Baker’s panettone a big hit for Christmas

JOHOR BARU: With Christmas just a couple of days away, a local baker and her team are working up to 16 hours a day to meet orders, not least of which is the Italian festive staple panettone.

Baker Kok Yen Yen said they were swamped with orders for the bread-like cake from customers, even including royalty.

“The Tunku Mahkota Johor’s consort, Che’ Puan Besar Khaleeda Bustamam, ordered from us too. Panettone is one of our top sellers during this period,” she said.

The owner of Sugar Pantry here said most of the orders were from around Johor and some from out of state.

The 39-year-old, who worked in a French dessert restaurant in Singapore for seven years, said she first tasted panettone in the island republic and has been promoting it ever since.

“Panettone is a must-have dessert in Italy for Christmas. The main ingredients are yeast and sourdough alongside dried raisins and citrus fruit to make it more flavourful,” she explained.

Christmas, Kok added, is normally a busy time for her as orders don’t stop coming.

“Usually, I’d start receiving orders from customers two weeks before Christmas and I expect orders to continue coming even on Christmas Eve,” she said when met at her bakery studio in Permas Jaya here yesterday.

Kok said she has two assistants to help her complete the orders.

“Normally, we work for about 10 hours a day but because Christmas is getting nearer and orders continue to come in, we will be working 16 hours each day,” she said.