What started as a new mum baking South American-inspired cakes at home, as a form of therapy, has transitioned into two successful hospo outlets for a Queenstown-based Chilean couple.
Fernanda Berroeta initially baked cakes and desserts for her friends just as a hobby.
‘‘Our home was absolutely covered in baking materials, cake trays and ingredients, as well as our domestic oven working overtime round the clock,’’ her hubby, Enrique Ortiz, says.
The couple, who’re from the same suburb in Santiago, but only met, then married, in Queenstown, then successfully started selling their Latin cakes and other sweet treats at the Queenstown and Remarkables Park markets.
Ortiz says he noticed coffee stalls requesting to be next to them, ‘‘so we were like, ‘oh, why don’t we sell both?’’’
Last July, they set up their ‘sweet coffee trailer’, which operates from Frank’s Corner.
A month later, they bought the established Smokorun coffee container, by Frankton’s PlaceMakers, which they now use as their main kitchen for both venues, and now employ two full-timers and a part-timer.
‘‘We are extremely grateful to the Queenstown community for helping us stay afloat and keeping our business thriving,’’ they say.
‘‘Besides all the obstacles we had in our journey like residency, rent, tourism, finding staff, we feel this town is full of opportunities if you
work hard.’’
