“Where's my cake? Where is my cake?” little Jake yells when he arrives home from daycare. He runs into the kitchen. Today he turns four years old and he knows what his mother is best at: baking cakes. Even the presents don't distract him. Jake first wants to blow out the candles.
“I actually started baking by accident,” says Erika as she cuts a piece of cake for me. “I studied tourism and catering, but we didn't get a lot of cooking classes. I didn't know I liked baking. My mother was my inspiration. She also baked and spent her life in the kitchen. That is common in Hungary. Food comes with every occasion. It's never enough – you always get another serving.”
“I wanted to get rid of my first job in online marketing. And by that time, also of my boyfriend. So I decided to come to the Netherlands to work as an au pair. I ended up in a family with three boys. That was seven years ago and it has been the best choice of my life.”
“I met my husband Sam online. He is a musician and lived in Leiden. We moved in together fairly quickly. A year later we were married and another year later we had Jake. It went pretty fast, but it all feels very good. We are happy here, although the house is getting a bit small now,” referring to their second son, Otis.
“Sam also works for PostNL and in those days I did as well. I think I worked there for two or three years. I enjoyed walking through this beautiful city. I loved that feeling of freedom. People were always nice to me. But the weather, huh?” she laughs. “That didn’t always work out and skipping a day was not an option.”
“I had some time on my hands so I started baking cakes. First one for us. Then for the neighbours. Then for my first customer that found me through friends. That's how it slowly took off. Everyone was enthusiastic and I got more and more customers. Things are going well, but I don't have time for it right now. Otis is just four months old. I'm busy with him. So, for the time being I am taking very few orders.”
The cake tastes delicious. When he's finished eating his piece, I give Jake a small present as well. He is beaming. I had guessed correctly – all other gifts are also related to cars.
Also see insta @floury.hands