19 years of experience as a chef; with a repertoire that includes leading 5 star hotels, fine dining restaurants and unique cafe’s, Lara has a serious passion for baking. She is currently holding down a full-time job as Eri’s Gourmet Café’s Pastry Chef, but she’s got her own little side business which fuels her passion further.
Lara shared with The Third Eye;
I’m lucky to work at such a unique place that gives me the opportunity to create new baked item’s and it is thanks to this that I get my muse and my passion for baking.
Mistika’s Story
Although Lara had always wished to have a small business she was too scared to take the leap. 6 years ago, Lara was asked to host a cupcake table at the Malta Comic Con and she graciously accepted. Year after year the stand became increasingly successful and Lara took it as a clear sign to start up her own baking brand.
Towards the end of last year, Lara brainstormed ideas in hopes of finding the right name to fit her marvelously mystical cakes. She searched and searched for a simple yet catchy name that would best represent her. Lara’s friends pitched a couple of great name ideas but it just became harder to choose. This was until….
A friend of mine suggested Mistika which is the Maltese translation for Mystique, I instantly fell in love with the name and from there we started our Brand!
Starting out this Brand came with many challenges, such as the creation of her favourite work- the Geode Cake
I made the cake for a close friend of mine, I was terrified of doing it as it was a first for me but it reached my high expectations and surpassed them.
Quality over Quantity
Mistika has developed into a well organized and self-sufficient brand. Lara is a firm believer of ‘quality over quantity.’ She’ll only accept a minimum amount of orders to devout her full attention to each request as it comes in. These orders are made with ethically sourced products and ingredients, turning to local Maltese produce whenever possible as Lara likes supporting small local businesses that are rich in quality.
Lara spoke to The Third Eye about some of the work she has done with local businesses;
I recently finished a collobaration with a fellow creator ‘X or X Creative’ although our creations are entirely different, it was very intresting and fun for us both as we learned about each others skills and talents and the work that goes behind our creations. I also have a few future collaborations with other small businesses planned out for the coming year.
Mistika’s Fortune Telling
Lara’s got a few ideas in the pipeline for us. She is currently working on the launch of an exclusive Mistika Menu- it will host small unique pastries containing from a variety of traditional Maltese flavours to modern favourites, each with a unique Mistika twist to it.
Lets hope that this Menu will include Lara’s personal favourites; the Biscoff cake ( a top seller)!
Looking a bit further ahead, Lara dreams of owning her own small bakery one day. She feels great satisfaction when clients return for more order as it fills her with hope and pride, seeing these clients in store would be quite fulfilling.
Lara also shared with The Third Eye:
Something that is also very important behind my whole Brand is the constant support that I get from my partner Neil my family and my friends, their support keeps my Brand going.
Follow Mistika for more on her tantalising cakes and bakes on Instagram!