By Narelle Coulter
In the lead up to Christmas Vanessa Behrtel will bake 45 ginger bread houses and make and decorate hundreds of Christmas themed biscuits.
It’s a labour of love for the 24 year old who is a trained chef and self described “foodie“.
Vanessa, 24, owns her own home based business, Clever Cookie.
She says the business started five years ago thanks to demand from family and friends for her decorated cakes and baked goods.
“At that point it wasn’t a business, I just enjoyed decorating cakes and playing with new ideas. It escalated when people outside of family and friends started asking me for cakes. I suddenly thought ’I can make a living out of this’,“ Vanessa explained.
Vanessa was born in the Northern Territory and spent her childhood travelling throughout Australia with her peripatetic parents.
“My parents loved travelling and moving. Growing up I lived in every state.
“Christmas was always interesting because we moved so much there were always new friends to spend it with or family we hadn’t seen in ages because they were too far away.
“Santa always found us. He never go lost,“ she said, laughing.
Vanessa moved to Melbourne at 18, drawn south by the city’s reputation as a vibrant food culture. She now lives in Garfield with her partner.
“For me Christmas is special because I get to make things that I don’t make at any other time of year,“ Vanessa explained.
“I get to play with new ideas and implement new skills I’ve learnt throughout the year to create new things for clients.
“For me it’s great to be able to use all the knowledge I’ve gathered to make special things for people like a ginger bread house that many customers use as the centrepiece of their table. It is lovely to be a special part of their day.“
Each ginger bread house takes Vanessa about an hour to bake and decorate and no two are the same.
According to Wikipedia gingerbread was first baked in Europe at the end of the 11th century, when returning crusaders brought back the custom of spicy bread from the Middle East. Ginger was not only added flavour, it also had properties that helped preserve the bread.
Vanessa uses an old traditional recipe that she has tweaked to make her own.
“ I don’t recall exactly where I got (the recipe), but I have tweaked it, added extra species, to make it unique to me.
“It’s a work in progress. Something like this can take years to perfect.“
When Christmas Day finally comes and she can turn off the oven, Vanessa is looking forward to spending time with family.
“My grandparents host Christmas lunch so they normally score a gingerbread house,“ she said, laughing.
“We don’t have a lot of family traditions, we just like a laid back day together.“
When it comes to festive food, Vanessa nominates a traditional baked ham as one of her favourites.
“I can’t go past a traditional baked ham, which is always amazing and something you only do that at Christmas.“
She hopes to one day turn Clever Cookie into a full time enterprise.
“It is extremely satisfying to look back at how far I’ve come and look at what I’ve made and that people continue to buy what I make.
“I started at the bottom and am building my way up, which is a really good feeling at the end of the day. “
And her advice for home bakers wanting to create something a bit special this Christmas?
“I would say don’t be afraid to ask questions. Ask professionals for advice or seek out YouTube guides and tutorials which are amazing. Look on Facebook, do your research, the information is out there.
“It’s important food people share their knowledge because food is such a communal thing that brings people together.“
