My grandmother’s family have been bakers in Belgium since the early 1900’s under the family name Stock.  She was my godmother and very dear to me. The bakery sadly closed in 2015, so I use the name as a way to keep its connection to baking alive and continue the family legacy.

This baking adventure is something I had never thought possible. It is a place where different strands of my life come together, linking the past with the future and connecting my personal fulfillment with a sense of staying in touch with my family back home.

It all started with baking cakes for my daughter’s birthdays. Then I found cake pops and made a fun set when I was home in Belgium for Christmas one year. The feeling of bringing something to the table, of being able to share with everyone, giving a special touch to a special occasion was very profound. It was then I knew that by baking something special, I could be part of family events back home even when I was on other other side of the world. Father Christmas must have read my mind, because there was a very nice stand mixer waiting for me when I got back home! From cake pops I moved on to cookies and it all settled into place.

I am not only baking for my family’s occasions any more. By extending this “cookie-love” through custom orders and a stand at the Kirstenbosch Food and Craft Market, I hope to be able to take my daughter back home so she can indulge in real family hugs and not just virtual ones, and that her Belgian family stories and history can become more tangible.