Favourite parts of my job!
Getting to know you through chocolate
They say if you love your job that you'll never work a day in your life and this really does ring true for me.
When I was over working, exerting and exhausting myself, work felt very much like work. It was tiring, stressful, affected every aspect of my life in a negative way. Since I cut back on hours and slowly moved things around to have work revolve around life, instead of live revolving around work, I've really started falling back in love with it.
I think the most enjoyable thing about my job now is getting to know customers. Sarah's Chocolate Kitchen eatery was created as a customer facing front of what was a big, busy online business where our only contact with customers was through orders and emails, as well as our social media pages. I'm a very social person and loved over the years getting to know you all through comments and DMs, but it's just not the same as sitting down and having a cuppa, or being greeted with a warm smile on faces, is it?
It's been five years now since we opened up the eatery and though it's not been without its trials and tribulations, I can hand on heart say it's the best thing I did for the business. To be customer facing was the absolute dream - to be stood behind the counter to welcome you into the shop, to be the person making your mocha or herbal tea to go with your brownie or blondie slice. One thing I never really considered until seeing it happen is the resounding joy of watching families grow. After struggling for so long in our own journey to motherhood and being gifted the dream that is our son Alfie, watching couples slowly turn into a family of 3, then 4, maybe 5 or 6, brings so much warmth and happiness to my heart. There's something really magical about having met a couple of pregnant ladies five years ago, to now watching those little newborns we saw for the first time in prams or snuggled in arms now starting primary school and still coming to visit us. It feels like a testament to what we really wanted the shop to be - a safe place for people to come to for a breather, for a chat, for connection.
We welcome people in by name and will often have a catch up at the counter on quieter days, or I'll find myself sat at a table with my own cup of coffee talking about life like we're long-lost friends. Others we see on a weekly basis and know as much as what activities their little ones have been getting up to at school, we get updates on holidays and adventures, and become like an extended part of the family.
I knew that customer connection would be important for that side of the business to work, but I didn't really grasp how special and meaningful it would be until it happened.
Something else I'm really enjoying at the moment as well, and has admittedly largely been my favourite production focused thing since day dot, is creating your bespoke items. No two have ever been the same and it's amazing to me to see how different you all are in your choices, your bases and your toppings. Not only that but it feels very personal, and for the moments I have your bespoke letter or number in front of me, I'm doing something solely for you... it almost feels like I'm getting to know you through your taste buds. I know that might sound silly.
As I top your chocolate, piece by piece, sweet by sweet, one at a time, I sit and wonder what you'll be doing to celebrate the special occasion, or if it's a gift for a mother to be I think about how the next few months of her life will be monumental and life changing in all the best ways but also how hard it can be too and hoping she's got the support. For young ones I think about their lives ahead and for the older ones I think about their lives past - what will they experience, what have they experienced.
It sounds deep for a slab of chocolate I know, but that's exactly why getting this right for you is so important to me because, for me, they are so much more.
You can order your own bespoke gifts, from giant slabs, numbers and letters, to lollies here: https://sarahscreativekitchen.co.uk/product-category/personalised-gifts/
Or visit us for a coffee and catch up whenever we are open! Our address is 83 Rayleigh Road, Southend on Sea, Leigh on Sea, SS95UZ ... our open dates and times are always shared on our social media pages.