Sugihanto Sachid was little more than a boy when he graduated from BDLP College in Bandung and headed for his first job in Stockholm. Lucky for him many of his professors had been Swiss and therefore the culture shock was diminished somewhat.
The journey has taken him around the world and then lead him back to Indonesia and to Bali where he started his own bakery eleven years ago with some financial backing and is now boss of the well known Bapak Bakery.
Chances are you have been eaten the bread, cakes, excellent all butter croissants and pastries from Bapak, as he supplies many of the island's leading restaurants, hotels, delis and supermarkets. bapak Bakery trucks now are the common sight and yet, Sugihanto runs the bakery much as he always has and many of his staff have been with him since the day he opened his rolled doors.
"I didn't find it scary going overseas at an early age, mostly it was funny," says Sugihanto, or Anto as many of his colleagues know him, "I arrived in Europe with good knowledge of the recipes but then found the ingredients had different names it was confusing but mostly we had fun"
After working in Europe he then headed to Australia and landed in Alice Springs. He jokes that it was there that he found the language almost impossible to understand, "Strine, you know!" He laughs.
He then moved to Melbourne before being offered a job at Hilton in Bali and then Radisson in Sanur. There he met the backer who offered to set him up in business. The rest is local culinary history.
"These days the bakery is going very well and I am also asked to do consulting for kitchen design and staff training. Things have changed alot in this business. I now tell my customers they can order anything they like. I go on on the internet and there is the recipe." he says.
For orders or enquiries contact Bapak Bakery on
Jl. Merta Agung gg. Made Sari no 76 Kerobokan Bali
Phone : 0361-735330
Article is taken from : “Taste” Magazine, Jakarta & Bali Culinary Professional Newsletter, Edition Jan-Feb 2010 (www.balichefs.com)