Admittedly, I came in later than usual today, I think it was almost 9:00 am.  I did work 13 hours yesterday, open to close, and then had to go home and start the stop's laundry (aprons and rags).  I did so much paperwork and ordering yesterday that I thought for sure I'd be prepping and baking all day today.  I never got started until 3:30 this afternoon.  Talking to customers, answering the phone, reviewing orders with the baker, talking to a distributor.  I don't know what else!  Now it's almost 5:00 and I'm not where I'd hoped to be by now.

I'm in the middle of a(n annoying) recipe and find that I'm out of chopped walnuts.  I wash the Cuisinart to chop some before I remember that we're OUT, completely, because Costco was out when we shopped.  So now I'm faced with an emergency trip to the grocery store, and I already made one of those today so I don't want to go again.  That's why I'm writing!  Productive, huh?

I haven't written in over a week, and you missed a crazy week!  Last week we (my bakers) put out an amazing array of custom cakes, including a ski boat groom's cake (a surprise from the bride and mother of the groom), a three-tiered wedding cake, a two-tiered baby shower cake, a book club cake, a good-bye to Spanish teachers cake and 28 mini two-tiered wedding style cakes for a 25th anniversary party.  So amazing to watch it all happen despite the stress and pressure on all of us, especially my very talented two bakers.  But the results, AH, so worth it! 

I love to help plan the cake for a party.  It's a privilege really to be a part of the planning process, to help the customer decide on the perfect cake (or cupcakes or combination of both) that fits the occasion.  And then afterward to hear all about how the cake was received.  Playing with food and making people happy, what can anyone say?  except for those times when the customer is NOT happy, which thankfully, has not happened very often in our 4 and a half years. 

My worst moment was two summers ago.  We were asked to prepare a special, LARGE tiered cake during the time we'd be on vacation.  We tried to say no, the first-time customer insisted.  That should have been our first clue we were doomed.  Thanks to a series of miscommunications, the cake had to be RE-baked the day of the party.  Now usually a cake is served at the END of a party, right?  I thought no problem, I'll call the customer and see what time they really need the cake on the premises.  THIS cake was to be served FIRST.  It was to be the centerpiece of the party, a surprise for the recently married couple. 

The cake was finally finished, GORGEOUS, and loaded into our car.  The delivery was at the TOP of a hill.  As we crawled up the hill, I kept turning back to look at the cake.  About two-thirds of the way there, I looked back and could not see the cake.  It had collapsed on itself into one corner of the box.  Now I had to face the customer and tell them what had happened.  It was not pretty.  The customer was not in the least understanding (not that I expected him to be).  He was in fact a bit condescending which added insult to injury.  What can I say, it was one of those moments you wish the earth would open up and swallow you.

Thankfully, we learned a lot that day and no way, NO WAY will we put ourselves in THAT situation again.  Custom cakes are now completed one day ahead of pickup or delivery so that if anything should go wrong, we have time to remake the cake.

Well, I've procrastinated enough, it's only getting later, I'd better face another run to the store so I can finish at least one more recipe before the day is done.

See you next time at BaklaJava!

Betsy :) XOXOXOXOXO

I didn't write yesterday, a very full day.  In conclusion of the freezer saga, the freezer was completely defrosted, then we had to rebake things that didn't make it through the episode.  As of the end of yesterday I have already worked 46 hours this week, not including Sunday, which was supposed to be my day off.  I don't say this to complain, but to let cafe dreamers know that that's what it's going to take.  You are going to have to LOVE it to do it. 

To recap yesterday, I came in at 5:45 am to bake for opening, opened at 6 am, worked the upstairs alone waiting for backup to come, supposedly between 8 and 8:30.  My baker had to come help me a few times (busy is good!).  No backup by 8:40, so we call her.  She has a different memory of when she's due to come in.  So I work alone until she gets here, around 9:45.  I know she's going to have an attitude, so as boss, I have a choice.  I can add to her attitude or I can take a different tack.  I'm in a good enough mood for both of us, luckily.  We avoid creating a very bad day for all, including customers, by my choosing not to add fuel to a fire.  It's not easy, but that's a skill a boss has to learn and use for the benefit of the business.

So why am I in a good mood considering the tough week??  Because I have had the foresight to schedule a mini-getaway for the coming weekend.  I could tell by last Saturday that if I didn't get away, I would never make it through our high season which runs through July 4th. I will go away Sat through Tues to visit a good friend and PLAY for two whole days.  When you're working these kind of hours, even the flight time is like a vacation.  I will likely sleep through the short flight and be ready for fun when I arrive.  It's important to take care of yourself, and getting out of town once in awhile is as important as getting a good night's sleep.  One thing I can say is that I don't have a problem taking care of myself.  No guilt or second thoughts!

So today I'm ready for the last push, getting all details pinned down (schedule, banking, paperwork, ordering) so I can comfortably be away from the shop.  Then get home to pack and get myself ready.  In between I will do my usual Friday baking plus a few extra staples and deliver a tiered bridal shower cake an hour away.  It will be done!

So says Betsy at BaklaJava!

Hello on Wednesday. 

The freezer is still not working right.  The temperature had been going back to normal yesterday, but now it's rising again.  The repairman tells me to push the manual defrost.  First I need to buy a flashlight so I can see the button.  It doesn't work.  The repairman tells me the freezer is frozen solid for some reason he will figure out when he comes tomorrow morning.  I must empty out and turned off the freezer and leave it with the door open overnight to completely defrost.  The freezer is filled with cakes for upcoming cake orders; baklava, biscuits, scones, cinnamon buns and cookies prepped and ready to be baked; cupcakes ready to be decorated, and various other surprises I discover as I empty it, including a beautiful batch of galactoboureko (Greek custard pastries). 

We have a backup freezer in the store room which, among other things, currently holds a rather large cake that will be picked up at the end of the day that must be frozen solid to travel.  I can't move that cake out to make room for other items until then.  The cakes being moved from the big non-working freezer are too soft to stack.  We start baking things that have defrosted and can't be refrozen (including the Greek custard pastry).  What else can you do?

Meanwhile, the phone is ringing off the hook (a good thing!).  I am emailing back and forth with a bride and a mother-of-the-bride about a possible groom's cake.  Looking at pictures, designing size, costing out, negotiating price.  We love making sculpted cakes and want them to be affordable enough yet not lose money on them.  We hope the cake will be a go despite the fact that we already have several large orders for that same weekend.  Take orders, then figure out how to complete them, that's our motto!

I have to find out when a cake for this weekend must be delivered where and how long it's going to take to get there.  I haven't charged enough for the 55-minute one-way trip.  While I'm not paying attention, a baker is cutting and baking cutout cookies but not using the cutters we need for an upcoming order.  That means tomorrow we have to make another batch.

One of yesterday's visiting out-of-town customers left behind one box of cookies that now must be shipped.  Except that some of the cookies will have to be rebaked because otherwise they won't be fresh enough by the time they get there. 

A repeat customer calls to order a cake, and clearly I should know who she is.  I recognize her name but cannot conjure up her face.  She wants to order another cake just like the last one we made.  Of course I can't remember what that was either.  I so value very customer and want them to know that.  But my failing is that I am TERRIBLE with remembering names and faces.  My brain is seemingly incapable of discerning one medium tall blonde woman about my age from another.  [After 4 years I still mix up the same two women who to my brain are indistinguishable.  Not a good characteristic for a business owner.]

I get out twice:  once to drive to the bank drive-thru and once to walk to the post office to ship the aforesaid box of cookies.  It is nice to breathe fresh air for a few minutes.  I notice that it feels more like fall than spring outside.  Back downstairs in the kitchen I try to figure out where the whole day went and what did I accomplish?

I draft a new worksheet for keeping track of cake layers we need baked since it's getting confusing and last Saturday we wound up short one 9-inch vanilla layer.  I wonder if every business is a continual work in progress or it's just us?

Tomorrow will be another day . . .and I'm the opener, so I'll be back here in less than 12 hours. 

See you then,

Betsy at BaklaJava!

A couple of phrases come to mind when you're talking about owning and operating your own shop.  One is "It's always something."  This morning it's the freezer isn't cold enough.  I got that call at 8:15 am on my only (supposed) day off, Sunday.  I saw supposed because I was also here last Sunday because it was Mother's Day and I knew the team would need backup. 

So to all of you who hope and dream to have your own place someday, be forewarned, IT'S ALWAYS SOMETHING.  I do try to take these things in stride, but it is hard to avoid the stress of handling situations, the worry about the cost, and the annoyance of getting whatever "IT" is resolved.

Notice it's Sunday when the problem arises.  Rarely do problems arise mid-day on Tuesday, when you can actually reach a repairman.  No, equipment breakdowns tend to occur between 5:00 pm on Friday and noon on Sunday.  Put that into your notebook for future reference.  That falls under Murphy's law.

I will now leave the shop after finding an hour and half's worth of work to do without even trying, knowing that I will not get a call back today.  I will try to put this out of my mind and resume the stress, worry and annoyance tomorrow morning when I open the shop.  Hopefully the food in the freezer will remain cold enough until then that I won't have yet another situation to resolve, that of ruined food items that need to be remade.  Oh, and despite all of othe above, I will KEEP SMILING!

Yours truly,

Betsy at BaklaJava :) XO 

It's cake season and such fun!  I just spent half an hour talking to the mother of the bride planning the 3-tiered cake for her daughter's bridal shower.  This is my favorite part of the job, hearing all about the party plans, the bride's colors, what she loves and doesn't like, and planning the perfect cake.  Every bride is so unique and it's fun to come up with the perfect combination of style, color, flavors and design for each cake.  This mom said "this party is all about the cake" -- music to my ears!  We will incorporate the bride's colors of soft yellow and silvery blue with touches of orange and lavendar into her cake with a "star" theme.  Next week I'll post pics of the cake.

In the it's always something department, something is on the lens of my camera and all the pictures I took yesterday are foggy.  UGH.  Wanted to show you the gorgeous cakes that are going out of here this weekend but that will have to wait until my husband can take a look at the camera.  My biggest frustration is that it's a beautiful day, clear blue sky, perfect temperatures, and I have to work.  Such is life of the owner/operator, something people who dream about owning their own place need to think about.  You can't always just leave.  In fact you usually can't ------

So I'm off to bake what I have to bake in the hopes that I can leave here in time to enjoy at least some of this day.  Thanks for reading,

Betsy at BaklaJava!

I was just scooping out cookies and thinking, I really do love my job.  But it sure is hard to make money at this job that I love.  So many things to think about.  Are the product costs in line?  Labor is hard to control.  I don't take a paycheck but I want to.  My team members work so hard for so little money. But here I am getting specific before setting the stage.

I own and operate BaklaJava, a coffee bar/cafe/bakery.  We've been here 4 and a half years on Main Street in the Village of Pawling, NY.  I'd like to share what it's like to own and operate this business so I'll start telling you about it, hopefully every day.  Sometimes I can't share what I WANT to share, like who's driving me crazy, for fear of offending a customer or a team member.  But I'll try to be as honest as I can.

Today is Friday and I started the day exhausted.  I only get one day off, Sunday, right now.  And this past Sunday I came into work because it was Mother's Day, one of our busiest days of the year.  Our hours are 6:30 am to 6 pm weekdays, til 7:30 on Fridays.  I work every day between 10 and 13 hours.  So by Friday, I'm pretty darn tired, yet the week winds up, not down. 

I'm working with Elizabeth, one of my talented bakers in the kitchen.  She has 3 cakes to decorate.  I have two batches of cookies and one batch of muffin mix to make.  I've already stocked the freezer with ready-to-bake (made from scratch) biscuits and scones to get us through the weekend.  In between I'll be answering the phone, taking cake orders, backing up the floor team, and I'll tell you whatever else pops up.  Hope you'll enjoy sharing the ride with me!

I'm Betsy and this is BaklaJava!