Malaysian Baker Launches London Branch After Achieving Success With Extravagant Cakes
He plans to also open outlets in Paris and New York.
By Tamara Jayne — 16 Aug 2023, 10:41 AM
Zulkiflee Mawan has recently opened a bakery in London, following the monumental success of his baking business in Malaysia
The founder of Banker2baker gained public attention in 2020 when his son, Aiman Zulkiflee, shared the inspiring story of his father's journey.
At the age of 50, Zulkiflee Mawan quit his job to pursue his dream of baking, 25 years after working as a banker.
Proving that it's never too late to follow your dreams, Zulkiflee opened a boutique café in Wangsa Maju, which received around 15 cake orders a week.
Since then, he's made cakes for former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's 92nd birthday, as well as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and his wife on separate occasions
Zulkiflee incorporated design elements from parts of the Agong's ceremonial attire into one of his cakes. The cake was inspired by the Muskat, the official attire of His Majesty that is only worn on certain occasions.
For the queen's 63rd birthday cake, he took inspiration from her necklace made of white gold and diamonds.
"It is always a challenging experience to create cakes for His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen. Most of the time, we are asked to propose a design for our clients' selection. This part of the process takes the longest as we strive to ensure the design is special, unique, and of high quality," Zulkiflee shared with SAYS.
"If you look at the cakes we have created throughout the years, you may notice we take inspiration from His and Her Royal Highness' regalia, such as the Muskat, royal headdress, tiara, and necklace. We like to give our cakes a personal touch, so when we can, we include their hobbies and likings too, such as golf for His Royal Highness, and Tenun Pahang and orchids for Her Royal Highness," he added.
Armed with a vision to establish cake boutiques in major cities, Zulkiflee's recent outlet in London is merely the first step, as he hopes to expand to Paris and New York in the future
Despite the challenges of staying current and relevant in the business by continuously introducing new designs and creating interesting content for clients and followers, Zulkiflee shared that the response from European customers has been very positive.
Similar to the KL outlet, Banker2baker London focuses on offering bespoke wedding cakes
"We have an A-team in London who were trained by Banker2baker KL in their signature designs, sugar flower making, wafer paper, and fondant techniques.
"To maintain the flavours, we retained the cake recipes with adjustments at the request of our wedding couples. So, I believe the London branch is in capable hands, as we have some of our most experienced and skilled staff there. Having said that, from time to time, I do visit London to assist in any way I can," he added.
