Taking her mind off the happenings around her, Farhana Rahman indulged herself in a world of trial and error baking and realised the potential of a business.
The 24-year-old was not always a great baker but she loves it nonetheless.
Her early attempts did not turn out to be the way she planned as her first pan of brownies was as hard as a rock.
After brushing up on her baking skills, the entrepreneur came up with The Bekary, showcasing homemade delicious baked goods especially cinnamon rolls and brownies.
According to the youth, brownies may seem to make but it was the opposite for her, it was a test of patience.
“After some help from my sister, I finally got the brownies I wanted! It was fudgy with yummy chocolate chunks in them – it’s something I’m super proud of as it took a long time to formulate the said recipe,” said Farhana.
One night, the entrepreneur was scrolling through the social platform TikTok and came across a video of someone eating cinnamon buns that sparked an idea.
Farhana went straight to the kitchen and carelessly began her midnight baking which turned out to be something unexpectedly good.
“It was almost dawn when I finished making them. I ate two pieces straight out of the oven! I put it in a tight lid container for my family to eat but when I woke up, it was all gone! My dad loved it so much that he kept on asking me when I’m going to make it again,” said the youthpreneur.
This was what got the ball to start rolling and she began baking dessert boxes for her friends and relatives who in turn gave good reviews.
The positive feedback gave her the confidence to slowly perfect her recipes before eventually opening her business.
The Bekary began baking in January this year during the youth’s final year of law school and the middle of her training for the preparation for SEA Games.
It was the perfect time for the youth to turn over a new leaf and be distracted from the pressure she was facing.
“Doing law and sports at the same time can get super draining both mentally and physically. Baking is a way for me to hone my creativity at my own pace without any external stress,” said the 24-year-old.
In the initial stage, Farhana ran the business from her family’s home kitchen, but now she has moved to her own space, in front of her home, which used to be her parent’s rental house.
The Bekary currently offers two types of cinnamon rolls and they are the OG Cinnamon Rolls, which can come in plain or topped with cream cheese; and the Biscoff Cinnamon Rolls, that are topped with biscoff biscuit crumbles on top of the cream cheese filling.
Another product are the brownies which also come in two types; OG Brownies which are rich and fudgy in the middle, loaded with 60 per cent dark chocolate chunks and the Premium Brownies which are made with 70 per cent dark chocolate topped with their signature caramel cornflakes.
“But, if you can’t decide what to get, you can always go for our combo boxes which consists of different combinations of our baked goods in one box,” said the youth.
The part-time baker has shared that their most popular products would be the OG Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese and their OG Brownies.
The Bekary’s desserts are priced between $7 and $25 and for now, they can be ordered through their Instagram @thebekary.
Farhana also shared that her journey as an entrepreneur so far has been a rocky one, there are some good and bad days.
Waking up at 2am, rolling dough for cinnamon rolls by hand was never something she imagined she would be doing most days.
Nevertheless, passion and motivation what got her started but discipline kept her going.
Hearing the satisfaction and reviews from her customers is also one of the reasons that she is still able to stand as an entrepreneur.
“Negative or positive, I’m all ears as I would also like to improve my skills as a baker. But without them, I would definitely not be where I am today,” shared the part-time baker.
One of their latest creations is the caramel cornflakes and mini cinnamon rolls, which also received great reactions from customers.
Farhana shared that she does not like being constant and as of now, she is currently trying to curate the perfect cinnamon roll recipes that may or may not involve chocolate, matcha, almond and bananas.
Although it was scary to start a business, she was able to overcome her fear and create something bigger than she had anticipated and she enjoys what she is doing now.
See the bakes that The Bekary has to offer by scrolling through their Instagram @thebekary and try out some rolls.
THE BRUNEIAN | BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
