A Newcastle baker is hoping to inspire a new generation of patisserie chefs after creating her own baking masterclass course.
Xeniya Jones begin selling luxury desserts from her home in Newcastle last year after she travelled the world to work with top chefs in a bid to perfect her skills.
As part of her training she travelled to Kiev, Ukraine, where she was taught by Frech chef Cedric Grolet, who was voted the world’s best pastry chef four years in a row.
She now specialises in crafting modern cakes that look like real pieces of fruit and which are encased in chocolate.
Mrs Jones, who is originally from Almaty, in Kazakhstan, is now creating a series of video masterclasses so she can pass on her knowledge to other budding chefs - and she has launched a crowdfunding campaign to support the venture.
She said: “I want to help people learn for less, mainly as it is very expensive if you want to go to professional school or take some kind of course. It’s very expensive, especially the knowledge of modern patisserie. That’s why I want to do it - I want to make it affordable for people and I want people to think they can do very amazing desserts from their home and create their own baking business in the future.
“To be honest, I remember being told that in the UK people don’t want to be chefs as the salary is low and it’s a tough profession.
“I want to show that after this course that more women and men want to be chefs, pastry chefs, and that it is a great creative profession that can give you a lot. If you have passion for food of baking or cooking you should go to that and you shouldn’t give up your dreams.
“I want to show people that it is not hard if you really want it and you are willing to learn you can do it. I just hope that more people after doing this course want to be chefs.”
Mrs Jones is hoping to finance her project through crowdfunding site Indiegogo. Backers of the site can pick one of four perks depending on how much they donate.
A donation of £19 allows gives them access to Part 1 of the course, Cookies and Macarons, while paying £49 grants access to the intermediate level cakes. A £79 donation allows the aspiring chef to learn how to craft advanced modern cakes.
The whole course can be bought for £129. She is aiming to raise £8,000, although she will receive the donations even if the campaign does not hit the full target.
Filming for the masterclass is scheduled to take place on November 11 and will then be released to backers on December 18, just in time for Christmas.
