Jackie Robinson has two day jobs, and she’s loved them both since childhood. Photo: Dylan Thelan/Blankcnvs.
Not many people would expect their tradies to have a second day job as a self-taught cake maker – but for Bega Valley resident Jackie Robinson, the combination is as natural as they come.
“As a child, I spent a lot of time cooking and baking cakes with my family,” she said.
“And if I wasn’t doing any of that, I’d be in the shed with Dad working on trucks.”
Her two passions now combine to see Ms Robinson balancing working for her family’s earthmoving business while running her own business, named Goldenflour.
“Baking started as a side hustle and has just progressed into this amazing full-time job where I’m getting more and more cake orders,” she said.
“I don’t think it would be possible if I wasn’t working with my family – that makes it a lot easier to balance the two schedules.
“Dad doesn’t mind me taking a day off here and there when I’ve got big cake orders.”
Family support is key for many as they pursue their careers, but for Ms Robinson, it has extra meaning.
“After my apprenticeship, I started my own cake business under another name,” she said.
“But everything came to a halt when the 2019/20 bushfires struck, and then we were hit with COVID.
“I decided to put my cake dreams aside for now, and start working for Mum and Dad for a bit.”
Ms Robinson said learning about the world of baking and decorating cakes took hours of work (or rather, study).
“Everything I know in regards to cakes is purely based on research, and trial and error,” she said.
“I was a chef for eight years, where I learned all the basics around food safety and flavour combinations – all those things you would usually learn as a chef.
“But I always had a passion for cakes and pastry, so once I finished my chef apprenticeship I had an opportunity to work as a dessert chef.
“That became me teaching myself all sorts of things about cakes.”
Fulfilling the orders involved many steps, Ms Robinson said, but it was an enjoyable process.
“I just start with the number of serves to figure out how big the cake needs to be before I start baking,” she said.
“I then start making the fillings and the buttercream and then organise the flowers.
“The flowers are my favourite part because I think that if I wasn’t a cake maker, I would be a florist.”
As Goldenflour continues to grow, Ms Robinson plans to keep on baking and decorating cakes.
“I would love to have my own shopfront, where I could sell cakes and have them on display,” she said.
“Nothing too big, just a small place where I can have my mixer, my oven and my fridge.
“That’s the dream.”
Loading ...
