a nice cake, baked weeks ago and aged as it should be. I was worth it (the trouble, time, effort and stress), but I want better.
What's my perfect christmas cake? I think it is not light or dark, but a golden medium colour cake, with moist, juicy fruits of all kinds, even cherries. It also has walnuts and the fragrant hint of marzipan. It is crumbly and cakey, not a heavy fruity brick. And no white icing.
Once I made a marzipan fruit cake from a Nigella recipe I think it was. I'm searching it out now, for my second wind of christmas cakes in the bakery. I'll be doing a 'quick Christmas cake' for the last two weeks in December, a bit cheaper than the Christmas cake, because it's more a simple fruit cake. In fact that's probably where I'm going wrong in my quest. I'm reading Christmas cake recipes, when I really want to get myself a brilliant fruit cake recipe.
The same issues can arise when making fruit mince pies. But for me this is easier, because I know how I like my fruit mince pies to be and so I make them that way. Pastry with a bit of baking powder and egg, so it's cakey, light and soft. It creates a gentle pillow around the fruit and carries it beautifully into your mouth. And warmed with cream it's like a little sweet pudding from heaven.
But I've had criticism about my style of pies, from my very own household even. All I can say is there's no right or wrong, it's a preference. Shortcrust mince pies and light christmas cake are fine for some people, dark, heavy cake and soft pillow pies for others. I just hope I've got enough cuatomers who like my christmas style, and then enough pies and cakes for those who do!
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