A SINGAPORE PRESS HOLDINGS WEBSITE
by Jaime Ee
The Production Kitchen by Jacqui Co Ask a savvy real estate agent - in the absence of which a random passerby would do - and the view would be that Jacqui Tong could not have picked a worse location to open her bakery business, Jacqui Co. A row of ageing shophouses in Jalan Kayu whose only claim to fame is that Thasevi's pratas have been sold there for decades; perpetual traffic jams from clogged lanes and construction; barely any parking; plus she shares coffeeshop space with a chicken rice stall and a Penang deli. Yet business is so good, she's had to endure marathon baking sessions that end at 3am even as she rejects orders because she simply can't cope with the demand. The 30-something baker who quit her marketing job in March last year to take her love of cake beyond eating it to earning a living off it is one of those rare artisans who can lure food-lusting Singaporeans out to odd corners of the city for stuff they really want to eat. Admittedly, opening a bakery in a coffeeshop in the boondocks (in some people's view) was not her first choice. Ms Tong was originally slated to open a cake shop in her friend's new cafe in Club Street but couldn't meet the opening deadline because of all the permits she had to apply for. While looking for her own space, she came to know some people who had taken over the Jalan Kayu coffeeshop and persuaded her to take up a space there. Next thing she knew, she had carved out a tiny airconditioned space no bigger than some bedrooms, painted it a calming pastel green (her favourite colour) and voila - a cool private space in which she and one baker churn out a plethora of baked confections snapped up by sweet-toothed hordes. If she needs some "me time", she pulls down the shades, turns on her mood lighting and she's comfortably transported into a quiet, grease-free zone away from the coffeeshop realities outside. She reckons she may eventually move to a central location in a more "suitable" environment, but adds that being in Jalan Kayu has its advantages. "My landlords are nice to me," she says. "I can get eggs next door, and if I need carrots for my carrot cake, I can get very fresh ones around here, and good lemons. Plus I live nearby in Serangoon Gardens." Not to mention that "Uncle Tony's chicken rice (in the same coffeeshop) is pretty amazing". Her customers think the same of her cakes - statement-making rainbow cakes, carrot and chocolate cakes, Madagascar vanilla bean cupcakes with salted caramel frosting, and anything else she feels like making, "because I like to eat cakes and sweets - that's why I started baking in the first place!" In fact, the cupcake fan caught the baking bug after her regular trips to New York for her regular fix came to an end. She learnt to make them herself, but not for very long as she didn't have the right equipment then. She picked it up again seriously three years ago. But at the same time, she was working hard in her marketing career, to the point that "I had no life". So she quit last March and in June, enrolled in baking school "because I've never had formal training", opening her bakery last December. For someone who ditched her fast-paced job to go into baking "because I wanted to do things at my own pace", life has gotten faster than she expected. "But it's ok, because this is what I want to do." Whether she will end up rolling in dough as a result of all the publicity and non-stop business, she doesn't know. "I didn't want to do this as a business and I don't even know if I can make it," she says candidly. "It's just a means to an end. I can't bake at home because of the volume, plus it's not legal. But now that I'm here I can have banks making large orders and it's not a problem." Even so, she still has that indie streak in her that makes her refuse to start a website, relying only on a Facebook page which doesn't even give her phone number (except when she makes the occasional posting announcing an extra batch of cakes). "I'm like this secret baker," she quips. But then her phone rings and she's stuck explaining to a customer the logistical difficulties of fresh cream cakes and reeling off the flavours of frosting that she can do instead. After which she hangs up. "See, that's why I don't give out my phone number," she says in mock exasperation. But who is she trying to kid. Jacqui Tong could do with some sleep, but there's no denying she's definitely in her element. The Production Kitchen by Jacqui Co
231 Jalan Kayu
231 Jalan Kayu
Cakes by order only, contact Jacqui Tong through Facebook
