From major retail shelves to her own restaurant, baker brings community along

From the age of 10, Rachel Hastings recalls dreaming of owning a bakery, and 32 years later, she is living her dream! 

Growing up in Mpumalanga before relocating to Gauteng, Rachel remembers her father taking her to a Portuguese bakery when she was a young girl.

“The things there tasted phenomenal. One day, I said to my dad, who loved to order Black Forest cake and doughnuts, ‘One day I will bake it for you,’” says Rachel Hastings.

The baker started her business in 2010 and has since built a name for herself by supplying her baked treats to major retailers and outlets, including Pick'n Pay, OK, BP and other garage stores.

What started as a passion for baking treats for her family has grown into a successful business, with her products reaching customers across the country.

Now, Rachel is taking her baking journey a step further.

This past Saturday, the 42-year-old opened her first restaurant, Rachel Hastings Signature, in Faerie Glen, Pretoria East, a milestone she describes as the realisation of a dream she has carried since childhood

The restaurant was at capacity on opening day, as customers came out to support the baker and experience what she has created.

Rachel says she had initially planned to open the restaurant in February, but finding the right venue proved challenging. Despite the setbacks, she continued returning to the same space she now calls her own. She says she would walk past the venue and say a little prayer, hoping that one day she would be able to operate from the space. Eventually, her persistence paid off. The people who had initially said no to giving her the space changed their minds, and Rachel finally got the opportunity to turn the venue into her restaurant.

Today, she is making her magic from the kitchen in Faerie Glen.

Community empowerment

For Rachel, the restaurant is about much more than serving delicious food and baked treats. At the heart of her new venture is her desire to empower the community around her.

Rachel currently employs young people at the restaurant, including some from disadvantaged backgrounds, giving them an opportunity to learn skills, gain work experience and build a future for themselves.

For her, baking has become a tool for empowerment.

She says that being able to give young people an opportunity helps get them off the streets and equips them with practical skills they can use to create something for themselves.

And this is what makes the restaurant particularly meaningful to Rachel: it is not only the fulfilment of her own childhood dream, but also a platform through which she can create opportunities for others.

What makes the restaurant different?

Rachel says what sets her restaurant apart is not simply the fact that customers can visit for a delicious treat, but it is about the love and passion that goes into everything she creates.

“The reason I would say people must come here is to experience the wonderful things that we bake. I believe I’m not much of a talker, but I speak through my hands, and when I bake, I want people to relate the love and joy that goes in there,” she says.

Her new restaurant has also given her an opportunity to explore another passion: cooking.

Visitors can expect a menu that includes breakfast, baked goodies, pastas and a kiddies’ menu, alongside other dishes and treats.

For Rachel, the restaurant represents a dream that began when she was just 10-years-old, inspired by visits to a Portuguese bakery with her father.