After years of hard work, Fiona Calleja has turned her passion for cakes into a thriving business. 77990 Picture: JOE MASTROIANNI
By NATALIE GALLENTI
FIONA Calleja creates masterpieces with fondant and flour every day.
The Hillside resident has turned her passion for all things sweet into a thriving family-run business.
So popular are her unique creations that she is booked up until May.
And the founder of Fiona’s Cakes couldn’t be happier.
“I wouldn’t want to do anything else,” Ms Calleja said.
“I feel very lucky that I can do something I love and I will always be able to do it because I work from home.”
The 29-year-old first realised she wanted to work in the hospitality industry as a teenager and after years of working for various companies finally branched out and began her own business, making cakes for various occasions including weddings, engagements, christenings and birthdays.
Ms Calleja said the business had simply grown from word of mouth and happy clientele who were more than willing to post photos of her creations on social networking sites.
The pastry chef said her works of art often take hours or even days to create, but it is always an “awesome” experience.
“Cupcakes are still popular. But now a lot of people want barrel cakes and crooked cakes. There is always something different.”
She admitted to feeling the pressure when designing a wedding cake, which would most likely be viewed by hundreds of people.
“There is a lot of pressure. The cake is often the centrepiece of a function.”
Never did she feel more anxious than when she made her own wedding cake last year. The cake took two weeks of blood, sweat and tears, but for the bride it was all worth it.
As for her favourite flavour, Ms Calleja can’t go past chocolate jaffa, however the recent invention of a peppermint cake has proved popular with clients.
