OUR STORY

Hi, I'm Shannon and for as long as I can remember, I have loved baking.  I was taught to bake, as a child, by my next-door neighbour.  Her name was Florence.   She always seemed to be doing something creative, be it sewing or baking and I visited her almost daily.  I never knocked, I just strolled through the door and sat with her, wherever she was in the house.  Florence never made me feel unwelcome, she would always greet me with a smile on her face and was genuinely happy to see me.  I would sit at her kitchen table when she baked and watch in awe.  She would bake cakes, biscuits, tarts and fudge, all of the best fudges - russian fudge, chocolate fudge and coconut ice. She would make her own fruit mince for Christmas tarts, complete with suet, ground in her bench top food mincer - you know the ones that were clamped to the side of the bench or kitchen table.  The whole process fascinated me.  I got to help, sometimes I got to stir the fudge, sift the flour or grind the fruit mince. Florence didn't have any fancy appliances, just a wooden spoon and elbow grease.  I remember one of the first times I actually got to make something by myself, it was a banana cake with passionfruit icing.  It was baked in an old tin can.  I can still remember the way it tasted and how proud I was that I had made it myself and how proud she was of me.  In my eyes that cake was perfect and will forever be perfect.

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For me, baking and learning to bake made me feel loved, accepted and special, and this, is how baking became my passion.

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When I bake, I am genuinely in my happy place.  It has been my dream for more than half of my life to bake for a living and to be able to be a part of making other people feel loved, appreciated, supported, special and seen.

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At Little Beach Kitchen everything is made from the highest quality ingredients. Handmade with love from my registered home kitchen in Waikanae.

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So this is Little Beach Kitchen - welcome to my passion project.

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Thanks for being here and joining me on this ride.

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Shannon xx

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