Snah Fatah, a 42-year-old from the Regent’s Park Estate in Camden, has won a £75,000 Le Cordon Bleu Pâtisserie Scholarship, a prize she said feels like a dream. The scholarship came after she was made redundant from her job at the British Medical Association, a setback she described as the ‘kick up the backside’ she needed to pursue her long-held baking ambitions.
From redundancy to a dream opportunity
Fatah, who has always loved baking, said the activity offers her an escape from daily worries. “Your mind can wander off, and you're not thinking about your day, your problems, anything,” she explained. “Everything just goes away, and all you're thinking about is this thing that you're trying to make. That, for me, is what I love about baking.”
She noted that her family has many good cooks, but there was a ‘vacancy’ in baking, which is why she prefers it over cooking. Her biggest fan is her father, who has Alzheimer’s. Fatah said that when he eats sweet baked goods, “it captures a moment of who my dad used to be.” Her father particularly enjoys her homemade tiramisu. “Give him something sweet, and he is the happiest,” she said.
A passion rooted in family and heritage
While her father loves tiramisu, Fatah’s own favourite is Tarte Tatin. “It's one of my family favourites, and I'm not a very expressive person, so, it's my way of showing people that I love them and I care for them,” she said. She described the dish as “a display of love where you just flip it over, and everyone's around, and then hopefully it works, and everyone digs in.”
Fatah is of Kurdish heritage, with an Iraqi mother and an Iranian father. She said that from that background, her parents wouldn’t have known how to encourage their children into baking. “They wouldn’t have understood it, they wanted me and my siblings to have 9-to-5 jobs,” she explained.
‘I still can't believe it’
Reflecting on the scholarship process, Fatah said she remains in shock. “The whole process, everybody there has been so lovely. Every time I got through a stage, I was like, I'm so blessed to be here and I've met so many nice people,” she said. “You think it's quite daunting or scary, but it was such a pleasure and such an enjoyable experience. The whole thing was an absolute joy.” She added, “I'm over the moon and I still feel like I'm going to wake up and they're going to say ‘oh yeah, that was just a dream, it's back to the BMA.’”
Plans for a Camden bakery
Fatah’s ultimate goal is to “open a little bakery in Camden.” She intends to use it to help others who “may not have had the opportunity to go into that field” to get into baking. She also hopes to serve freshly baked goods at affordable prices for her community.
She expressed gratitude to her friends, family, Le Cordon Bleu, the judges, and all the participants. She also thanked her school food tech teacher, Mrs Walia. “I owe her so much,” Fatah said.
