It all started one day with taking cheesecakes to nursing lectures to stay focused. My dear friend Sylvia decided to make her own and from there baking became her forté!
I have known Sylvia Fobi for over 10 years. We met in high school. She had just moved from Ghana to Australia, was two grades above me and I had just started grade 7. We somehow became good friends and have been ever since.
Early on in our friendship, I knew that Sylvia was very talented, I used to tell my Mum all the time that there was just something about her. She could braid girls’ hair during the lunch and recess breaks. In her schoolbag, would find a sketchbook full of amazing sketches and on occasions I would see her walking proudly around school in her hospitality uniform. I could tell that she liked creating things, but on the occasions where I saw her rocking her hospitality uniform and showing off what she had just made in cooking class, I knew that cooking was her thing! I thought she would pursue you straighter high school, but instead she studied Nursing. Over a year ago she created an album on Facebook titled ‘My Kitchen Rules’ with photos of dishes she made. When she started I thought this girl must be bored out of her mind! I thought she would quickly get over the novelty of cooking since she works full time as a nurse is probably going through a cooking phase like everyone else seems to be with Masterchef and My Kitchen Rules on Australian TV. She originally started with dinner dishes and desserts and when she started making cakes, she had me licking my lips trying to virtually capture the taste of her cakes. From then, I knew that this wasn’t a novelty, this was Sylvia doing her thing just like in High School!
A few months ago I went to her house and she just happened to have a cake she had prepared and also cupcakes. I asked what’s the occasion. Her response was basically ‘This is what I do. I bake!’. She’s now turn her philosophy into a new business titled L’Afrique Gateau. The name is inspired by her love of French desserts (gateau) and her African culture. I am not a big cake fan, but J’Adore L’Afrique Gateau. (Last week I pigged out on a few pieces at a baby shower. I wanted to take the remainder home, but I didn’t want to look impolite!) If you need a cake for a special occasion, check out more of Sylvia’s creations at L’Afrqiue Gateau on Facebook. If the images below are not enough to drool over, there are plenty more on L’Afrqiue Gateau‘s Facebook page as well!
SOURCE: L’AFRIQUE GATEAU