Jithu Davis is from Kerala, India and lives in southern Luxembourg with her husband, Davis, and their two young boys.
In 2017, Jithu's husband was offered a work opportunity abroad, so the couple moved from India to Luxembourg with a one year old baby to start a new chapter of their lives.
Almost ten years later, Jithu has achieved her dream of setting up her own cake making business, handcrafting custom celebration cakes.
My husband and I were living and working in India, happily married with our first baby son. I was dedicated to my job in sales, I'd recently been promoted to manager. But when my husband was offered a job in Luxembourg, we jumped at the chance – it is a dream for many Indians to come to Europe.
When we arrived, I was of the mindset that it would be easy for me to get a job, because of my success in India. But there were many challenges – including the languages. I remember sending around 60 job applications and getting hardly any responses. I wasn't sure whether I should start learning a language like French or German, or sign up for a course.
In the meantime, we had our second child, and following his birth I suffered from postpartum depression. I was asking myself, why am I here? There is no one to support me in Luxembourg, I am at home alone with the kids. It was a struggle. I think a lot of women and expats face this kind of situation.
With my husband’s financial and emotional support, I wasn't under any pressure to get a job straightaway. I had the time and space to settle myself in this new country, to be a homemaker and to look after our children. But I have always wanted to be financially independent, and to be able to support my family back in India. So I started thinking about what I could do.
I have always been obsessed with cake! So I think that deep down, cake was always there. I have memories from visiting my father's work canteen as a child, seeing all the amazing colours, tasting the pineapple cakes or the strawberry pastries. And in Luxembourg, I missed those Indian style cakes.
At any occasion in India, whether it's a birthday or an anniversary or a graduation, cake is the first priority. People do not compromise on cake! I went looking for the type of cake I love, but I couldn't find it. So for my eldest son’s third birthday, I thought, why can't I bake one myself? And that's how it started. Yummy Bites by Jithu was born.
Around that time, I was invited to a Whatsapp group for Indian expats in Luxembourg. I never thought that a Whatsapp group would change my life! But one day, I offered to bake a cake for someone in the group. Within five minutes, three people had replied. I took the three orders, I baked the cakes, and I waited for their feedback. I was so scared to check my phone! But I received very good reviews, and it gave me confidence to start baking for my friends, my church, my community.
After that, I spent hundreds of hours practising, baking thousands of cakes, perfecting the taste and refining my own unique recipes. Now I offer Indian and Asian specialities, such as Rasmalai and Gulab Jamun cake, as well as European flavours like Biscoff and Black Forest cake. I even make a Keralan Christmas plum cake!
For me, it was a huge challenge. It took me almost a decade from the conception to the creation of my own business. Even though I was already a highly qualified graduate, I had to do a lot to ensure I had the correct paperwork and certification to make the career change.
I could not find work experience in Luxembourgish bakeries, so I found courses and workshops to attend instead. There was a lot of documentation to submit and just when I thought I had completed the process, I was asked to provide something else. It felt like I almost gave up at least 50 times. But I had already put so much into the process already, that I just kept going.
When I finally received my business licence in the post, my husband gave me such a big hug, my kids were so proud of me. When I phoned my parents back in India to tell them the good news, they were just crying on the phone! It was a real milestone.
I make my own decisions and create the food I want. My recipes are all my own, so I don’t have to make anything I don’t want to and I ensure I only use premium ingredients, such as fresh fruits which I have chosen myself. I suffered with gestational diabetes during both my pregnancies, so I make light, fluffy cakes but keep the sugar levels low.
I want everyone to be able to experience my cakes so I adapt recipes to my clients' dietary requirements. For example, many Indian families are strict vegetarians which means I bake lots of eggless cakes.
I have my own baking studio and I am in control of the whole process, from taking the order, to creating the cake, to delivering it personally and carrying out after sales service. Receiving positive feedback is really important to me and it makes me so happy to know that hundreds of people are smiling because of my cakes! Cake brings happiness and people remember my cakes from months and even years ago.
After all the paperwork and getting my licence, setting up the website was quite challenging. My husband spent many evenings working on that. He now manages the business side of things. With inflation, ingredients are very expensive. The price of fuel is high which makes deliveries more expensive. My husband thinks like a business person so together we have worked on the pricing.
If it was up to me, I would probably be selling my cakes at a loss! At the beginning, I just wanted everyone to enjoy my cakes, and to set a price which everyone could afford. But I have to be realistic, now I am a professional pâtissière.
I want to spend time with my family, with my kids. My kids still need me a lot. At the same time, I want to do something for myself. As a self-employed person, I can drop off my kids and collect them from school, cook them meals in the evening and be there for them at bedtime. I work in the day when they are at school and in the evenings when they are in bed.
I don’t bake every day. Sometimes I just take a break from baking. I want to deliver high quality, and I also want to maintain a balance and spend time with my kids.
One day, I just realised – this is my life. Baking is my life. And I just stuck with that. Even through hardship, rejection and all of the paperwork. I never, ever gave up.
So my advice is, don’t give up. For anyone who is looking for a job or to set up their own business, check deep down in your heart – what do you want to do with your life? If you work hard, if you’re dedicated and you have ambition, you will reach your goal.
Believe in yourself and follow your dreams!
Follow Jithu's incredible culinary creations on Facebook and Instagram.
