{"id":1706,"date":"2013-04-07T14:34:00","date_gmt":"2013-04-07T14:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/disnaija.com\/nigerian-newspapers\/i-dont-like-a-lot-of-bling\/"},"modified":"2013-04-07T14:34:00","modified_gmt":"2013-04-07T14:34:00","slug":"i-dont-like-a-lot-of-bling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disnaija.com\/i-dont-like-a-lot-of-bling\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I don\u2019t like a lot of bling\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Siku Adewuyi runs Cakes and Candy, a confectionary. In this interview she tells how she abandoned a thriving accounting career to take up baking<\/p>\n

How did Cakes and Candy start?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

I am an accountant by profession but a confectioner by calling. I am married with three children. I studied accounting and I became a chartered accountant. At a point, I realised I was not getting satisfaction from my job.\u00a0 Baking has always been a hobby, so I decided to just get satisfaction on the side. In 1996, I decided that I had had enough of accounting, so I resigned from my job and decided to go into full-time baking. It has been an interesting journey so far.<\/p>\n

If you have the passion for baking why did you read accounting?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

When I was growing up, we were not too liberal-minded.\u00a0 Then, you either had to be an engineer, a doctor, or lawyer, for you to be considered to be doing anything worthwhile. So, initially when I went to school, I wanted to be a doctor but by the time I got to form three, I realised that chemistry and physics were not easy.\u00a0 Since I was good in Maths, I decided to become an accountant.\u00a0\u00a0 Fortunately, my mother was working in an accounting firm at the time, so she had connections in the industry already. Immediately after my A\u2019 levels, I decided to take up employment as an article clerk.\u00a0 But I was baking on the side as a hobby; doing it for friends and family members. I became increasingly passionate about it and by the time I had spent 11 years post qualification, I decided to go into baking full-time.\u00a0 It was a point of trepidation for me because I was earning good money from my job and I was wondering exactly how much I was going to make from baking.<\/p>\n

Compared to a blue-collar job, what are the financial gains?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Initially, there were no financial gains because it was a business I was just starting from the scratch. Having been in the business for quite a while now, I must say it is financially rewarding. I may not be able to say categorically if I am earning more or less than my counterparts in the accounting industry but I am earning enough and I am happy.<\/p>\n

Q: So, what you do now is more lucrative?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

A: Well, it may be a bit difficult to tell because when I left my blue-collar job, I was a full manager. There were many managers and obviously, there is a limit you can get to. So, I really cannot say where I would have been today. Maybe I would have left the job for another. Perhaps, I would have been in a bank. However,\u00a0\u00a0 it is not all about money because what I have gained in baking cannot even be quantified in terms of money. For instance, being on my own has given me the luxury of time and I have the opportunity to raise my family.\u00a0\u00a0 I can be in my children\u2019s school for every Open Day, Parents Teachers Association meetings, regardless of how many times they want us to be there. I think that is something every woman wants, which sometimes you cannot afford if you are in paid employment. Now, I look back and I thank God that I was there for them when they were still young.<\/p>\n

Children want to know that they have the support of their parents.\u00a0 Apart from the fact that they have paid the school fees, it is the pride of every child to have the mother or father show up when they have a concert in school. I remember that during my A\u2019 levels, I was 17 years old and was in a boarding house. There was one Sunday my parents did not show up as other parents did and I was disappointed.\u00a0 If I felt bad at that age because my parents did not show up on a visiting day, then imagine younger children, whose parents fail to show up. I believe that a parent should try as much as possible to show up on such days because it makes a lot of difference to the child. Even children who get scolded for not doing well in school still feel happy to see their parents on visiting days. It builds up a child\u2019s self-esteem and he can look up and say, \u2018yes, those are my mum and dad.\u2019<\/p>\n

More people are cutting down on their sugar intake. As a baker, how do you manage this?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

We try to make our products as healthy as possible, but a cake is still going to be a cake, \u2018there is still going to be a certain amount of sugar, butter and flour inside. For people who was really watching their weight, they should not eat cake on a regular basis, everything should be done in moderation. For people who are obese, even though I want to sell my cakes, I would not advise that they should buy every day. But we try and look for alternatives which include fruits and vegetables in our quest to cut down on sugar.<\/p>\n

What is style to you?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

I am a simple person, once I have a pair of jeans and a top, I am good to go. I will not describe myself as someone who is extremely fashionable. I love things that promote the African culture. I want everything to be African, which was my reason for writing a book on African cake designs. There are no books on African cake designs. All the books we have are on foreign designs.<\/p>\n

What is the highest amount you would pay for a fashion item?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

I would not put a price on it because sometimes, you have very simple things that could be expensive. It is not a matter of the money; it is what it looks like. It could be cheap and very loud and I will not go for it. On the other hand, it could be expensive and very simple and I will go for it. I don\u2019t like a lot of bling where fashion is concerned.<\/p>\n

How do you juggle your business and home?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

I have three children and they are all grown up. I have twin boys and a girl. The twins will be 21 years this month and my daughter should be 20 in July.<\/p>\n

How old are you?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Well, I celebrated my 50th birthday last year.<\/p>\n

Where are you from?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

I am from Abeokuta, Ogun State but I was born in England and I stayed there till I was nine before we came to Nigeria. I am married to an Egba <\/i>man.<\/p>\n

\u00a0How did you meet?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

He was my best friend\u2019s brother but when my best friend and I were in school, I never met him due to the strict upbringing we had which imposed curfews on us. One could only go from the house to school and back again. You were not expected to stop anywhere on your way to school.\u00a0 I never had the opportunity of meeting her brother until when she was about to get married; I met him during the wedding preparations.<\/p>\n

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Posted in Nigerian Newspapers. <\/a>A DisNaija.Com<\/a> network.<\/p>\n

Source: Punch Newspaper<\/p>\n

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