The confectioner from Transylvania
Claudia Chindea remembers the first time she tasted real chocolate for the first time.
She was 10 years old when the communist government fell in Romania in 1989.- We lived near a furniture factory and when the trucks started rolling into the village after the revolution, the drivers brought chocolate.
It tasted so good! What I had eaten before was not real chocolate, I realized then, says Claudia Chindea.
Claudia has a creative background and tells us that she used to do ceramics and jewelry.
But in Sweden it was chocolate and pastries that caught her attention.
- I saw a picture of a cake with handmade flowers on top, which reminded me of how to make jewelry.
And I thought: 'I could do this'.
When I started studying to become a pastry chef, I had no prior knowledge, but I have had teachers who have really encouraged me.
I am so grateful for that.
Chocolate shop at Hisingen
Four years ago, Claudia got access to a small kitchen in an office building in Hisingen.
Since then, it has become the base for her great hobby – praline and ice cream making.
- Now I work nights in production at the bakery Cederleüfs & Svenheimers in Sävedalen, go home to walk our dog and then I drive here to work for a few hours.
It may sound like a lot of work, but being here is pure relaxation for me.
I don't need to go to any spa.
Last year, Claudia got a new spark with her hobby and business. Previously, she had sold her chocolates to shops and pastry shops, but found it difficult to make a profit.
Just when she was close to giving up and shutting down her business, a friend told her about REKO rings where smaller producers can sell their goods.
- I am so happy for that opportunity. The best thing is to get direct contact with your customers and thus get feedback. It makes me develop in a completely different way.
'So creative'Before the holidays, Claudia likes to take the turns a little extra.
For Halloween, for eamples, her customers have been able to buy pralines filled with raspberry truffles in the shape of severed fingers and skulls.- If you come from Transylvania in Romania like I do, it's clear that you have to create Halloween chocolates! Chocolate is so creative and I have many ideas about what shapes I would like to make, but sometimes I also have to limit myself, says Claudia Chindea with a smile.
