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Life Online had a pleasant conversation with Mrs. Dilani Abeysuriya, the proprietor of ‘Delights Treats’ who started the business of making cakes when she was only 18 years of age and having completed her studies at Visakha Vidyalaya and later on at Ancaster House School in England.
Dilani who is also a home maker was initially influenced to venture out into baking by her grandmother and mother since they were excellent home cooks and later on gained more experience and knowledge by studying sugar craft while in England and in Australia.
Having gained recognition throughout the years with her baking, making wedding structures and as well as catering to corporate functions she was able to exhibit her creations at her own cake exhibitions.
Once her children left home to pursue their higher studies abroad, and with more time on her hands, Dilani launched Delights Treats in order to put her experience and knowledge to good use, since her passion has always been to build a successful business that produces cakes for customers who will not simply settle for the ordinary.
At Delights Treats, all products are personally made by Dilani and have to be pre-ordered. She uses high quality ingredients, some of which are brought in from the UK and USA and no preservatives are used since she believes that the cakes are to be enjoyed fresh from the oven for maximum taste.
The cakes are given its own unique flavour and is hand frosted using one of its signature butter cream frostings, while the cupcakes are topped with either a hand moulded fondant flower, chocolate, high quality sugar sprinkles or candy which are specially imported.
Dilani mostly enjoys making children’s birthday cakes for themed parties since it gives her the freedom to be very creative and she also loves decorating cakes with handmade sugar flowers and intricate sugar work.
She says that the red velvet cupcakes with a cream cheese frosting as well as carrot and nut cake cakes are crowd pleasers. Life-like sugar flowers are a signature statement in Dilani’s cakes as well as the hand moulded cake topers used in children and adult birthday cakes.
The goodies from Delights Treats are not only delicious but also packed in specially designed gift boxes sealed with Delights Treats sticker for freshness and quality since Delights Treats believe in quality more than quantity and always strive to “wow” its customers, and which is the secret behind its success.
Furthermore, attention to detail sets Delights Treats apart from other competitors, since she makes it a point to discuss with her clients regarding their requirements and provide them with constructive advice from years of experience being in the baking business.
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We asked Dilani whether clients have made requests for strange baked items, and she says that once a gentleman had ordered a cake for his pregnant wife which was a figure of pregnant woman’s belly. Although this is quite common abroad, apparently some people on facebook were quite squeamish to see the cake.
According to Dilani, scaling the business is a big challenge since sometimes she has to refuse orders from clients because the production capacity is quite low but her goal is never to compromise on quality for quantity, which usually happens as businesses expand. However she hopes to expand the business so that orders and payments can be made online and also to make deliveries within a short radius of her residence in the near future.
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At present, Dilani does all the baking, decorating of cakes and washing up on her own. But she receives a lot of support from her family of course, where her mother helps make the sugar flowers, while her husband helps in promoting the business through the internet. The kids also regularly travel from England with bags full of cake decorating stuff while her driver helps in the purchasing of ingredients and folding the cake boxes.
Gradually, however Dilani hopes to train a few young people in the future by providing employment opportunities whilst being committed to her high standards. However she also says finding such committed people is hard these days.
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Since Delights Treats uses its Facebook page www.facebook.com/delightstreats and its website www.delightstreats.com, Dilani is able to reach out to new customers and keep in touch with clients. She is also able to be up to date with all the latest techniques of cake designing and making cake topers out of sugar paste. Also, Facebook referrals and word of mouth has helped Delights Treats to grow as a business in Sri Lanka.
Dilani says that when it comes to baked goods, a discerning client should go to a professional who would take the time to discuss his or her wish and provide the suitable guidance in finalising the right design for the theme with the flavour also in mind. This is especially important when finalising wedding cakes.
At the end of the interview we asked Dilani what drives her to venture into this business and she states that it gives her great pleasure to produce a cake that is not only exquisitely tasty but also custom designed to meet the exact requirements of her clients.
With those last few inspirational words, we thank Dilani for the time spent on this interview and, wish her all the best with Delights Treats. For those who wish to try out any baked items of Delights Treats please contact Dilani on 2877237 or 2866701 or email her on
[email protected].
By Radhi de Silva
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