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The Sunday Times
Lifestyle 24 October 2004
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She's got it down to a T BY TEO PAU LIN It started as a way of earning pocket money to feed a wakeboarding hobby. But now, selling tiramisu has turned into a full-time job for Ms Julie Sim. The former civil engineer runs Tiramisutra, a home business which specialises in the Italian dessert and offers free delivery islandwide. And it's not one of those sub-standard desserts you get from catering companies that are dry, stale and tasteless. Tiramisutra makes it fresh every day and is generous where it counts. It smothers on the mascarpone cheese, makes fresh coffee sponge fingers for every batch and - the biggest selling point - 'we use a lot of alcohol', says Ms Sim with a laugh. Just one slice was enough for me, a medium-weight drinker, to feel a pleasant buzz. It did not take long before I reached for a second helping. The company offers three types of tiramisu and you can choose to get happy on a variety of liqueurs. There is regular tiramisu made with a choice of kahlua, Irish Bailey's cream or tia maria (from $28 for 650g); chocomisu made with chocolate liquor and Cluizel chocolate from France (from $32 for 650g); and berrymisu made with mixed berries and soaked in rum and brandy (from $34 for 780g). Ms Sim, 30, makes the desserts in her East Coast home and delivers them herself in her van. She started the business over a year ago because 'we have a great recipe'. Her silent partner, doctorate student Sylvie Ong, 34, had learnt an authentic recipe from an Italian friend. They started packing their desserts into humble aluminium boxes and selling to friends. But soon, word of mouth spread so fast that Ms Sim gave up her job to do it full-time. Now, she receives up to 30 orders a week and will be moving operations to a factory by the end of the year. Customers often order the dessert as gifts. 'It's a great idea because this is restaurant-standard tiramisu and you can have it delivered to anyone,' she says. Hangover cures, however, are not included. Tiramisutra Tel: 6726-7297 www.tiramisutra.com |
