In this series, we talk to people who turned their passion for food and baking into a business idea. We talk to home bakers who are constantly experimenting and innovating and navigating through these difficult times to bring the sweet and the savoury to our doorsteps. Colombo’s latest patisserie by Shaima Shiyam talks to us about her brand. 

What do you offer?
Different varieties of French pastries, desserts, cakes, sweets, and savoury items are available at the Colombo Patisserie. We believe in designing cakes specifically for every occasion. The sponge cake frosted with American buttercream sprinkled with roasted coconut, and drenched in caramel syrup with nut crunchies is my favourite dish on the menu. Very tantalizing!

What is your signature style in baking?
Because I am obsessed with presenting the perfect dish from my kitchen, I attempt to be as perfect as possible in what I bake by adding seductive tastes to my baking using excellent ingredients. I prefer not to worry about how messed up my kitchen is until I deliver my treats on time.

What made you start baking? 
To be really honest, I haven't specifically attended any culinary schools to learn baking or cooking. I learned about it via my mother and the internet. I naturally possessed cooking and baking skills since I was a little child. In addition to pursuing my degree in Interior Design, my mother has always encouraged me to show off my skills. My mother, who has effortlessly aided me in becoming who I am today, is the primary driver for the existence of my business. My parents have always stood by my side in all circumstances. My parents drove me tremendously to identify flaws and make the necessary corrections to bring about perfection, and my dad has greatly assisted me in investing in my business.

How do you operate your brand?
I do all of the baking, photographing, and packaging myself. There are days when I feel completely overwhelmed by everything I have to accomplish, but I am relieved knowing that I can guarantee my clients safe food in pristine packaging. Personally, I enjoy baking by myself so I am happy with the results. Because I believe we eat with our eyes first, I make sure every meal that leaves my kitchen is flawlessly presented.

What do you enjoy about baking and operating your own home baking business?
The ability to experiment and play around with ingredients that are readily available in my kitchen is what I value most about being a home baker.

How do you see home bakers navigate these difficult times? 
One of the reasons for a positive connection for home bakers around the country has been baking and sharing goodies with others. All home bakers are using their passion for food to build a fulfilling future. It's a new approach for some people to make money during hard times. Others will use the opportunity to focus on a newly discovered purpose. I put my heart into everything I bake, therefore you have to keep working hard no matter how difficult the circumstances are if you want to make your aspirations come true. I put a lot of patience into whatever I do, thus I firmly believe that perseverance leads to success.

What’s next?
After I achieve a certain level of my target audience, I made the decision to open a patisserie shop in one of Colombo's trendiest streets.

Your favourite baking hack?
You can easily produce the ideal result in one go by researching fresh recipes from various online platforms. One of the best tricks, in my opinion, is to try out every dish you come across before deciding what to choose and then play around with your own creativity.

Your advice to anyone who wants to start their own business?
Be creatively original and distinctive. For better recognition, make sure you give your customers quality over quantity. Invest in high-quality photography since it will help your business attract more clients because people tend to buy with their eyes.