LILLY
BAKES ARTISAN OF THE MONTH
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- Tell us a bit
about yourself (name, location, affiliations, and personal stuff).
My
name is Bekky Britton & I can safely say I am well & truly a Dubai
expat! I moved here
1991 with my parents and am still here to this day, as are they. I have done my fair share
of breaks from the desert but I always seem to end up back!
My
last stint away from the sun was when I met my husband and for his sins he was
dragged out of the cold waters of Cowes, UK to a
warmer more pleasant climate.
My
formal training is Sport & Outdoor Education which I embellished
passionately for
10 years until my daughter arrived. I am
still a very active sailor but I choose to
participate rather than teach!
Lily
Bakes sprang into life in November 2008 when my sister, Teagan, decided to
drag me along to ARTE. I refused to idly
sit back and chose to find something to sell.
It started with a couple of Christmas cakes & puddings with the thought of
maybe
throwing a hamper or two into the mix.
By the December ARTE I had a whole range
of sweet things and a couple of chutneys to add the range!
The
name took more than a few nights of discussions; the main contender was
Bekkys Buns (my husbands suggestion), not my
favourite! Eventually though
Lily inspired me and Lily Bakes was born!!!
1
year on and I am still very passionate about the business and am always being
told off for the amount of cookery books I own and different size baking trays
I
can store in 1 cupboard!
- What inspires you?
Where do your ideas come from?
I
am a huge Nigella Lawson & Jamie Oliver fan so I
am constantly inspired by their
methods of devising something new. I
bored my in laws to death last Christmas
watching Jamies Christmas over & over again on iPlayer ! I do however find most
of my ideas get bounced off my mum & dad, as they are the ones that started
me
cooking in the first place.
I
am always on the look out for new ingredients and recipes. Generally though I start
with a recipe realize I seem to have forgotten to buy most of the main
ingredients
and end up with something far from what it started as! But it works & I enjoy the
process so much.
My
friends and family also enjoy my random process of devising a new recipe
because
they are generally the first to try it.
- Greatest claim to fame
(with respect to your craft)
The
National Magazine June 2009 my first Lily Bakes article in the media!
- How long have you
been doing your craft?
I
have been cooking for as long as I can remember.
- How did you learn
your craft?
I
was taught by my mum & dad when I was fairly young. I remember always wanting
to bake a cake & generally doing something disastrous in the process;
dropping the
mixture out of the bowl, dropping the cake out of the oven or putting all the
egg in
to make a meringue!
A
regular tradition when we moved to Dubai was to make a big cooked breakfast
on Friday mornings, I learnt very quickly how to take
orders (there are 6 in my family).
Throughout
my college & university years I spent working in restaurants & pubs
learning how to cook larger quantities. Sadly I cannot say my student loan went
on exciting things; mainly shopping for food and kitchen equipment!
However
my steepest learning curve was running a chalet in Switzerland and
cooking my first full Christmas dinner for 35 people! Nothing was burnt however
we did run out of gravy!! I loved my 6 months
perfecting my meals to a point
where I would make a curry & paneer cheese from
scratch; it is safe to say I didnt
do a great amount of skiing.
- Favourite film of
all time?
I
have far too many to choose from James Bond Series & Priscilla Queen of
the
Desert are up there close to the top.
- What was the last
CD you bought?
Mickey Mouse Club House Album
- Are you married?
Yes,
Matt & I have been married 5 years.
- How long have you
been in the UAE?
I
moved here in 91 & then took a studying break between 96 & 01 (always
coming back for holidays) & have been here permanently this time since 04.
- Do you belong to
any other groups?
I
am a member of Heels & Deals & Abu Dhabi Mums
- What are your
favourite materials?
Flour,
Butter, Sugar, Vanilla Extract & cocoa
- What is your
favourite colour?
PURPLE!!!
- What are you
reading right now?
An
old recipe book that has lost its cover!
- Any tips on
selling handmade stuff?
Be
confident that what you have made is the best product out there! If you are
confident in what you produce then your customers will be confident they are
buying the right piece.
Enjoy
what you make and that comes across when you are out there selling.
Dont
be afraid to start a conversation with someone even if it is about the
weather, you never know where it may lead to.
I asked someone where I knew
them from & before I knew it they were ordering a whole partys worth of
food
from me!
- Apart from
creating things, what else do you do?
I
sail. If I am not at a market I am generally
on the boat with my little girl &
husband racing or cruising.
- How can ARTE be
improved?
Keep
developing the ideas that come up and always ask for help.
I
have recently got involved and am loving it. I love being able to help such
a fantastic group of people achieve ARTE goals.
Thanks
to Miriam for her endless cups of tea!
Bekky
Britton @ LilyBakes.com