Saved by cake?
Saved by cake?
Solving the problems of the world, one cake at a time!
February 2024
We sat facing each other. Solemn and quiet, the weight of the world on our shoulders. The air was thick with steam, rising from the hot bath we were sharing. The light was dim, but our minds were racing, unable to rest. The aged-care facility, once again, was weighing heavy on Shujin’s mind. It was only a matter of time that they would need to close down unless drastic changes could miraculously be made.
If it weren’t for the residents it wouldn’t be such a big deal. Business was going bad with no way out? Just close it! But, alas, the residents considered the place home, it was their only home, and they loved being there. They had also each made a financial commitment to come into the centre. Where would they go if it closed down? Would they have a spare deposit fee for a new aged-care facility? Some would. Others wouldn’t. And so, the pressure weighed heavy on Shujin.
He had sort some advice from his cousin who had much experience in business and had worked very high up in the corporate world. After the cousin looked over the financials, they sat down, Shujin and his cousin, and Uncle Toshiro (the cousin’s father) who was Chairman of the Board. The cousin told them straight what needed to be done.
Sack everyone. Close the side businesses. Scale down, right to basics. For six months, run the centre with just Shujin, Uncle Toshiro and Aunty Umeko. Uncle and aunty would need to be volunteers (which they already were, but they would need to help even more). Could Shujin live without a wage for 6 months? If we could, then the debts that the centre had could get paid down and once they were squaring even each month, then they could start to rebuild.
It was a flat No from me.
Firstly, Shujin, uncle, and aunty were already exhausted. They’d been running on empty since October last year and hadn’t recovered yet. Hadn’t had a break! They would be coming into this exhausted and I could only see that it would be detrimental to all three of them. This would not be sustainable!
Secondly, uncle and aunty are in their late seventies, they are almost eighty years old, they were eligible to be in the home themselves! Despite appearing very able, they were slowing down and Aunty Umeko had a spinal injury about 20 years ago, so she needed to be very careful with how much and what sort of physical labour she does. We couldn’t expect this of them!
Thirdly, this was not some a family business that we had all invested in and wanted to keep open! It was an NPO (Not for Profit Organisation) for goodness sake! As much as we loved and cared for the residents, it didn’t seem right to be making such a huge personal sacrifice when in reality, they could live elsewhere.
Lastly, my visa renewal was coming up. Shujin needed to show that he was still earning what was required to be my Guarantor. We couldn’t just give up his wage.
So any hope that Shujin had in his cousin, any hope he may have hung onto, was gone. From a financial standpoint, what his cousin suggested was, yes, the best and quickest way to turn things around. But from a practical standpoint, it wasn’t so easy.
So here we were, sitting in the bath, immersed up to our necks in water and in troubles, feeling the weight of the world on our shoulders. We had become accustomed to having baths together. It’s the only room in the house where you can’t be heard, so we can actually have private conversations. Not that we needed to have private conversations every night, but sometimes you just don’t need others eavesdropping your conversations! Sometimes you just need your private space to chat freely.
“You could get your cooks to make my chocolate cake and then sell it.” The suggestion almost came from nowhere, and was like I spoke without thinking. I had made the cake recently for church lunch, and it was so well received by everyone. At the end of lunch I was handing out the recipe. It was gluten-free and dairy-free, but not taste-free. A rich, moist cake, it was nothing like the usual gluten-free goods that you buy!
Shujin’s eyes went wide, the heaviness on his shoulders and in his face lifted. He instantly sat up taller as he responded, “YES! That’s a GREAT idea!”
Suddenly, the bathroom was buzzing with excitement and ideas. The cake was so easy to make. Throw everything in the blender, pour into the cake tin and bake for half an hour.
The aged-care facility had a commercial kitchen. The cooks started work at 6am to make an 8:30am breakfast for 6-8 people. Lunch was at 2pm and they finished work at 3pm. They got a one hour break, plus, they took meal breaks (‘cause there’s time to!). The cooks had soooo much free time, they could easily fit in making a few cakes each day! (Just to clarify, there’s two cooks, who work on different days).
It made so much sense to use the facilities and staff that were already there. Shujin had thought of many other ideas to generate more income, but they all involved investing first. With this idea, there would be next to no investment needed.
Gluten-free was becoming more common in Japan, especially in the popular foreign-tourist destinations. We could make the cake and sell it to cafes and businesses.
Ideas flowed and excitement mounted and when we finally finished the bath, all the problems of the world had been solved. The chocolate cake will save the day!
The next day I thought over the cake idea and re-did the calculations in my head. Even if we sold a cake for a good price of ¥3,000 (about $30) then we would need to make almost 700 cakes each month in order to get the business financially square. Which would be about 175 cakes each week, or 30 each day… And that’s not factoring in any costs yet!! Oh my! Maybe it was too good to be true after all…! Even if we could bake 30 cakes each day, we’d need buyers for those thirty cakes!!!!!!!
Life weighed heavy on us, and Shujin’s survival technique and coping mechanism was to sightsee. It restored his soul to leave work far behind (physically!) and escape into a new territory, enjoying good food and good views.
So we managed to get out and enjoy some day trips. I loved seeing the snow on the mountain peaks and snapped a few shots as we drove along the highway.
Japanese bakeries are a tourist destination in their own right! We stumbled across this one in Kiryu, Gunma. It was particularly a-m-a-z-i-n-g!
Sometimes you just see random things in life. This door was one of them! What sign would you put on the inside of the door?
“Beware of Step”?
Shujin suggested, “Quickest route to heaven”🤣.
Let me know your suggestions in the comments!
And snow.
It snowed at home. It wasn’t deep, and melted within a day or so, but it was certainly beautiful while it was here! 😍
Thank you for the emails, messages and comments for 1 Year of “Behind Shoji Doors”, I felt the love, thank you! I’m so pleased that my writing has been a blessing to so many of you.
In my last post I shared about making miso, but I didn’t talk much about how the Japanese use the miso in their cooking. At your request, I will share how to make miso soup in an upcoming post.
Good luck with the cake venture (not sure if this happened in the past or not, no spoilers until your update post!)