S3-03. Crème & Croissant - Serena Obadia

In this episode of A Table in the Corner, I talk to Serena Obadia, who runs Crème & Croissant with her business partner Fabienne Houcher. Based in Cape Town, Crème & Croissant is not a bakery but a baking school specialising in French bread and patisserie, adapted to South African ingredients and conditions.

Serena explains how the two friends arrived in Cape Town, first opening a bakery called 'Oh Lala!' before learning some hard lessons about the local market, customer preferences and the realities of running a food business. Those experiences led them to change direction and establish a school where they could concentrate on what they know best: teaching the techniques and science behind French baking.

We discuss the importance of passing skills on, from public classes for home bakers to training and up-skilling professional kitchen teams. Serena talks about the challenges of working with bread, the influence of temperature, humidity and altitude, and the decision to use local South African ingredients rather than rely on imports. She also explains why she wants young South African chefs to recognise the quality of what is grown and produced here.

There is a frank conversation about the realities of opening a bakery, the difference between social media's romantic picture of the business and the demands of the work, and why a successful bakery needs to understand its customers rather than simply chase the latest trend. We finish with Serena's thoughts on confidence, failure and why learning to understand what went wrong is as important as getting the croissant right.

• www.rwm2012.com
• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
• Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay