A local cake shop in Stellenbosch recently brought trending cake picnics to town, where 100 women each brought a cake in celebration of women’s month. SMF News was in attendance.
The celebration was hosted by Cake Canteen at The Woodmill on 30 August. The only entry fee was a cake.
Cake Canteen, a local cake shop in Stellenbosch, hosted a cake picnic on 30 August. SMF News was in attendance. Cake picnics involve large gatherings where attendees bring a cake to gain entry and receive a box to collect slices from other cakes at the event. This is according to Jandri van Zyl, owner of Cake Canteen. PHOTO: Annemieke Thomaidis
“I am just buzzing,” said Licia van der Westhuizen, one of the attendees who came all the way from Bloubergstrand to attend the event. “All the cakes look so beautiful. It just looks so exciting and bubbly, and you can see everyone’s personalities in every cake.”
‘Really amazing’
For Jandri van Zyl, the owner of Cake Canteen and organiser of the event, it was everything she had hoped for “and more”.
“I’ve been in the industry for 15 years and I’ve tried a lot of initiatives, a lot of things around cake,” said Van Zyl. “But when I posted this, it was really amazing […] immediately RSVPs just came in and it was so amazing.”
The inspiration for the event came from overseas, where cake tables and picnics have become very trendy on social media, according to Van Zyl.
A variety of cakes were brought to the table at The Woodmill on 30 August, ranging from store-bought to home-baked, and cupcakes to three-layered cakes. Jessica Hillier, an attendee, jokingly said that she was expecting “slightly less carnage”, but enjoyed the sense of community evident at the event. PHOTO: Annemieke Thomaidis
Jessica Hillier, an attendee who baked a lemon curd vanilla sponge cake with lemons picked from her own garden, joked that she was expecting “slightly less carnage”, but was “pleasantly surprised” to see that the event also included a panel discussion.
“O, koek” moments
The panel was hosted by Van Zyl and Janke Geldenhuys, her business partner, and included three entrepreneurs and businesswomen: Jenna Short, Christine Meintjies, and Anina Heyns.
The panel kicked off with a discussion of the day’s main theme, ‘O’Koek’ moments, which represent “the trials and tribulations of the business journey, especially [for] women in business”, said Short, owner of Short and Sweet Chocolate.
“O, koek” is an Afrikaans expression meaning “Oh, shucks”. The word koek also means cake.
The panellists at the ‘O’Koek’ Women’s Day event on 30 August. From left to right: Janke Geldenhuys (business partner of Cake Canteen), Jenna Short, Anina Heyns, Jandri van Zyl (owner of Cake Canteen), and Christine Meintjies. PHOTO: Annemieke Thomaidis
Short said that her “o, koek” moment was starting a business without fully knowing what her business idea was and all the work it involved.
Van Zyl’s “o, koek” moment came after personal issues where she had to relook her business model, The Velvet Cake Co., she said. However, this eventually manifested into the idea of Cake Canteen, a marketplace for bakers and cake makers to sell their products, said Van Zyl.
“My mission in life is to uplift the baking industry,” said Van Zyl, adding that this involves encouraging “collaboration over competition” within the baking sphere.
After the success of the day, and looking back at the waiting list for the cake picnic, Van Zyl said that she is confident it will become an annual event.
A local cake shop in Stellenbosch hosted a cake picnic on 30 August in celebration of women’s month, in which the only entry fee was to bring a cake. SMF News was in attendance. VIDEO: Annemieke Thomaidis