Day 20

Jun 14, 2023

Day 20

You will notice me writing more and more in the next days about the Farmers Market on the 24th June. As I said yesterday, I am getting both nervous and excited. For most of my life I have had, and still have the passion to bake and cook for all my wonderful family and friends, and although the baking side of the preparation for the market will be the easy part for me, its the actual Market and being there on the day, for the first time ever and in a different country to where I was born and brought up. I have had cake stalls in the past at my childrens’ school, for Christmas fetes. I have also baked from home in Bahrain and had a great list of customers from companies and schools and private individuals. It actually all started to get to a bigger sort of baking business one day, when I was speaking to my older sister, who worked with a large Auditing Firm. She asked me, if I could bake a few stollen during Christmas time for some of the staff for gifts. I did, she took them and called me a few nights later to ask if I could bake some more, and the staff who she had gifted them too, now wanted to buy them. And that was the beginning. I then started to bake more and more through word of mouth and instagram. So, why is it so different for me starting at the Farmers Market? I will no longer be hiding in my kitchen and now have to face the public. Although I am very chatty and outgoing, all over sudden I am feeling a bit shy. What will my stall look like? I am getting some lovely little pointers from my dear friend in Germany. My youngest sister has also given me some ideas. And along with my own ideas, I think I have managed to picture my stall on the day. Fingers crossed all will be well. I have my lovely husband to help set up the stall with me. And he has confirmed he will also be the photographer on the day. My young son has mentioned, but not confirmed yet, that he might help at the stall on the day.

Today I visited a Farmers Market in St. Albans. For the last five years that I have been visiting the same Market, most of the food stalls there remain the same, and are always full. The one thing I have noticed on the majority of food stalls, is that they all have one or two main dishes, or cakes or what ever food they are selling along with just one or two other dishes each time. They prepare and cook these dishes well and people love it. So definitely, there should be no overcrowding on the menu on what you want to sell. While I was there, I could not resist a lovely ice cream from Darlish, a pop-up from April to October every year. The ice-cream is a fusion between Persian and English, and it is to die for. Definitely, a must try if you love ice cream.

Our Inventory for TGC has been done. A few more things to purchase and add to it.

The Card Reader has been bought and I am just waiting for the delivery.