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Change can start with a roll

Change can start with a roll

The first female chairperson of the Association of Stockholm Bakers & Confectioners is called Heléne Johansson. She is also the woman behind Brunkeberg’s bakery, which has become synonymous with quality and enjoyment in bread and cakes and satisfaction for all regular customers. The continuously increasing array of customers will soon have another “Brunkan” to make a pilgrimage to in Alvik. True Womance’s Andrea Berglund met Heléne for a conversation about inspiration, baking, cleaning and what is important in life.

When I open the door to Dalagatan 9 one grey morning in February, the smell of freshly-baked bread hits me. I am here to interview the self-taught baker, owner and founder of Brunkeberg’s Bakery, Heléne Johansson. This year she will be opening her third “Brunkan”, this time in Alvik. Involved in this new confectionary project is the employee of many years, baker Rezene Berhane who is also Heléne’s husband.Sitting still and being interviewed is not Heléne Johansson’s style. She quickly smooths out a couple of sheets of baking paper on the bakery’s large baking table and that is where I am positioned while she starts making puff pastry. Based on her own recipe, of course.

From on top of the baking table, I start off by asking the slightly more complicated questions, such as what is it like being a woman in this industry?

“In the beginning, a lot of men laughed at me – an untrained rookie that would start my own business. After 11 years in the industry, things are different. Today, among other things, I am chairperson of the Association of Stockholm’s Bakers & Confectioners.

We talk more about gender differences. There is a concern that the baking profession has started to be dominated by women,” says Helene. Arguments arise about women not being as physically strong and that they have children.

“It was difficult to find good staff in the beginning. With the current rules, it’s not easy for a woman to run her own business. When I was pregnant, we were forced to close for three months and I paid the staff salaries out of my own pocket. During that time, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was unfair, but my aunt – who is definitely a feminist – reminded me that it is not actually a right to become a mother, it’s our choice. It helped me personally to think like that. “But from a social perspective on gender differences and running your own business, I think the government should think about how they could make it easier for us women entrepreneurs during pregnancy and infancy.

Brunkeberg’s Bakery is a female dominated workplace. What do you think about that?Heléne explains while she works with the dough.

“At first few guys applied for a job with me and there are some advantages to hiring men. They are often trained to be clearer in what they want and are therefore easier to communicate with because of this. In the beginning it was more difficult to recruit guys, but now that I am so well established, this has changed. However, women are still in a clear majority.

“The dynamics can change if I hire a girl or a guy. We have many girls employed here and they are more thorough with hygiene and keeping things clean and tidy than the guys. They realise more often the importance of always leaving the customer satisfied.

How did you become a baker?
“When I was younger, I worked as a tour guide and salesperson after packing in my law studies. I wanted to move mountains, but it did not work out in the law programme, not for me in any case. I then became headhunted to the IT industry and was involved in starting up alltomstockholm.se and letsbuyit.com. After a period of time as CEO of a venture capital company, I was a business development manager at passagen.se. There the board of directors had an idea that we should practice climbing so that we could all climb Kebnekaise from the back. We were unsuccessful in doing that and during that period, I began to ask myself what I was really doing. My salary was unreasonably high for the work I was doing and I wasn’t enjoying the job either. At that time I was 35 and it took me six months to decide what I wanted to do instead. Every morning, I took a power walk and during the walks, I visited different bakeries and always bought a roll. And then it struck me, I would become a baker!

After work experience in a bakery in Skåne, in 2002 Heléne Johansson refurbished a bakery by herself on Regeringsgatan. Heléne bears witness to a tough period of very hard graft during those 90-hour long working weeks.

“Now it’s a paradise by comparison,” says Heléne.

Brunkeberg’s Bakery has grown organically and with lots of help from her colleague, Rezene, they will soon be opening a shop and bakery in Alvik.

“Mum can’t wait until we open, interjects Isabella Lundh, one of the colleagues.

Bella, as she is known to all of Brunkan’s regulars, has been employed at Dalagatan for two years and has become a prominent figure for Brunkan on Dalagatan. Heléne refers to Rezene as though they are an old married couple and that something went click when they met for the first time.

I would never have managed this well without my employees

“I would never have managed this well without my employees,” continues Heléne. They are an inherent part of the success and I try to ensure everybody is in the loop about what is happening and that they understand how the entire business works so we have the same goals.

She has handed over much of the responsibility to colleagues Isabella and Rezene. “My role now is more to be like an enthusiastic grandmother,” laughs Heléne Johansson.

What is a day in the life of a baker like, what is your day like?
“We always have a baker who starts very early, who comes in and bakes the dough that was prepared the day before. They have been in our yeast oven for 24 hours. Then the rest of the day is spent preparing for the next day. We work simply for each other. Fill the shop and clean. A large part of being a baker is cleaning,” explains Helene.

“As the owner, it is then everything else to take care of; invoicing, paying invoices, recruiting staff, developing the place, ensuring that we only produce top quality goods.

How do you manage to keep this up, where do you get your inspiration?
“I get the inspiration from what I do and when I am out travelling and visiting other bakeries and cafés.

“I love what I do. The interest keeps me going. Plus, I’m a bit of a competitive person, I want to achieve perfection. I rarely bake the same thing the same way twice, without trying something new. Because I am self-taught, I do things differently.

Of all the sweet treats you bake, which is your favourite?
“I’m a bit boring, I really like white bread with cheese,” laughs Heléne, but then adds that she loves pastries such as cream cakes, cream and food.

“If I were to start again, I would probably start a restaurant.

A statement that in True Womance’s ears sounds like a promise.

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