A chat with popular cake designer and baker Jose Sinon, owner of ‘CakeBites’ |11 September 2017

‘I believe customer satisfaction is the most important aspect of a business’

What can you share with us about yourself and your background?

My name is Jose Sinon, 45 years old, residing at Ma Constance, which is also where my business is based. I have been married for 16 years and have three children ‒ two boys and one girl. Following my school years of P1 to P9 at English River School, I spent two years at the National Youth Service (NYS). Thereafter, I studied Maths, Economics and Physics for three years (Humanities and Science) at the Seychelles Polytechnic. Following completion of my A-Levels, I was employed by Cable & Wireless as an assistant technician. There I followed a two-year engineering course and spent 15 years in the Engineering department followed by five years in Sales and one year in Marketing.

What are your main interests?

I like art, architecture and working in the kitchen and in fact I always wanted to become an architect. As a teenager, I attended art classes offered at district level and even went on to the Ministry of Education where I learned to draw with famous local artists. I also participated in drawing competitions on the ‘Ekoute e Desinen’ radio programme and won many times. Art has always been a passion of mine but I did not follow through with it. However, I find that my cake business is a joint passion between art and the kitchen.

How did your CakeBites business begin?

One of my first baking experiences was during the NYS school holidays when I used to help my sister bake cakes at home. In 2013, I followed a two-week course where I learned the basics of decorating cakes. I then started making cakes at home and as time went by, some of my friends started ordering from me, so eventually I registered the business with the Small Enterprise Promotion Agency (Senpa). Funnily enough, the business came into full time operation on my birthday and I took the opportunity to bake my own birthday cake. The business really kicked off when a full page article was featured about it in ISOLA BELLA magazine. I started receiving many calls after this and there was a particular interest in the designs of my cakes. It took me a while to come up with a name for the business and after some research, I felt that “it should be about the first bite of the cake” and eventually came up with CakeBites. The tagline for my business is “You’ve tried the rest, now try the best.”

Tell us about the cakes you design and bake.

I make basic sponge in a variety of flavours and fruit cakes but work mainly with ‘sugar paste’ or ‘fondant icing’ for decorative purposes as opposed to the ‘piping’ method with ‘royal icing’ which is the more common way to make cakes. The cakes I make are the products of art, carving and painting requiring special tools which I seek from abroad. This method requires absolute concentration and a lot of patience. On average, it takes me about 5 hours to make one cake and some have even taken up two days. I feel that my training using sugar paste technique is a “blessing in disguise as it works for my own ability as an artist”. Usually, my customers send me their required designs, many of which are from the internet, and I always try to deliver exactly what they want. I allow my customers to choose what they want as opposed to choosing for them. I also try my best to work within their budget. My cakes can at times be perceived as expensive but it is important to remember the technique I employ and the amount of time it takes to make the cakes. In future, I plan to venture into other methods and varieties of cake designing and baking.

My bakery also has a different product line under the brand name of ‘Gato’ which started after I saw imported cakes being sold in various supermarkets in Seychelles. I decided to try and fill this gap in the market and help satisfy the demand for cakes. A fresh cake is much better than one with preservatives. The ‘Gato’ range offers packaged loaf cakes – madeira sponge, fruit or banana and are currently being sold at Hyper Market. I intend to expand this range into other varieties in the future.

I also make vanilla cupcakes which are currently sold at the STC Hyper Market as well and this range is equally successful. The plan is to introduce chocolate flavoured cupcakes and these will all be sold in other outlets in the future.  

What happens on an average work day in your life? 

Every day I start work at 4am and take a break for lunch at 12 noon. I take a nap after this for about an hour, pick up the kids from school and go to the gym. I get home around 6pm and cook dinner then continue to work on the cakes till around 11pm.

What types of occasions do you mainly bake cakes for?

I make cakes for individuals as well as companies for multiple reasons and occasions, for example graduations, birthdays, weddings, baptisms, baby showers and festivities like Christmas. I cover a wide range of designs from flowers to airplanes and boats. Most of my requests are of cartoon characters for children, including Moana, Frozen and Nemo.

Explain to us why the business is successful?

My own personality brings the most success to the business and this includes my emphasis on customer satisfaction. I always try to give my clients a product that I myself would be happy with as I do not expect someone to like something that I don’t. I also ensure that I do not cut corners and always try to meet clients’ expectations. For example, I will not use a cheaper ingredient just to cut my costs - “cutting corners does not bring you success”. Additionally, my presentation has been a key factor in the success of my business, something which I believe is very important. Ultimately, if the clients like something they will come back for more and also spread the word.

What makes you most proud of your business?

When I do a cake, I do not think of the money I will gain from it. Rather, I believe customer satisfaction is the most important aspect of a business. Many cakes are ordered for special and rare occasions like birthdays and weddings so I feel that my customers deserve the best.

Have you encountered any particular challenges?

The design on the cakes is the most challenging part of my work but I actually appreciate a challenge. I tend to be very specific in my details and do not deviate from the design requested by my clients. I feel that this is why my business became popular as clients do not expect such specificity. Such details require a lot of energy, patience and attempts to balance out other aspects of my life.

What do you enjoy most and least about your work?

I enjoy the happiness and joy I see in my clients as well as positive feedback. If you are happy, I am very happy. The part I least enjoy is being alone in my bakery but it needs to be this way so I can concentrate.

Any other plans for the future?

I hope to own a bigger bakery that is separate from my house, but at the same time not too far from home. This will better allow me to cater for my clients’ needs, including requests for dessert cakes. Hopefully I will also be able to open a cake shop in the future.

For further information, contact CakeBites on 251 01 95 / Whatsapp / cakebites@zoho.com or follow Jose Sinon on Facebook and Instagram.