Rewinding back to the past year, it has brought a lot of firsts for Halalfoodhunt and one of these firsts was actually our past Baker’s Anonymous talk. The launch of our first talk!
Designed for bakers and anyone else who would love to understand more about halal, we discussed the different issues in halal with our halal consultant, Herni, got baking tips from the lovely Bubbly Chef – Chef Mimi Wahadi – and had a sharing session about our journey using social media.
The Insane Dessert Spread by The Bubbly Chef (Tell me, how can I not be distracted!!)
Even as I prepared the registration table for the talk, I easily got distracted by the gorgeous dessert table set up by Chef Mimi (In my defense, it was right in front of me…). Loaded with her famous cakes – the Assiette set – to her creative twist on the traditional kuih jongkong, I couldn’t resist running my own personal taste test on some of Chef’s bakes. Ok, so maybe I had more than just a taste test but anyway, back to the talk. Our participants diligently writing down tips and notes from the talk.
The talk started off with a basic coverage of halal tips by Herni. Despite it being brief, Herni managed to bring up the importance of checking the legitimacy of halal certifications that we commonly see on our products. I believe many of us, even myself sometimes, do not check to see if the halal logo on the product is backed up by the proper authorities. Sometimes it slips my mind that just seeing a halal logo on a product is not enough. Herni, our halal consultant, sharing the key items to look out for when it comes to halal.
After all, did you know that we have more than 70 halal logos that are recognised worldwide? Herni also discussed why it is possible that certain everyday products such as flour and protein products may be non halal for us. For instance flour generally contains L-Cysteine, an amino acid that can be procured from the hydrolysis of human hair, poultry feathers or hog hair which is forbidden to us. Since it never really occurred to me, it was eye opening and I feel more responsible for what I consume.
Taking a reprieve from our discussion, CIMB took the opportunity to highlight to us tools and instruments we could utilise to conduct transactions in a halal way. Not only are we concerned about the food we eat, but halal extends to more than just that. Especially with a halal business, how far do we actually go to ensure that we conduct business in the most blessed way possible. Despite the limitations of Islamic banking available to us perhaps with further demand and feedback, there can be further improvements made in the future to the options that are available to us at present if we put our support behind it. A quick photo with the Bubbly ChefAfter enjoying Chef Mimi’s delicious bakes, it is easy to see the difference in the quality and the flavours of her premium bakes as opposed to the normal kind of treats available. Chef then proceeded to share with us her tips and advice on what to look out for when baking, from the ingredients utilised to the tools that you use while baking that make up these difference. From the importance of handling our baking tools such as the maintenance of your oven by investing in a thermostat and getting it re-calibrated regularly to the use of colouring in bakes. We love colourful bakes but does this use of colouring actually enhance the flavour. Beyond looking pretty, a good bake goes right down to its character as well. Looking good is one thing but looking good and tasting even better is another. Candid shot of our lovely participants and our very own Jums!
Wrapping up this insightful sharing session, Jums shared some of what we have learnt from our forays with social media. With many of our bakers using Facebook to promote their bakes, how well do you know the tools available at your fingertips. From boosting posts to collecting likes on your Facebook page, how much of these relate to actual sales. Jums discussed the various ways to use Facebook to promote a baker’s products more effectively as well as tips to improve one’s photos (basic photography using phone cameras) such as playing with lighting, angles and the composition of the photos to capture the audience’s attention. She concluded with the affiliate bakers programme introduced at halalfoodhunt which helps small businesses.
Overall the talk presented new perspectives to me. Even though we didn’t have enough time to satisfactorily go into depth certain aspects, nevertheless it still made me pause and reconsider what I know of halal and haram. Of course as a Muslim, I’d love to say that I know my haram and halal well but there may be could be some grey areas that have never occurred to me or I had not known as well as I thought I did and this talk got me to think about it more. Islam doesn’t make things difficult for you but at the same time, I do feel responsible for putting in my best effort where possible. Who knows, maybe even just checking the certification behind a halal logo can make all the difference when the day for accounting comes.
—As it is, we are already a quarter into 2016 which is super crazy. We’ve started rolling out regular talks and bake sales each month. If you missed Bakers’ Anonymous, it’s ok. There’s plenty more mind blowing talks lined up for the future.
—Halalfoodhunt.com is a one stop destination for all things halal. We retail halal bakes from our affiliate bakers, make youtube videos on our channel, and list halal food providers in Singapore. For an overview of what we do, or if you are keen on working with us, visit our home site at halalfoodhunt.com. Also, follow us on instagram @halalfoodhunt and like us on Facebook! Halal first, everything else later!
