Maritime Resilience: Temi Bakes - Symplicity Designs

Temi Bakes

Written by the Symplicity team

Maritime Resilience is a series of stories on how local organizations are adapting to COVID-19.

Community support the frosting on the cake for Temi Bakes

Temi Bakes is a custom dessert studio owned by professionally trained & award-winning cake designer, Temi Ologbenla. Temi takes pride in making her clients’ sweet dreams come true by creating stunning and delicious custom cakes and desserts.

“Baking takes me back to my childhood, growing up in Nigeria. On weekends, I would cuddle up on the couch with my Mum and sisters alongside a spread of delicious confections or at parties celebrating with loved ones, dancing to music while eating cakes layered with buttery frosting.”

Temi has built her business to bring these memories to life. Temi Bakes offers everything from an online store for party cakes and supplies, to dessert catering for corporate events and award winning wedding cakes.

When the pandemic hit Nova Scotia, Temi found herself navigating 2020 wedding cancellations and postponements. Other celebration cake orders, such as birthdays, were resized to accommodate smaller guest counts.

As restrictions are lifted, Temi is reopening the business in phases to ensure she can continue to exceed client expectations.

Temi quickly adjusted the way she hosts cake tasting sessions for prospective wedding clients. In-person consultations are on hold for now, and have been replaced by phone or video chat meetings to talk about cake ideas and event preferences.

Celebration cakes are also picking up now that the city is opening back up and the bubble has been extended from household-only to Atlantic-wide. Temi Bakes offers specially designed cakes and cupcakes for birthdays and special occasions.

“People are looking for memorable ways to mark special occasions with friends and families, especially now. Thankfully I have always had an online shop of pre-designed cakes which are more affordable.”

There have been some logistical challenges as Temi Bakes reopens for business. Most of the baking supplies for the business are shipped from Toronto, so there have been longer delivery times and in some cases, unspecified delivery dates. To accommodate these changes, Temi expanded her inventory of supplies and communicated to clients that orders would require a longer notice to allow room for delays.

But Temi has been grateful for the community support and business since she reopened. She has seen the commitment to supporting local business, and is happy to see many of her customers coming back.

“I feel so blessed to be part of such a supportive community. People aren’t just buying cakes for themselves, they are also giving cakes and desserts to family and loved ones. It’s such an honour and a pleasure to serve the people of Halifax and to help my clients find ways to celebrate during these unpredictable times.”

Temi Bakes is creating custom cakes and desserts, offering online orders and catering for events.

Check out her website or social media to see more goodies!