Sara Giudici

Sara Giudici (50) is on her way to a whole new career after setting up her own home-based bakery business during lockdown.  In what has been a difficult time for many hospitality businesses, Sara has found a niche in gluten-free baking and is nurturing a growing list of regular customers.

Originally from Milan, Italy, Sara studied a Masters degree in Physics before working in technical and marketing roles for a multinational American company.  Due to her husband’s job in the oil industry, the couple lived in several countries before moving to Scotland seven years ago. Sara said, “I found I had to reinvent myself everywhere we went and couldn’t follow a traditional career path.”

The budding entrepreneur has always been interested in working with food and often cooked for her family at weekends as a child.  She said, “Baking is something that came later in life for me and discovering the world of sourdough has been an incredible learning experience!”

On arriving in Aberdeen, Sara considered her options.  She said, “I have often thought that cooking and baking could have been a good alternative career for me but I was lacking in some basic technical skills.” This led her to apply to study Professional Cookery at North East Scotland College in 2014.  She said, “I was older than any of the other students in the class but I always felt welcome and there was great camaraderie within the group. The chef lecturers were amazing and always hugely supportive.”

Sara stayed on at college the following year to complete Advanced Professional Cookery. She said, “My interest in starting my own business grew exponentially after I finished studying at NESCol. It really gave me confidence in my skills to prepare, plan and execute, whether that is for a dish, menu or business! Lockdown then gave me the time to stop, think and plan how to get it started.”

Sans Gluten Bakehouse opened in July 2020 and proved a success from the start. Sara said, “I’ve really been taken by surprise by the level of interest but I’m not complaining! I had to rush out and buy pans and other tools to help meet the demand but I’ve now developed a more organised approach to keep it more manageable. I’ve recently added afternoon tea to the range of products which has also proved successful.”

In the future, Sara hopes to expand the business and is considering whether she could employ someone to help.  She said, “I would definitely recommend studying professional cookery at NESCol to anyone interested in hospitality or catering.  I may soon be looking for a part-time employee who is in their final year of studying at college so we could end up working together!”

Apply now for a course in Professional Cookery, Hospitality and Events Management.