How I Made It: pastry chef
Welcome back to How I Made It, Metro.co.uk’s weekly career journey series.
This week we’re chatting with a baker of all things sweet, Katarina Janakova, 42, who is a pastry chef working at Paris Baguette in West London.
She’s been working in the industry for nearly two decades, and only found a love of patisserie after relocating to London from her hometown in Slovakia.
It was a somewhat dramatic career change for Katarina, who’d previously worked as a nanny.
Now, she can’t imagine doing anything else – here’s how she made it happen.
Hey Katarina. How did you get into baking?
I first got into baking when I moved to London around 17 years ago. My first job here was in a restaurant, working with pastry.
I’ve visited a number of European cities in the past and worked in child care as a nanny in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, but London was incredible in terms of food.
I had a passion for food for many years. Growing up I had always been passionate about art, decoration and design and managed to find an outlet for this in a career within the pastry section in the restaurant.
What is it about the food scene in London specifically that you love?
There is so much inspiration, all you have to do is open your eyes and it’s there. Most of the time it is hard to decide what to eat or try as there are so many options.
There are lots of new restaurants opening each year and I find that quite inspiring, there is never a dull moment in the London food scene and particularly pastry and in the last few years, lots of local or independent bakeries have come out that you can discover in every neighbourhood.
I feel there is always more to see or learn in this city as there is such a mix of cultures, food, and people that there’s always new and unexpected things happening, whether that is in the world of food or elsewhere, it is always exciting.
Have you always loved pastry?
Yes, I have loved pastry ever since I started working with it. I find it to really provides me with a creative outlet and fits perfectly with my passion for art and design.
There is a real artistic side to pastry, as well as of course the science of getting the recipe right.
When did you think you’d be able to make it into a career?
Once I discovered I was really passionate about patisserie, I knew I then had the drive to make it work.Being quite good at making it also helped.
How did you go about it? What training did you do?
I built up all of my experience by working in hospitality in lots of different places. As a pastry chef you never stop learning.
So when I joined Paris Baguette I got to learn the recipes and baking techniques for their signature three-layer cakes, bespoke baguette sandwiches, French-inspired pastries, and artisan bread.
The hardest skill to learn? I would say icing cakes – with very delicate icing.
Was it hard to find full time work, given it’s such a niche role?
No, not if you’re passionate about it and it’s a job you like.
Paris Baguette also offers training for novice pastry chefs so if you’re looking to get in to baking, it’s a great place to start.
An average day in the working life of Katarina Janakova
6.30am: The day starts early, by baking all the chougettes and fruit tarts ready before the store opens. I then work on setting up all the fresh patisserie products and slices of cakes on display.
9am: It’s time for decorating whole cakes which is my favourite part, including getting any special orders ready for our customers.
11am: Time for production. Every day is different, it depends on what need to be done, I could also be training people if someone new has joined the team.
3pm: Orders will begin to be checked and placed for next day.
What’s your best beginner pastry tip?
The best thing for this is practice, patience, and perseverance. We spend a lot of time practising icing on fake/dummy cakes before we are let loose on the real thing.
Always pay close attention to the recipe as a little over or under on the ingredients can make a huge difference to the result.
What do you love most about your job?
I love icing and decorating the cakes the most, over baking them.
What do you dislike the most?
My least favourite part is having to go into the walk-in freezer on cold days!
How I Made It
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