Meet five women running candy and cake empires in Cork
Good Fortune Cookies' Founder Sarah Cremin. Picture: Kirsty Lyons
SWEET things are the sticky-back-plastic of life: they fix everything! My socials have been awash lately with colourful and enviable cakes, bakes and treats created by young Cork-based micro-businesses all founded by entrepreneurial women. I went in search of their stories to learn more about their passion for creating sweet treasures.
Christine Girault, La Spoon Patisserie
Christine Girault, 49, settled in Cork from France over 30 years ago. Her business, La Spoon Patisserie, focuses on French-style patisserie and offers baking lessons.
“I was born in a country where food is everything!” says Christine. “Every day we’d buy a baguette and something from a patisserie, and my grandmother was an amazing cook and baker too. Everything was so simple but tasty, all made by hand - that’s where my passion for creating came from.
“I had a French-style café and patisserie for years in Cork, but it closed during the recession. I took a full-time job, and decided to open an online business called La Spoon Patisserie in 2012.
“My mind is always busy with inspiration - I see ingredients and my mind starts going. As a creative, I always search to do better by reading books, seeing new trends, and trying new recipes. To keep on creating is the best motivation.
“My most challenging commission was a mix of Macaroons Tower with Piece Montee (Croque en Bouche) with beautiful wildflowers, over 550 choux and almost 1.5 metres high! A big challenge but worth it to see my customer’s reaction.
“I work with the best of ingredients, so the cost of ingredients and time it takes to make is hard to manage.
“Managing the weather is another challenge. I made Croque en Bouche for a wedding on a very hot day in Ireland, watching as the caramel melted in front of my eyes and everything collapsing. Not for the faint of heart!”
Christine also teaches short night courses at the College of Commerce. She also has created Mindful Baking classes [based on Ayurvedic principles].
“Once we create with taste and colour, we relax our mind,” she said.
“I love the world of patisserie and teaching it is as important. We must pass on our experience, especially to those in need of someone that can help show how to make basic meals on a very tight budget - teaching is what this is all about.”
Sarah Cremin, Good Fortune Cookies
Sarah Cremin, 36, is based in Bishopstown. Good Fortune Cookies began as a home-based lockdown project, and last year she launched her Treat and Repeat subscription service and ‘Corkies’, inspired by iconic Cork flavours, including Hadji Bey.
“Good Fortune Cookies make cookies as edible gifts and ship them nationwide,” said Sarah. “In 2020, I decided to sign up for a 12-week certificate course at Ballymaloe Cookery School. When I finished, we were facing yet another lockdown, so I started making edible gifts for friends and family with little notes attached saying ‘hang in there’ or ‘can’t wait to see you soon’. Cookies seem to be universally popular, and they were really cheering people up, so I decided to give it a go as a business.
“I’m always looking around for flavour inspirations. Last winter, I looked to Cork itself, creating Barry’s Tea shortbread, Beamish cookies and Hadji Bey Rose shortbread. They went down a treat.
“As a solopreneur, trying to juggle everything can be a bit of an undertaking - if I don’t do it, it doesn’t get done. It’s challenging working with a fresh product, too. I don’t have cookies sitting on a shelf waiting to be posted out, everything is made to order.
“Once, I was packaging up a substantial corporate order and a box of 100 cookies fell off the counter and smashed into smithereens. My heart sank - I had been working on them for 15 hours straight - but you can’t let these things get you down. No point crying over broken cookies!
“Most of our orders are gifts, and I find recipients of the gift will place an order for someone else, and so on. That’s the ultimate compliment, I think.
“Good Fortune Cookies was set up to spread a little joy and connect people with edible gifts and thoughtful messages. Small gestures can make a person’s day and I love being a part of it.”
2023 will see Sarah working on new products.
Helen Medcalf, HM Cakes
Instagram @helenhmcakes
Helen Medcalf, 39, is the founder of HM Cakes, a boutique bespoke occasion cake designer based in Ballygurteen, near Clonakilty. Originally from Stoke-on-Trent in England, Helen’s career was in hospitality management before deciding to follow her passion for baking.
“I have always loved baking but had never decorated a cake until my middle daughter was turning three and asked me to make her a Peppa Pig cake for her birthday. From there, I started making cakes for friends’ kid’s birthdays and it snowballed, so I created HM Cakes as a part time business while working as a duty manager. Then the pandemic hit.
“It was during the second lockdown people wanted to celebrate birthdays - no matter how big or small. Business took off and, I suppose like a lot of people during the pandemic, I began reassessing everything. As much as I enjoyed working, I loved working from home more, setting my own hours and always being there for my kids.
“I’m very luckily to have great support from my local community.
“I love being able to work from home, swap and change my schedule so I can fit in everything with my kids; but I especially love watching a customer’s face when they see their cake.”
Regina Rilov, Regina’s Macarons
Instagram @reginasmacarons
Regina Rilov, 40, is a self-taught macaron master based in Castlemartyr. Her business, Regina’s Macarons, creates beautifully colourful, personalised macaron selections.
“I’m a self-taught baker who discovered a passion for baking macarons using the French technique during the pandemic,” said Regina.
“I started just over a year ago baking macarons for all kinds of occasions - you name it, I do it!
“It started when my son asked me to make him some macarons for his birthday. The recipe seemed quite simple with not too many ingredients, little did I know the special ingredient (not included in the recipe) was the alignment of the whole universe! For anyone who has ever tried baking macaron, they’ll know what I mean. They are so simple, yet so tricky.
“There were a lot of disasters, especially in the first six months. My family had my ‘disasters’ for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Once I figured it out, I couldn’t stop making them.
“Eventually, people I didn’t know started asking me would I make them for their special occasions.
“Never in a million years did I think I’d have my little macaron business, but life proved me wrong, and now I can’t imagine doing anything else. Nowadays, my kids pray for disaster to strike so they can have macarons!
“I feel blessed to be doing what I love.”
Claire Keane, Second Street Bakeshop
Claire Keane, 47, founded Second Street Bakeshop in 2021 specialising in chocolate covered toffee brittle. She established the business on returning to Cork from San Francisco, where she ran a successful enterprise for many years.
“I started Second Street Bakeshop making care packages with cookies, candies and caramels, and shipping to my cousins for their birthdays. They all liked one treat in particular, the toffee brittle. I stopped in my tracks and realised I was on to something - the seed for the business was planted.
“I went back to California to learn the brittle business from my good friend Christine Doerr at NeoCocoa Confections, came back to Cork, and went about setting up Second Street Bakehouse at the end of the summer.
“My love of making confections started at the age of six when the first book I picked out from a bookstore was a candy making cookbook for kids. I made every recipe in that book, from fudge to butterscotch to brownies, but I always came back to something with caramel or toffee.
“Years later, attending Mount Mercy College, I sold caramel squares to my classmates in fifth year to save a bit of money for airfare to the U.S to visit my sister. I emigrated there in 1999 to pursue a career in environmental consulting and fell back on my love of confections, starting a cookie company called Clairesquares, selling the same caramel squares to the Americans!
“I love what I do because I get to make candy and play around in the kitchen with sugar and chocolate! This year, I’ll be at the Cork Summer Show, and launching into retail late April.”
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