Going Dutch

 

Sarah Lisa, from Holland, runs the Zera Noya bakery in Kochi. She talks about the reasons behind its success

By Shevlin Sebastian

On a Monday afternoon, the rain is pelting down. Outside the Zera Noya bakery in Kochi, in a cemented courtyard, a two-and-a-half-year-old girl is playing in the rain. She lets out a shriek of joy as she looks at her mother, Sarah Lisa, 32, who is sitting at a glass-topped table and working on a laptop.

Her mother smiles to see the joy on her daughter’s face. To a visitor, she said, “Many people are shocked that I have allowed Adayah to play in the rain.”

Sarah has been running the bakery for the past one-and-a-half years.

Zera is a Hebrew word, which means seeds sprouting. This indicated a new beginning, while Noya means beautiful in Hebrew. The word can be connected to Naya in Hindi, which also means new.

“I like the Hebrew language, and hence I chose these words,” said Sarah. Initially, because of Covid, she was baking from home and selling to customers.

The physical bakery began on February 14, 2023, on Valentine’s Day.

The items that can be found in Zera Noya include Bokkenpootje (Goat’s Feet), so named because the pastry looks like a goat’s feet. It is a meringue with apricot buttercream dipped in chocolate and almonds.

Then there are stroopwafels, which is a caramel waffle and famous all over the world. You can also have the Strawberry Slof. This contains almond paste, vanilla buttercream and strawberries.

The Marzipan Mergpijp is a cake with a layer of cream and strawberry jam, while the boterkoek comprises a butter cake with almonds. Speculaas is a type of biscuit. Other items include caramel tarts, muffins, truffles, apple pie and tarts, rondo, cupcakes, cinnamon braids and brownies.

They also make freshly baked bread, as well as savouries like sausage rolls and chicken puffs.

Sarah said that the most popular item is the Strawberry Slof. Asked why, she said. “It is the combination of the cookie, which is nutty and has fudge, sweet but not too sweet, and there is buttercream on top. But the cream is not so sweet, and there are fresh strawberries. It has a nice balance.”

Asked about the composition of her customers, Sarah said, “There are all kinds of people, from different backgrounds and ages.”

The prices range from Rs 30 and can go all the way to Rs 400. “Some items are expensive because we use authentic Belgian chocolate, French butter and German cream. The croissants, dipped in chocolate and cream, are at the higher end.”

Asked about the difference with Kerala bakery items, Sarah said, “Bakers in Kochi use margarine and poor quality vegetable oil. But I use butter only. It is creamy and pricey too. And I always buy Callebaut Chocolate from Belgium, which is one of the best premium chocolates in the world. In Kochi, they use compound chocolate.”

Compound chocolate is a mix of cocoa powder and vegetable fat.

The store is open from 10 am to 10 pm.

The bakery is doing well.

Denise Anne from Nairobi wrote on Trip Advisor: ‘This is a great bakery filled with tasty treats and a warm and welcoming staff. The coffee is delicious and so are the baked goods.’

Adds customer Lijo Joseph: ‘Classic and authentic.’

Sarah has a staff of 19 people who work in shifts.

The Love Story

Sarah Lisa met Vibin Varghese for the first time in July, 2013. This was in Hongkong. They were sailing on the ship, ‘Logos Hope’, and were on their way to the Philippines.

While Sarah worked as a chief baker on the ship, Vibin, a marine engineer, worked in the engine room. Both were volunteers on the ship, which is regarded as the world’s largest floating book fair. Over 10 lakh people from all over the world access the ships every year.

Sarah liked Vibin when she saw him for the first time while they were coming from opposite ends of a corridor of the ship. But she felt too shy to approach him although both said, “good morning” to each other.

“Vibin had a charming smile,” said Sarah. “He worked hard and also had many friends.”

They became Instagram friends.

When the MV Logos ship was being dry docked in Hongkong, Sarah flew to China. While there, she met some people who needed help to set up a bakery. And that was how she ended up in Kangding on the China-Tibet border. It is 2000 kms from the capital, Beijing. She stayed for a brief while. But over the years, she kept going back.

In 2017, when she was in Kangding, she began chatting with Vibin on Instagram. Vibin was on a ship that had docked in Mexico. “He felt excited to connect with me,” said Sarah.

Sometime later, Vibin went to Kangding. After spending five days with Sarah, Vibin said, “I love you. I want to marry you.”

Sarah also felt a connection to Vibin.

The couple got married in Bangalore on May 5, 2018. Vibin grew up in Dubai but he chose Bangalore as the venue for his wedding because he is close to a pastor based there.

Soon after the wedding, they came to Kochi, where Vibin’s parents had an apartment and settled down. Both had stopped their careers and were thinking of forging a fresh path.

“Vibin gave up his career because he did not want to be away from me for nine months at a time,” said Sarah.

It was in March, 2023, that Vibin got sick. In April, doctors diagnosed him with Stage 4 Linitis Plastica, a rare form of gastric cancer.

Unfortunately, on December 21, 2023, Vibin, 36, passed away.

When asked whether she planned to settle down in Kochi or return to Holland, Sarah said, “Many people thought that when Vibin passed away, I would go back. But at this moment, I can’t. I feel very settled here. I have imagined what it would be like if I closed down the bakery and went back. Where would I go? But then I realised Kochi is home.”

Sarah was born in Den Helder, which is 84 kms from Amsterdam. The country’s main naval base is located there. Adhaya knows how to speak in Dutch, and is learning Malayalam and English.

When asked to compare the character of Malayalis with the Dutch people, Sarah said, “The people in the Netherlands are direct and honest. They are private and less curious. Many aunties in Kochi ask me nosey questions. This is fine. I have got used to it. I am embracing it.”

Nobody says hi or good morning when they see each other, even if they are strangers. Sarah said that in Holland everybody greets each other.

“Malayalis are very reserved people,” she said. “In Kerala, dining rooms are always closed. You don’t want other people to see you eat. But in Holland, the dining rooms have large windows that open out to the street. The curtains are parted. A passer-by can wave to you when he is walking past and you are having a meal. And you wave back.”

On October 15, Sarah held a fundraiser to help the families of cancer victims. To her surprise, more than a thousand people turned up. There were people who had come from Thrissur and Kottayam to support the cause.

To Sarah’s surprise, many people came to chat with her because they were going through a similar situation where a family member was suffering or had died from cancer.

Sarah met Rosamma Chacko (name changed). Rosamma, a woman in her forties, told Sarah her husband had shared the same hospital room with Vibin when they had to undergo a chemotherapy session. Both had the same type of cancer.

The two men had chatted with each other. Sarah remembered seeing Rosamma, but they did not talk to each other. At the bakery, Rosamma told Sarah her husband died a few months later. The two women hugged.

“It made me realise I was not the only one who had suffered this tragedy,” said Sarah.

The proceeds went to families who had mounting hospital bills because one of the family members had cancer. And they did not have the financial resources.

At the bakery, even though it is raining, a steady stream of people come in. There has been darkness in Sarah’s life but inside the bakery it is all sunny and bright.

(A shorter version was published in The Sunday Magazine, The New Indian Express, South India and Delhi)