Who are you and where are you from?
We are Graham Savage, originally from Lockerbie in Dumfries and Galloway, and Vidya Sarjoo, originally from London.
We both used to work in the West End theatre industry, and have each been involved in the marketing and sales area for over fifty West End shows. It was in theatre that we met and became friends.
Best business book?
Anyone Can Do It by Sahar and Bobby Hashemi
Business strengths?
We are both very different people but we compliment each other well. Vidya is a strong minded woman with a lot of experience in bring people together and building strong teams. One of her strengths is her honesty, although some would say it can be a weakness at times :o). Graham is very enthusiastic and enjoys making things happen. He secretly loves accounts, but his weakness is impatience!
How did you get where you are?
The defining moment for us was finding a suitable property to bring our business to life. It’s very tough finding an appropriate place to set up a business like Cuckoo’s Bakery and it took us some time to find the right spot.
How do you balance out your lives?
Well at the moment there isn’t a lot of spare time, but when we’re not working we’re scoping out new places to eat, going to the theatre, baking (yes really!), shopping and having fun with friends.
What do you like about Edinburgh?
The architecture and landscape of Edinburgh is so inspiring. Living and working in such a historic city is amazing! We hope that Cuckoo’s Bakery can put it’s mark on the deep history of this beautiful city.
Favourite places in the city?
The Dean Village and the Water of Leith are Edinburgh’s hidden gem. Walking along the Dean Path makes you feel as though you are in the countryside, yet the city lives on above you. It’s such an amazing feeling. We also love how dramatically wonderful Arthur’s Seat is.
What has been the high point in your business careers?
There’s no doubt that starting our own business from scratch for the first time is the pinnacle of our careers to date. Cuckoo’s Bakery has changed our lives and we’re loving it. Seeing the smiles on customers face when the come to the shop and see our fabulous cakes in the place that we created is such an amazing feeling. We’re Cuckoo for Cupcakes!
What next?
We aim to become recognised for baking the best cupcakes in Edinburgh! We’d really like to
Typical working day?
Our day starts very early – someone is at the bakery from 5am every morning in order to bake all of the cupcakes. It is very important to us that everything is baked freshly each day in order to give our customers the very best quality cakes.
We also do lunch in our Tea Room so everything needs to be prepared each morning for that too. It’s hard work – but it’s worth it.
Our doors open at 10am Tuesday to Saturday and 11am on Sundays. We don’t really stop all day – we are busy with people taking cakes away, ordering cakes for delivery on the phone, customers coming in for tea and coffee and also our delicious homemade savoury tarts and soups. We close at 6pm Monday to Saturday and 5pm on Sundays – after the doors are closed the business continues. We have all of the cleaning to do and then planning for the next day. It’s crazy! It’s great fun!
Once we’re home it’s marketing, PR and accounts…. goodness me, once you sit back and consider it all, it really is a long week. We are closed on Mondays – a day of rest – well sort of. There’s still plenty to do for the business! :o)
What is the key to your success?
Enthusiasm is the key! Without enthusiasm you will struggle to succeed in what you’re trying to do.
Cuckoo’s Bakery is at 150 Dundas Street, Edinburgh, EH3 5DQ. Tel 0131 556 6224
