Star Baker - Annika Skoogh

Today we're speaking to another inspiring woman in the baking industry - Annika Skoogh of Fika Exeter. We asked Annika how she got started, what challenges she's faced, and invited her to talk about the other women in baking that have inspired her along the way. Read Annika's story in her own words below now! 

What inspired you to pursue a career in baking, and how did your journey begin?

"I grew up in Sweden in a home with a hardworking mum who worked long hours but always managed to have time to cook and bake. She made her own bread, cinnamon buns, cakes, birthday cakes for my brother and I, jam and even berry cordials amongst other things, a super woman! My mum’s baking definitely rubbed off on me as I have been interested in baking for as long as I can remember, but it didn’t develop properly until my adult years.

"I left Sweden for Switzerland straight after college to study and completed an intense hotel & hospitality management degree and never came back! After three years working and living in Switzerland, I went travelling to around the world. I even lived in Barcelona for a little while whilst studying Spanish.

"Eventually, I arrived in Exeter, England in 2000 and subsequently left the hotel and restaurant business and pursued a career at a Solicitor firm in conveyancing. During this time I was also singing jazz alongside the office job and was fortunate to work with (and still am) some great uk jazz award winning musicians.

"Becoming a mum inspired me to bake even more and when child number two arrived, I left the solicitor’s firm and became a self employed, full time, professional jazz singer.

"Fast forward and when Covid hit, all my jazz concerts stopped and I needed to find creativity elsewhere. I started to bake more at home in between home schooling my two crazy boys, which was quite a challenge in itself. ‘Scandi’ bakes, especially Swedish cinnamon and cardamom buns had started to become popular on social media and at local artisan bakeries."

"Voila, Fika Exeter Was Born!"

"Whilst there were, and still are, some lovely local artisan bakeries around making cinnamon and cardamom buns, they didn’t taste like they do back home (and why would they, they’re not Swedish) and that’s when I had a lightbulb moment; what if I could introduce the Swedish “Fika” culture and bring a ‘taste of Sweden’ to Devon by baking authentic Swedish buns and pastries and voilà, Fika Exeter was born!

"Baking was already bringing me so much joy and really helped with my mental health, (I am currently being assessed for ADHD). Even though it can be quite challenging in day to day life, I have found it to be an asset rather than a hindrance in relation to baking. It gave me a super focus and eye for detail I don’t believe I would otherwise have.

"I wasn’t part of a baking community and didn’t know any bakers at the time, so I immersed myself in research and studied everything online from scratch for months, I test baked a lot of Swedish recipes and methodically developed my own. I really poured all my heart and soul into this new venture and worked so hard to make sure everything tasted like they do back home at the artisan bakeries, whilst putting my own stamp on the bakes.

"At first, I didn’t have a micro bakery in mind per se, and would bake buns to order and customers would collect from my house. The Swedish buns were a success from the get go and I quickly realised I needed a bigger outlet. A month later, I attended my first local Saturday market with a bigger repertoire selling Swedish buns and pastries, had a queue and completely sold out. From thereon, my home bakery very quickly turned into an artisan micro bakery and the rest is history, but I could never have foreseen just how popular it would become."

 
"Since then, I’ve evolved and acquired new skills such as crafting nutritious sourdough bread made using only local stoneground flour and locally grown grains which I freshly mill myself. Also hand laminating dough and partially using a manual dough sheeter. There’s no refined sugar in my bakes and I only use organic ingredients, majority of which are sourced locally, sustainably, seasonally supporting local farmers and producers. My mission is to contribute to a regenerative, resilient and accessible food system from field to table.

"Baking feels very intuitive to me and as a completely self taught baker, I’m at the point where I have the confidence to pass on my knowledge and passion to others through my sourdough and bun baking workshops which started last year. I’m also currently in the process of putting together ideas and recipes for a special Fika baking book and am proud to call myself an entrepreneur, baker, teacher and business owner.

"My wonderful customers are amazing, they make the effort to turn up at my local pop up and market stalls every week (some travel far), and patiently wait in the queue for their Fika goodies and sourdough bread. They really make Fika Exeter what it is and I’m so grateful for their support, something I never take for granted."

As a woman in the baking industry, what challenges have you faced, and how have you overcome them?

"Fika Exeter is a one woman show and as I’ve taught myself everything I know about baking, I haven’t had an experience in a bakery environment with male (or female) bakers. I did experience challenges as a young woman working in the hotel industry in Switzerland, which was very male dominated at the time. I remember it made me work even harder and I became even more focused on the work and bettering my skills. It paid off.

"I do believe when you can demonstrate knowledge and hard work, and can do your job effectively in any environment, your gender should be irrelevant, but of course it’s not always so. I think we should perhaps also recognise that different genders bring different qualities to the industry. We don’t all need to be the same, where someone is lacking in one area, they will have stronger skills than others in another area and vice versa. We can all learn from each other."

What advice would you give to aspiring female bakers looking to make their mark in the industry?

"Put yourself out there, be genuine and dare to be different. Follow your passions, embrace your creativity and don’t be afraid to try new things. Think about where your ingredients come from and how it’s sourced and support your local farmers and producers.

"I find that if you have a good product, are genuine and hardworking, most people will root and support you ‘even if you are a woman’. We can blame gender discrimination in society and culture and so on, but you might be surprised at how many people will support you as well."

Who is a woman that has inspired you in your career, and why?

"My darling mum for the reasons explained above. I grew up on homemade food, freshly baked bread and cinnamon buns, to name but a few, and knew from an early age I wanted to have a similar mind and skill set.

"Regardless how busy my life would be, as a working mum, I wanted to be able to give my children the same environment one day. Little did I know, at the time, that it would also play such an important part of my early Fika days.

"There are several bakers who have inspired me over the years, both women and men, but I’m a big fan of Annie Hesselstad, who is a top head pastry chef in Sweden, (she created the dessert at the Nobel prize banquet for two consecutive years) who makes beautiful and exquisite creations. She’s a risk taker and comes up with daring and most unusual and amazing flavour combinations. She’s talented, a super cool chick and I love her creativity."

You can find out more about Annika and her work with Fika on Instagram and Facebook, as well as on the Fika Exeter website: fikaexeter.square.site.