I cannot quite put a finger on a specific type of customers we attract but they are not wide-ranging either. Instead of grouping my customers by age, gender or lifestyle, I see two main groups: Creative, interest-driven folks who wants to learn and practise the craft, and people seeking our craft workshops as therapy, self-love and as a treat to themselves.
YOU ARE JUST AS PASSIONATE ABOUT FOOD AS YOU ARE ABOUT HANDICRAFTS. TELL ME ABOUT YOUR PERSONAL FOOD JOURNEY?
I love food, more the cooking than actual eating honestly, I am a feeder! I got inspired to cook, bake and entertain from watching food shows on TV. I remember watching Iron Chef when I was young – Chef Chen Kenichi and Morimoto were my favourites. Then there was Nigella Lawson, Anna Olson and Jamie Oliver, they all played a part in enabling me to step into the kitchen.
Cooking was always ‘agar-agar’ style to me as that was the only way I was shown how to cook. I always failed terribly at baking as I couldn’t understand the science of cooking and why certain substitutions or ratios didn’t work. Watching how-to videos on YouTube confused me further, so I decided to enrol in culinary school to pursue a full-time diploma so I could learn the art properly.
I worked as a chef for a couple of years but I felt there was something missing. I did not enjoy the repetitive cooking of a few dishes daily; I was looking for something more exciting. I jumped on an opportunity to work at the other end of the food chain when Huber’s Butchery had a job opening. It was my first job as a salesman and I learned so much in the time I worked there. I learned about the importance of quality, origin of produce, and how they affect the food on your plate. I learned the business side of things too, how to balance cost and quality to deliver the best value for our clients.
After four years, I left the butchery and started With Autumn. But last year I re-joined Huber’s and started creating recipe videos for them. I am very lucky to be able to combine my passion for food, art and education in this role. On a side note, my husband’s tummy is always happy.