Cakes, pastries, cookies and bread once meant a trip to the bakery. Now many kitchens in Dhaka turn out cakes, cookies, bread, pizza, brownies, cupcakes, doughnuts and desserts, Samakal reports. Some bake as a hobby, others have made it a regular source of income, and some are blending local flavours such as fruit, nuts and dates into new cakes.
For many the reason is safe food. Kaniz Fatema of Mohammadpur, who has baked at home for several years, says buyers cannot know in what conditions shop-bought sauces, mayonnaise, dough or pizza were made, which she sees as a risk for children, pregnant women and the elderly.
Interest is growing among young people and women, fed by pictures and videos of home-made cakes on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. A hobby that starts with one video sometimes becomes a small business, and many home bakers across Dhaka now take orders and bake in their own kitchens.
Jasmin Akter of Mirpur is one. She left her job in 2018, trained in baking, and began making cakes at home in late 2020, first for small orders from neighbours and relatives. Her business now runs on a larger scale, with a Facebook page called Jasmin Baking and Cooking. Home baking needs little capital, she says, because there is no shop rent, staff or decoration to pay for, and equipment can be added bit by bit.
Shahnaz Akter, who runs Home Made Choco Lab, says customers also want food made their way: less sugar, a particular flavour, a chosen design or specific ingredients, which a shop cannot always offer but a home baker can. Buyers can also be more confident about the quality of ingredients, cleanliness and storage.
Photo: Ion.bostan / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: Samakal
Comments
(0)