Upon graduating high school, Nada Edilbi left for the United States to attend college. She wanted to become an interior designer. Little did she know that she would end up using her degree to decorate cakes and cookies instead of homes. Nada is quick to acknowledge her sister Rania’s role in dragging her into cake decoration. During their stay in the US, they took baking classes together. Rania wanted to learn how to bake sweets for her children. Nada followed in her sister’s footsteps.
Six years later, after her graduation, Nada returned to Riyadh and what began as a hobby has turned into a serious profession. Her friends soon discovered she had the knack to prepare beautifully decorated cakes.
“They asked me if I could teach them how to decorate cakes and cookies since there were no such classes in Riyadh,” said Nada. “I took this opportunity very seriously and I returned to the United States to attend specialized classes so I could become a certified professional. When I returned to Saudi Arabia, I set up Design Affair.”
Design Affair is a place where women can order unique cakes and learn how to decorate them. Four levels of decorating courses are offered. Each class lasts about two hours during which students not only learn new decorating technique but also get to practice. Students usually bring along their own cakes and icing. They immediately start practicing and by the end of the class they can take home an unforgettable cake. Some students even take the cake they have just decorated to an event! Cakes are not the only pastries to be decorated.
In the last decade, the traditional American cookie (known in France and England as “biscuit” which literally means “cooked twice” in French) has become more sophisticated.
Cookies are now decorated and offered for special occasions. A far cry from the seventeenth century when the earliest types of cookies were heavily spiced with cinnamon and ginger to cover the taste of the animal fats that most housewives used instead of butter. The Dutch brought “koetje” recipes with them, the so-called “little cakes” were so popular with the first settlers that the English bastardization of “koetje” cookie, became the standard name in the United States.
Besides decorating cookies and cakes, Nada is also teaching a popular sushi class: “We offer it once a month and it’s really fun to learn how to make sushi rolls. You also get to eat sushi and take some home too. It’s a food which is healthy and light and its hard to imagine how really easy it is to make,” said Nada.
Saudis are becoming increasingly fond of seafood, so it is not surprising that even those who might at first have an issue with raw fish eventually follow the world trend and become sushi aficionados. Eating sushi in a restaurant does not come cheap and making it at home is a great way to enjoy a luxury food at an affordable price.
Sushi is merely rice mixed with rice vinegar (to help make it sticky) plus a variety of potential ingredients on the inside. The easiest to make at home is the sushi roll known as Makizushi — vinegared rice, vegetables, raw fish and omelet rolled in nori, dried seaweed.
What is indeed remarkable is the incredible success of these culinary classes. Around forty percent of Design Affair students end up start their own business from home.
“We are so happy to inspire women to create their own business and we definitely encourage them to start working from their homes. Forty percent of our students have started their own business. And one great thing about the classes we are offering is that anyone can attend and achieve good results. No special skills are required but a love for good food would certainly help,” said Nada.
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