I have always have enjoyed travelling, since I was 19 when my first job outside of Germany took me to London. My 18 month long journey continued to the Island of Bermuda, to see and learn more about pastry cooking at the Hotel Cambridge Beaches. I stayed for 2 years before returning to Germany to work at the well known Swiss Restaurant Movenpick, completing the Master Certificate in Pastry Cooking in 1985. The next Job took me half way around the world, working on the Cruise Ship with Royal Viking Line. Back in Germany, I received a Job offer to work in Australia, arriving in Sydney with my partner and 2½ year old son in 1989. The next challenge was to find happiness and personal satisfaction through my work. With a love of travelling, exploring the world and a passion for culinary excellence in pastry cooking,I took on a job as pastry chef at a French bakery, to show Australia what can be done. Australian baking was very different to what I have been taught and had experienced throughout my career so far. This made it kind of difficult to find the perfect job, one that satisfied me enough to keep me working here in Ausralia. We travelled to QLD for a holiday, certain that we’d prefer to live in Sydney. Four weeks later, we packed up our lives and moved to sunny Queensland. I loved Australia so much, but I was craving a job that would allow me to do what I loved, with creativity and passion. I wanted to introduce the art of European baking to Australia. So, we threw caution to the wind and jumped head first into a starting a new business. When I look back, it was a crazy idea, being in a country that we didn’t know, in a city we only just arrived in, but we knew it could work. What we did had never been done in Brisbane and the location needed to be where people have a curiosity for something different. We opened our first store in Taringa. We just went for it, without a business plan and undercapitalised, but the passion for making great cakes. This is how King of Cakes was created, to share the joy of traditional European baking methods with the people of Brisbane. Nearly three decades on, King of Cakes now operates in several locations serving thousands of satisfied customers every day. Direction, ensuring the same standards of excellence in every location, every time. Thirty two years on, it came to a point where we had created something really special. Our business was part of Brisbane’s growth and development. We took part of lots of big celebrations - 75 years of QANTAS, launching the A380, 150 years of The Mater Hospital, catering for annual film festivals, hosting private functions, creating many wedding & celebration cakes. The biggest and best annual event, which holds my heart, was (and is) the Oktoberfest. For me, the King of Cakes era has now come to and end with the sale of the business back in May 2022. I took a trip to Germany to assist my parents, to regroup and to start planning for a new future. The next crazy idea on my agenda, is my new business The Jolly German.With all the contacts created over the years and another crazy idea to promote the connection between Germany and Australia.