The people behind home-based food and drink businesses share their stories, their love of great food and coffee and a couple of their kitchen essentials.
Ground Floor Coffee
Adhwa Hasif, photographer and barista
SR: Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Ground Floor Coffee: My name is Hasif, I’m 32 and a full-time photographer with two amazing kids. As a photographer, I spend long hours doing post-production. I often take breaks in between to brew coffee and rest my eyes.
How did you start your coffee business?
Over time, I got more intrigued by the coffee brewing process and started to experiment with various beans and milk. Whenever I had guests over, I’d let them try my latest flavour. Eventually, I decided to purchase a Gaggia Classic Pro and a Mahlkönig grinder.
The idea to sell coffee through the window came about when my wife and I ordered cupcakes from a fellow home-based business. There were a few bags hanging at the gate and we had to look for ours. I never saw the owner or got to talk to them. It felt “strictly business” and I hated that.
I decided to open my window and use that as our self-pickup point so I could meet my customers and thank them personally. That few seconds of friendly conversation is very important to me because it not only creates trust but we also make a lot of friends along the way!
Zesty Latte
What are your bestsellers and personal favourites?
Our bestsellers are our milk-based chocolate drink, the caramel latte and our new flavour, the honey oat latte. The honey oat latte was inspired by our recent trip to Melbourne! My personal favourite is a flat white with oat milk to start the day. If I’m feeling a bit more creative or excited I’ll have the lavender latte. When I want to watch a movie, I’ll make a cup of iced chocolate, which is also my daughter’s favourite!
Honey Oat Latte
How did you set up your home for your business?
After we went viral, selling coffee became like another full-time business for me. I decided to use 90% of my spare room that I was previously using as my photography office for our coffee business.
I sold my iMac and some shelves and threw out a lot of things to make space and properly set things up for our coffee business so the workflow is smooth and efficient.
What are some of the challenges of running your business?
The primary challenge for me was trying to make my espresso consistent in terms of flavour and making it as quickly as possible because I have no background in it—it’s all self-taught.
What are some of your kitchen essentials?
The coffee grinder because of the sound of the burrs grinding the beans, plus the smell is just amazing! I also love filling up the bean hopper when it’s empty, it’s just satisfying. I learned that investing in a really good grinder is worth more than buying an expensive espresso machine. The one I’m using is from Mahlkönig.
300ml Bottles
Any kitchen ideas or items on your wishlist?
I’m planning to upgrade our coffee machine soon, that’s the first thing on my wishlist. Maybe get a dual boiler with stronger steaming capabilities. The next “big” plan is to fully renovate the coffee room so it’s 100% focused on the workflow and layout of the business, with a dedicated worktop and freezer, anti-slip flooring, and good ventilation.
Any exciting upcoming plans?
We plan to take a step into festivals and do a pop-up booth selling our coffee so people don’t have to pre-order. We are also tapping into the events market for our mobile coffee cart and have a few collaborations for limited edition merch, which is another thing that I’m excited about. I don’t have plans to open a retail shop or an actual cafe and I intend to keep it that way. Maybe after the kids are grown up? Because I want to spend as much time as I can with them while they’re still cute and cheeky!
youkneadcakes
Ng Yu Feng, engineer and small-batch baker
SR: We’d love to know more about you! Can you introduce yourself?
youkneadcakes: I am Yu Feng and I’m the person behind youkneadcakes, a small-scale bakery based at home that serves up simple, no-frills homemade baked goods like pound cakes, cookies and madeleines.
I am also currently holding a full-time job as an engineer, which is why youkneadcakes used to only operate over the weekends, on a pre- order basis. Currently, with more experience and familiarity with running a home-baking business, I am also able to take up customised orders throughout the week.
How did you get started?
youkneadcakes has been running for slightly more than three years. I remember having a massive craving for a good lemon pound cake and a classic sea-salt chocolate chip cookie during the circuit breaker and it was so difficult to get my hands on one during that time!
I then decided to come up with my own rendition, and before I knew it, I fell into the rabbit hole and was baking endlessly during that period. The turning point was when I sent some of my baked goods to my friends and was pleasantly surprised to receive good feedback.
Here we are three years later, still running youkneadcakes weekly and knowing that so many people chose to order bakes from us. It is such an incredible feeling and nothing beats that.
What are some of your bestsellers? Any personal favourites?
One of our bestselling items is our lemon pound cake! It’s the cake that started my home-baking journey and has been a crowd favourite since day one. Recently, I also started selling my banana bread, which turned out to be a hit among customers!
What are some of the struggles of running this business?
As we’re operating from home, there is not much extra space for me to buy ingredients in bulk to keep them at home and sometimes mishaps such as insufficient ingredients do happen, and I’ll be scrambling till the last minute to get it sorted out.
Also, with limited time, I occasionally find myself being stuck in a rut, churning with little or no time to R&D new bakes. I’m still trying to strike that balance.
Can you share your top kitchen essentials?
If I had to choose a favourite, it’d be my trusty grater. As I started off the business baking citrus- flavoured bakes like lemon pound cakes and orange dark chocolate cookies, I used the grater a lot to zest the fruits and it has been with me since day one!
What’s currently on your wishlist?
I am always toying with the idea of getting a UNOX oven as I’ve seen some home bakers use it. The multiple-layer baking feature would greatly speed up my baking and allow me to ramp up production.
Any future plans you can share?
Like many other home bakers that I’ve gotten to know and chatted with through this home-baking journey, my end goal is to bring youkneadcakes offline and have a physical space that I can call my own.
I am looking to kickstart this journey sometime next year. For now, I am planning a pop-up at Baker X, an initiative that allows home bakers to experience what it is like to operate their business in a cafe setting. It’s something I’m really excited about so I’m keeping my fingers crossed!
Ng Say Lee
Ng Say Lee, art director and chiffon cake baker
SR: Tell us a bit about yourself.
Ng Say Lee: I am an art director with a publishing background, now working for a non-profit. I am from Melaka and I missed the kuehs, especially pandan chiffon back home. I can hardly find good ones in Singapore, so I decided to make my own.
What are your bestselling bakes and personal faves?
My bestsellers are the pandan gula melaka chiffon, with or without mao shan wang durian puree. My favourite is the strawberry chiffon with mascarpone frosting.
Lychee Rose
How did you set up your kitchen for your business? Any favourite kitchen essentials?
I started with just a tabletop oven and a hand mixer. One of my essentials now is my Thermomix to blend fresh pandan leaves without adding water, and I also can’t live without a KitchenAid mixer. It’s a time saver and results are guaranteed!
Pandan Gula Melaka Chiffon
What are some of the challenges you face running this business from home?
I have just one oven at home and have to accept limited orders due to capacity. I have a day job and baking is a hobby turned sideline.
Are there any kitchen items currently on your wishlist?
A Bertazzoni six-burner and electric oven for the functions and aesthetic as I cook a lot for the family.
Pandan with Gula Melaka Swiss Meringue Buttercream, Miffy
What’s in the works for your business right now? Any exciting plans?
I am ready to accept wedding cakes, which I was reluctant to do previously due to the softness of chiffon. I have since found a way to stack two cakes and decorate them with flowers!
The Spatula & the Pen
Ng Li Tying, personal trainer and baker
SR: Can you share a bit about yourself? How did you get started baking?
The Spatula & the Pen: I was in my first year of university when I began seriously baking as a hobby, trying to innovate flavour combinations. I baked for friends and family, and I often posted the stories behind the creations on Facebook.
Word got around and then friends of friends wanted to try customising cakes and cupcakes for themselves too. In 2013, I decided to take the plunge and formally set up a website.
How did you choose to specialise in your signature bakes?
My bakes have evolved quite a bit over the last decade. I began by specialising in customised cupcakes and cakes, which often take a lot of time from conceptualisation to the final execution. In 2018, I got married and then had two kids, so I decided to focus on less complex bakes such as cookies and brownies.
You’re also a personal trainer—how do you reconcile that with your baking business?
Most people find it a funny combination. Some joke that I can try to rope in customers to do PT after purchasing my bakes. I switched careers in 2018, and have learnt so much about nutrition, wellness and healthy living in the last few years. I have been introducing healthier, more nourishing bakes as part of my menu offerings recently, alongside the usual indulgent treats. I don’t believe in good or bad foods; balance is key.
What’s your kitchen setup like?
My husband likes to say that the house design is centred around my baking! The kitchen layout was the main concern when working with our designer and we went through several iterations of the design to optimise my workflow.
I prefer to work with as much open counter space as possible, working in almost an anti-clockwise flow. We also have a lot of built-in storage space for me to keep all the ingredients, packaging and equipment. Visitors almost always comment on the two fridges we have as well—one for home use and one purely for my baking.
Any challenges with running your baking business from home?
HDB kitchens are not very big. We’ve tried to maximise the space by having an open kitchen with a lot of counter space, but more space would improve the workflow. Other than that, I would say my biggest struggle is marketing. Being a one-woman show, baking, caretaking and running the household, means that I’ve become less active on social media and there’s not much time to do photo shoots.
Please share your bestsellers and personal favourites.
I’m still creating new bakes each month for my monthly assorted bake box, so my personal favourites keep changing. The matcha nutella cookies are still the most popular, but at the moment, I’m very much in love with the assorted healthy truffles I’ve created.
Any kitchen essentials you can’t live without?
I’m very simple and don’t like to work with many appliances. I have an old KitchenAid that was gifted to me by my husband as a Christmas gift a few years back. I love my UNOX oven too. I use the food processor or blender occasionally, but other than that, I do most of the mixing by hand with my trusty spatulas.
What’s currently on your baking wishlist?
A new KitchenAid would be lovely. If given the chance to redo the kitchen, I’d make sure that there’s ample natural lighting.
Any exciting plans?
Every month, things are a little different, so I’ll post about new bakes and ideas on Instagram soon!
