With her cake shop, FR Bakes, young and ambitious Fiqa Razak hopes to achieve great success. Fiqa, who has faced and continues to face numerous challenges, does not know when to give up in her pursuit of achievement.
A baker’s road to success
As Fiqa Razak pursues her career as a baker, she has several obstacles to overcome. From day one of deciding to be a full-time baker, picking herself up after falling taught the 26-year-old countless life lessons. Despite the obstacles in her path, Fiqa remains devoted to the art of baking.
It all started with a childhood fascination with the desserts her mother baked.
“She would make kek lapis, cookies, and other treats. I would assist her with her chores while she bakes.”
Later, Fiqa created a no-bake cookie and cream cake as her very first cake. Excited by the process and the outcome, the young baker had wanted to follow the art after finishing secondary school. However, her desire to be a baker was dashed when her parents suggested she follow a more academic route.
“I studied Office Management at a local university. However, I withdrew during semester four in 2016 because I realised this was not the path I intended to take,” Fiqa said, adding that by doing so, she had gone through a lot of problems with her parents.
Nonetheless, Fiqa enrolled in a pastry school in Kuala Lumpur the next year, driven by her desire to pursue a career in baking. Her time in the school has enhanced her baking talent as she learns to make foods that she enjoys.
“People often say that baking will not get you very far in life. I don’t think it works like that. It all comes down to how you do things and how committed you are.”
With the same burning passion, Fiqa established FR Bakes in 2018. She had also opened a cake house in Semariang Square, Kuching. Fiqa experienced both opportunities and challenges as a result of this establishment.
FR Bakes
Fiqa opened the door to new experiences by starting the business. To her, it resembles a gamble that she has chosen not to overthink.
“I started with the mindset of ‘If it works, it works’. However, if the plan does not go as planned, I will view it as a learning experience.”
Her first FR Bakes product was no-bake oreo bars. Her latest best-sellers are the Fudgy Batek bars, which come in flavours like Horlicks, Milo, matcha, and caramel latte. She also sells brownies, cakes and cookies. Fiqa initially worked from home, selling to friends and family. However, as word of mouth spread, her business flourished even further.
“I made progress gradually. I began baking for events and participating in various booths,” Fiqa said, adding that she was getting more excited as she continued to receive more orders.
“When I first started, I didn’t feel much pressure. But when things get serious, I feel under pressure to give my all.”
Fiqa, a baking perfectionist, admitted to overworking herself on the quest for perfection.
“I learned to improve myself by baking regularly with each customer’s order that I took.”
Aside from that, Fiqa mentioned that she suffers from performance anxiety since she feels obligated to satisfy the expectations of her customers.
“When I bake and see a slight difference, I become easily worried. I’d be dissatisfied until I redo it. It is bad for my mind, therefore I try to relax.”
Other difficulties she encounters when baking are unpredictable.
“Anything can happen at any time because baking is all about trial and error. Sometimes the cakes don’t rise because I overbeat the eggs. When cooking pavlova, there are occasions when the eggs are not fresh, and it can stink.”
Nonetheless, Fiqa learned to be cautious.
Fiqa revealed that the longest she ever stood to bake while fulfilling her customers’ requests was 18 hours.
“This usually occurs when there are a large number of orders or when I need to set up a booth in a mall.”
Furthermore, the cheerful lass said that medicated plaster (koyok) is her greatest friend all the time because it helps reduce the soreness she experiences from standing up.
“Despite being in my mid-20s, I have a lot of medicated plaster in my room. I also have some oil and balm to aid with my back pain.”
Despite the challenges she encounters, Fiqa realises that baking is about having fun and that it has become a therapeutic hobby for her.
“The more I bake, the more new and interesting ideas I get. Ideas can strike me at any time, anywhere.”
If she ever comes up with new recipes, she just pulls out her notebook and scribbles them down for future reference.
Always looking for an upgrade
In life, there should be an upgrade from where we were previously. Although FR Bakes is doing well, Fiqa believes that growth is necessary.
“I’d like to gain more baking knowledge to improve my baking skills and to learn new techniques.”
The ambitious baker also aims to sell her baked goods on Shopee, an online shopping platform.
“I’m also considering selling my cakes through agents,” she said.
FR Bakes has expanded over the course of four years. Growing also meant that more commitment was required.
“I can no longer play around with my business. With a cakery and staff working for me, I realise I have to take it seriously and devote more time to it.”
Fiqa is continuously looking for new ideas to share and expand with her FR Bakes crew.
“With my team, we’ll explore new ideas, what to bake, and how to do it.”
And once manifested, these ideas would be displayed on her bake store’s Instagram account, @frbakes.
Despite the difficulties, the baker perseveres. Quoting a lesson she had learned:
“In everything we do, we must grow forward. Dream big may sound cliche, but this is what I believe. The more you believe in yourself, the more you can accomplish anything in life. You only live once, so go for it!”
FR Bakes is now an Instagram bake store as well as a small business cakery. Who knows where it will go tomorrow as Fiqa decides her next step?
