In 2016 Lovin from the Oven, Caryna Camerino’s Bakery won a bronze award for her Chocolate Orange Cheesecake Brownies. You can find out more about her delicious bakery, cafe and cokery classes on www.camerino.ie or find more details on great producers from Dublin and across Ireland in our directory of Irish Food & Drinks award winners & finalists in 2016
When & why did you start your business?
I ended up in a job in Human Resources and when the recession hit my job was basically making people redundant for a living. Awful. I started baking to cope with the stress. As time went on I became more and more stressed and so baking more and more. Eventually, I rented a stall at a local farmer’s market on a Sunday because I had so much cake. Things grew organically from there.
Who is your food inspiration?
Claudia Roden is my food idol. She is graceful, gentle, honest, intelligent and true to her heritage.
What do you love about your job?
I love seeing a product go from raw ingredients, to a delicious cake, to a gorgeous design, to being handed off to a client, and that client then sending a lovely note back to say how much they enjoyed their birthday cake.
What is your typical day?
I start my day with e-mails and paperwork from my home office at around 7am. At around 10am I make my way to our wholesale bakery premises in South Dublin, then to our retail shop on Capel street, Dublin 1 (with lots of errands in between). I try to make it back to the office by 4pm where I will continue to work until around 7pm.
What was your best day since you started this business?
The day I opened our retail shop, Camerino Bakery
Tell us about the people you work with
The team at Camerino bakery is the most friendly people, who genuinely care about exceeding our customer’s expectations. We love celebrating with our customers.
What three words would you use to describe yourself/your business?
Genuine, enthusiastic, quality
What do you think is the key to success?
I think the key to success is constantly exceeding your customers’ expectations.
Has there ever been one single moment which has changed how you look at your business?
When I had my first staff member on a payroll I changed from looking after my customers above all else, to looking after my staff, who look after my customers above all else.