In order for us to excel in something, we have to first have the passion to be in that field and second, have the drive to keep going even when the going gets tough, and that is exactly what Autimae Le-Black has been doing. Her creations speak of her commitment and dedication to putting the best foot forward and creating an everlasting impression on all those who come into contact with her.
Autimae is the owner and sole employee at Delight Treats, which she operates out of her kitchen at Coghlan Dam, Pouderoyen on the West Bank of Demerara. Her speciality is something that is quite unconventional in the Guyanese context. She has successfully mastered the art of cookie making and decorating, and around this time, she is swamped with orders for the intricately designed cookies.
Her flourishing business is a sign that Guyanese are shifting away from the tradition of having a tin of Danish butter cookies in their homes for Christmas and are now moving towards locally made and meticulously designed cookies.
Looking back at the beginning, she tells me that baking has always been one of her passions, but not something that she thought she would have done on this scale. She remembers as a youngster living with her grandmother, she would bake cakes whenever there was a birthday in the family and decorate them.
“My grandmother would buy the ingredients and I would bake and ice the cakes. It was fun. I loved baking from small and I went to Carnegie (School of Home Economics) and did courses and so on, but I never follow it. I just went about life,” she said.
About two years ago while scrolling through Facebook, she came across Sonia Noel’s Women in Business Expo advertisement, which triggered the decision to start her own business.
“Being home and scrolling through Facebook, I came across the Women in Business Expo and I decided to start my business, because I could not get into last year expo, but I am here now and I am happy that I am able to showcase my products,” Le-Black told me during the second Expo.
When I asked her what led to cookies, she related that one day while going through Youtube, she came across several videos of how to make and decorate cookies. After viewing the videos, she decided to give it a shot and from there, there was no turning back.
“I made the cookies and they came out good and from then it was the start of something new. I enjoy every second of what I do and my cookie base is the standard sugar cookie, but the designs are far from standard. I take my time and do my work and I take pride in it,” she said.
Autimae says that a single cookie takes about three days from start to finish and around this time, she is swamped with orders, hence the reason she advises cookies must be ordered about a week before the intended delivery date. When it comes to the Guyanese people’s response to her craft, Autimae noted that it has been overwhelming since the feedback has been positive and business is booming. (Sunday Times Magazine)
