>> hobby – catering events and baking cookies in Kristelle’s mum’s kitchen in Mill Hill. The cookies were so good that they became known as The Cookie Girls. As food trends evolved, they saw that the key to success was to do one thing and do it really well, so they decided to focus on their cookies. In October 2016 Blondies Kitchen ran a Milk and Cookies pop up stand at Old Street Station – the first of its kind – selling their trademark American-style thin and chewy cookies and bottles of cereal milk (think of the milk that’s left in the bowl then you’ve finished your cornflakes or Coco Pops – that’s cereal milk). The girls were selling 800 cookies a day, working 7am until 7pm on the stand and then baking all night for the next day. The concept was featured in Time Out and Metro and they were approached by Taste of London, London Fashion Week and then Selfridges. “This was a dream come true,” says Chelsie. Selfridges invited them to run a four-week pop-up in the food hall. They baked 800 cookies for the first day and were sold out by 2pm; Blondies Kitchen was the most successful pop-up that Selfridges has ever run. A year ago, with the help of a bank loan and some family investment, Blondies Kitchen took up permanent residence in Selfridges food hall, shifting between 3,000 and 5,000 cookies a week. This month will see the return of last year’s innovative mince pie cookie, but the bestsellers
Blondies Cookies
are the Oreo-stuffed Nutella cookie and the white chocolate cookie with caramelised cookie butter.
DAISYRAE CAKES Linzee Basch (36), lives in Bushey Heath with husband Richard and their two kids - Charlie (8) and Daisy (7). In February this year she turned her baking hobby into a business and launched DaisyRae Cakes. Working alone from home (with a little help from her daughter sometimes!), Linzee is totally self-taught. “I was always an experimental baker and preferred biscuits to cakes, she says. “I was regularly making kichels for my family and friends and I felt there was a gap in the market that I could fill.” DaisyRae is the purveyor of exquisite biscuitcakes(the latest trend to hit the cake market), cakes, meringues, macarons, marshmallows, doughnuts and tempered chocolates. The letter and number biscuitcakes and pavlovas are extremely popular. Linzee applies a unique approach to all her designs and produces pieces that not only look beautiful, but taste delicious. All commissions are tailed to the clients’ requirements, such as specific colours or flavours – eg tiramisu or Reece’s Pieces. Tiffany & Co recently commissioned her to make a series of biscuitcakes. Although not licensed, Linzee uses vegetarian ingredients and can also make parev biscuit cakes and pavlovas.
Linzee Basch of DaisyRae Cakes
Natalie Allen of Sweet Things
SWEET THINGS Natalie Allen, 44, was born in Belfast, raised in Cheshire and now lives in London with her husband and their two kids, aged six and 10. She comes from a long line of female bakers – her grandma was a keen baker and her mum bakes every day. Thirteen years ago, Natalie set up a baking business at home, supplying cake lovers and delis. When it outgrew her kitchen, she took 62 JN LIFE jewishnews.co.uk
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