Ranch Co - A Family Recipe to Sweet Success

For our interview this time, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Raheel Aleel, one of two sisters that own Ranch Bistro. This sister duo has been in the baking scene for 10+ years. They recently opened doors to their own cute little café, Ranch Bistro. Read more about how Raheel went from a Home Baker to a Bakery Owner.
 

Lonumedhu: How long have you been baking at home before starting the bakery?

Raheel: Since I started baking it has been a little over a decade, about 11 years.
 

Lonumedhu: How did your baking passion turn into a business?

Raheel: My grandfather had a café, “Petrel Hotaa”, and we really wanted to carry out his legacy. Our parents really wanted us to, and they encouraged us to pursue it. Even when we were younger, my sister would go to cake classes and such, but I was never interested to. I was the complete opposite, and I wanted to surf. I wanted to join the surf school, and my mom was like, you can, but you also need to do a cake course, and that was the first time I discovered my creative side.

Lonumedhu: How has your experience in the field been so far?

Raheel: I was about 15 years old when I joined the course, and there wasn’t anyone my age so it did encourage me to pursue it. I also did get a lot of insight into the field with older more experienced people I met through the course. Then I joined MNU and did my certificate 3 there before I left abroad for my studies, where I did my Diploma in Patisserie Arts. It was not easy at all. There were many times I wanted to quit. It is a hard field but if you have the passion and drive for it, I believe quitting is not an option and you have to keep going.

Lonumedhu: What kinds of pastries or baked goods do you make?

Raheel: We have a range of baked goods from savoury stuff to desserts, but we mostly are into French cuisine as that is what I studied.

Lonumedhu: Can you tell us a bit about your day-to-day routine at the bakery?

Raheel: My routine is currently all over the place. I don’t know what sleep is anymore.

In the mornings, I usually prepare our custom orders. Then I come to the bakery and prepare for the day. We are open from 3PM to 11 PM. If there is a catering order, I prepare custom orders the night before. I try to make orders as fresh as possible. One special thing about the bakery is I get to meet my customers! They come and take pictures with me and say that you are exactly how I imagined. That makes me happy.

Lonumedhu: What challenges did you face when moving from home baking to a bakery setup?

Raheel: For me personally, this new chapter is a big transition. I was in my bubble mostly; I worked from home and didn’t have a lot of interactions with customers.

My sister on the other hand did a degree on culinary arts and food service management. She is more well versed in the operations and running the business. She is a full-time lecture so she cannot be hands on in the production.

Lonumedhu: Has working with your sister strengthened your bond? In what way?

Raheel: At the end of the day, she will always be my sister. Haha.
I do believe she is the smarter one. She is book smart and I’m street smart. I’m more hands on in the kitchen, but she is a genius! With marketing and everything. She knows the gist of it all. 

She is a survivor; she is very strong and I’m sure she will take us places!
 

Lonumedhu: Are there new pastries or products you want to try making?

Raheel: I would like to try Brazilian and Portuguese desserts and diversify. This month, we are working on introducing menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner so you can dine-in or takeaway. We have also just started getting into drinks. Before we opened, I was not a fan of coffee, but now we have a coffee machine and I am exploring different types of coffee and how they taste.

Lonumedhu: What are your goals for the bakery in 1 or 2 years?

Raheel: We are just very fresh into this; we recently opened our doors. So, for us, right now the focus is learning about the business, what we can do to grow it and how we can cater to our customers the best.