"Taiwan's Station in the UK" (Episode 4)

"Taiwan's Station in the UK" (Episode 4)

To start my business, I had to obtain a British health certificate, pass a five-star kitchen inspection, and so on. Even though I was over 40 and my memory was failing, I still diligently memorized the professional English terminology. Compared to the hard work of building distribution channels, all that studying English wasn't as arduous as the initial effort of establishing those channels. Sometimes, to earn just five pounds, I would deliver goods by bicycle in the cold winter, selling at cost price without pay and having to deal with customers' attitudes. All of this was part of the learning process.

In the first few years of selling pineapple cakes, the process was very tough. In the early stages, I don't know how many quilts I soaked with tears. Although there were hardships and joys, everything became the most practical value.

In the beginning, to increase the visibility of "Cambridge Bakery," I specifically took my eldest son to the Taiwan Food Festival in London. However, making such a large quantity of handmade pineapple cakes was simply too much for me to handle alone, and I didn't have enough profit to hire more people. I am truly grateful to my group of friends who always volunteered to help me pack the pineapple cakes when I needed them most, but I felt really bad about troubling them every time. One year, the food festival was just a few days away, but there were still so many pineapple cakes, almond tiles, and jujube and walnut cakes that hadn't been packed yet. Even an octopus with eight arms couldn't finish packing them all. Just when I was worried, one of my friends gathered five or six friends and they all came to my house and packed everything up in no time. Besides being volunteers, they also acted as customers to support my pineapple cake business. This kindness is something I will never forget!

Once, I went to London to attend the Lunar New Year Taiwanese Food Festival. Because I misjudged the crowds, I ended up with two or three hundred pineapple cakes that I couldn't sell. The huge frustration almost made me give up. I am very grateful to a group of friends who came to support me. A friend who owns a Chinese restaurant not only provided me with a place to consign the cakes for free, but also helped to promote the pineapple cakes as a Valentine's Day dessert. At the same time, through my friend's introduction, I added two more consignment selling points, which greatly increased the visibility of the pineapple cakes.

A lovely customer proactively recommended my pineapple cake gift set to her company, Fendi, to give to their VIP guests in China. This is a great affirmation of the quality of my products. She even used my pineapple cakes as a thank-you gift for her wedding. Thank you! I am truly grateful for your great recognition of "Kangqiao Bakery".

Cambridge Bakery is just a small, handmade workshop, not a large company, and it doesn't have a huge budget for advertising. It relies entirely on referrals from existing customers to run the bakery. We are grateful to our enthusiastic customers who take beautiful photos of our pastries and share their tasting experiences on WeChat and Facebook. In the internet age, our pastries have achieved remarkable success. It is through this way that we promote traditional Taiwanese pastries in the UK, allowing more people to learn about Chinese food culture through food.

Chinese pastries represent the warmth of life. With passion for food and longing for home, we warm the hearts of those far from home with delicious food, make friends through food, and warm our own hearts. In the process of making pastries, we insist on using natural ingredients such as eggs and dairy products to make the best quality pastries, which is the right direction.

I'm very lucky to be able to find something I love and do it wholeheartedly.

People who eat desserts are happy 💕 So people who can make desserts are the ones who create happiness 😊

Stay tuned for episode 5!