Love, Joy, Passion... A Recipe For Sure Success

Tessa Dasopatis and daughter-in-law Desiré tell how close family ties form the heart of their bakery, where baking has become an art form

- Lauren Mc Diarmid

Tessa, 60, set up her namesake bakery in 1987, running it solo for 10 years before teaming up with her now-late husband, Dimitri. It became a true family-run affair in 2011, with the couple’s son George, 37, joining the Tessa’s team, bringing his wife Desiré, 34, on board two years later. Tessa, George, Desiré, and the couple’s daughter Anastasia, 20 months, live in Welgelegen. Tessa’s eldest son Evangelos, 40, lives in Hong Kong with his wife and son. This year, Tessa’s Bakery expanded to include a café at their new Milnerton base.

TESSA SAYS...

It was over 30 years ago, but I still recall that warming, fragrant aroma of dried fruits, cinnamon and cloves enveloping my kitchen as I pulled the tray of my first Christmas cake out of my home oven.

It was 1985, and I was testing a new recipe for our family’s Christmas celebration that year; one I’d learnt on a baking and cake-decorating course I agreed to take with a friend. I quickly grew to enjoy baking, taking my new-found passion into my own kitchen. It soon became a kind of escape. A slow and soothing process that, with a little patience and a lot of love, transformed basic ingredients into moreish delights.

Dimitri and the boys were supportive of my new hobby – mainly because they got to enjoy the resulting treats!

I was a stay-at-home mom at the time, so the kids would be greeted with warm scones and freshly baked carrot cake after school. These were firm favourites, second only to my lemon meringue pie, which barely had time to cool out of the oven before it was devoured!

It was Lulu, the baking-course tutor, who suggested we start up our own business.