2024-04-01 09:57:30
From the podium to the kitchen for sweets
If school and study friends never associated their future with Elektrėnai, Justina, who grew up here, says that neither she nor her husband even thought of leaving their native land. And there were definitely opportunities.
After graduating from school, she studied the nuances of physical therapy in college, but the wind blew her in a completely different direction – she had the opportunity to go abroad and start a modeling career.
“I traveled all over the world for about eight years. Two months somewhere, two weeks at home, two months somewhere, two weeks at home,” said the interviewer. I had the opportunity to visit not only European countries, but also Asia.
However, the time came and he said to himself: “Enough of traveling alone.” It was always hard to say goodbye to my family, and the homesickness never disappeared during those years. All the more so – it’s time to start a family with my husband. After settling near Elektrėnai and starting to raise your offspring, thoughts began to run through your mind, what’s next?
At the same time, the coronavirus pandemic was raging, but this was just the impetus to join distance courses. When she saw that there were also cookie decorating courses, Justina did not hesitate and tried her hand.
“Then I thought how I would like to decorate the cake myself for the child’s second birthday,” she shared her thoughts. This was not enough and these trainings were followed by others – how to prepare French desserts, how to decorate cakes.
But now, justina is not only interested in confectionery, but also works as a model on the side.
There are two types of people
After the conversation with the electrician moved to the kitchen with an impressive panorama of nature through the window, Justina mixes the cake dough from what she finds in the refrigerator – today it will smell like a traditional apple cake with cinnamon. “I’ve had this recipe since I was a kid, with only four ingredients,” she assures, already walking towards the basket of apples.
This is the simplest recipe, but customers from Justina order sweets of a beauty that is difficult to describe in words. This requires not only patience and diligence, but also to have the vein of an artist.
Figuring out how to implement an idea is the most difficult task. Sometimes this requires a long preparation, which can last up to two days. “When you’re self-taught, you learn from your mistakes. It seems, what’s the point – after all, it’s just a cake, I’ll make it. Hmmm How much do you need to know to make a cake!” she said, remembering the beginning of her studies.
However, years of experience have made the Pajusk business owner understand that there are two types of customers. Some send ten photos and say: “I got this from one cake, this from another, this from the third.” Others simply say that they trust the pastry chef and whatever she comes up with will work.
And Justina’s husband laughs that his wife is like a cobbler without shoes – always in the kitchen, but never there to eat. One or the other morsel is a stumbling block for families, but the sweets travel all over Lithuania. “A happy customer is your best advertisement. One tasted it at the party, and then the other one is hungry too,” she says.
There is no shortage of customers – all you need is social media. to share information on networks and there will be a stack of messages. Users of social networks can look for ideas on their Instagram and Facebook accounts – “Feel”.
However, as warm weather approaches, you need to prepare to transport cakes or other sweets. It is not uncommon for people to come to her with cold bags and freezers. “My husband already knows that when he’s carrying a cake, he needs to drive very slowly,” the interviewer laughs.
These are not cakes, but real works of architecture
“One cake was one that I worked on for about a day. I remember my husband and I were driving from Vilnius and I received a message: “Would you make such a cake?”. And in the photo – a carousel with horses. I immediately thought – after all, this is not a cake, this is an architectural work. I already wrote that I will not make such a cake, but then I thought that if not now, then when?” she said.
And the preparation was serious, all the more so – we had to come up with a structure that would support more weight and be attractive to the eye. Justina remembers with a smile that when the cake was finished and it had to be put in the box, even sweat broke out, she started feeling nauseous and dizzy.
After receiving such a cake, many people are surprised and tell the confectioner that they don’t even want to eat it – it’s a shame to spoil such a work of art. And those who dare to cut through the cake can see and taste the flavors created by Justina herself: from biscuits to mousses and light textures.
Buyers also appreciate the fact that the cake is made from high-quality food products. Let’s say that instead of butter, you wouldn’t even think of adding other fats – people expect naturalness and that their needs will be taken into account.
Customers are ready to spend several hundred euros for cakes. But it all depends on the complexity, weight and taste of the cake: if you want, for example, a white cake with a few stars, the price will be one, if you want it with a character and the “Little Prince” sitting on the planet, the price will be completely different.
Not only decorating a cake or other sweets can be a challenge, but also making or presenting them. Justina remembers the situation when she had to ask other businesses operating in Elektrėnai for help – because the electricity went out at home and there was no way to put the cake in the fridge to freeze.
On Instagram, she shared a cry for help, which was soon answered by the chef, the confectioner of the Elektrėnai bakery in Lengenda, offered to help: “I have a shock hairdresser, come.” Justina was surprised how a man with a family and his own business agreed to help a stranger on Sunday. Humanity saved.
2024-04-01 09:57:30