Nearly thirty years ago a family friend gave me a Dutch koek recipe. Over the years it proved to be a favourite with adults and children alike. It was the ideal food to bring to functions or picnics, because even if it sat on the plate for hours (not that that happened too often), it still tasted as good - some even say better - than when it was first served. Then, in 2003, my dear friend, Esther,
suggested that we take the koek to market and present it as gingerbread. Well, it took us a few months to get organised and on the 28th of March, 2004, we had our first stall at Maleny Markets. We sold out in three hours and over the following eleven years have sold thousands of loaves of gingerbread. The original recipe was changed several times, in subtle ways, in the first year. Then we adjusted the spices to find the happy medium between 'too spicy' and 'not spicy enough'. We also replaced the milk with milk powder, so that all the ingredients used were imperishables. Other changes have taken place. The saddest one was in 2006, when Esther and her family left Australia to return home to Holland. I had no idea how I would cope without her. As it happened, the support from my husband, Arnold, and all the stallholders and customers at Maleny Markets was so overwhelming, that it became a very easy transition. Esther was the one who did everything except the baking. She designed our logo, prepared the ingredients, packaged the gingerbreads, and did all the bookkeeping. We had the perfect working relationship! Esther lives in Holland with her husband and two sons. She is happy and still very interested in Larikoek gingerbread! In the first year of our venture we were introduced to Cindy Elliott, who worked for 'The Ginger People'. Whenever we placed an order, she would deliver it to our door that evening, on her way home from work. When the company wanted to stop making the particular cut of ginger that we considered the best for our gingerbread, Cindy made sure it continued to be produced - just for us! Some time ago, Cindy left the company and started her own wholesale business, offering a variety of ginger products. Cindy continues to provide Larikoek Gingerbread with ginger pieces, and has procured the best size and shape we have ever had! Now we are taking the next step in our joint venture. Larikoek Gingerbread is going online and is very excited to offer Cindy's ginger products alongside our famous Dutch gingerbread.
