In the five years of running patisserie Once Upon a Time, local actress and entrepreneur Jeanette Aw has faced several challenges, including getting scammed out of $8,000 by a delivery company.
She had been working with the company for two years when its owner asked for $5,000 as an advance payment to develop a delivery application, the 46-year-old told Lianhe Zaobao in a recent interview.
Since the company owner had been reliable in transporting Once Upon a Time’s cakes and pastries, Jeanette and her manager trusted him and handed the money over.
Subsequently, the delivery service owner asked to borrow $3,000 from Jeanette’s manager, saying that he had to pay for his father’s funeral. Upon learning of his predicament, the entrepreneur lent him the money herself, reported the Chinese daily.
The delivery company owner then disappeared with all of the money, leaving Jeanette and his own employees in the lurch.
“Other F&B business owners emailed me to ask if I could reach the man. That was when I realised he had likely used my name to solicit business,” she said.
The incident was eventually resolved following a police report, and also made Jeanette more cautious in her business dealings.
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‘Industry is inherently difficult’
Being scammed was one of many challenges Jeanette faced during her journey as an entrepreneur.
Admitting that she once doubted her decision to start an F&B business, the Le Cordon Bleu-trained baker said: “The food and beverage industry is inherently difficult, and the market has been rather sluggish in recent years. We often see news of shops closing down.”
In fact, when Jeanette announced Once Upon a Time’s departure from the Hamilton Road, many thought that the pastry shop was closing down, she added.
In the early stages of her business, she faced criticism from people who believed the patisserie was only known because of her fame as an actress.
She was also ridiculed by a fellow food industry professional for being “unable to hold out” after she fainted while baking cakes in her shop back in 2021.
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These experiences strengthened Jeanette’s resolve to prove herself.
“I know I need to put in more effort than others to prove that this is something I did and am running on my own,” she told Zaobao.
Once Upon a Time first opened in Jalan Besar in 2021 and moved to a new location in Geylang this year.
It operates on a pre-order basis and does not have a fixed menu, instead focusing on seasonal bakes.
Once Upon a Time has also ventured out of Singapore’s shores, with Jeanette running a series of successful pop-ups across Japan from 2024.
Currently, the patisserie is taking pre-orders for May — its anniversary month — offering Miso & Seaweed Financiers ($48 for 9 pieces) and Blackberry & Basil Sorbet ($48).
Other popular items from past menus are fudge brownies, banana cakes and snowskin mooncakes.
Address: 14 Lorong 32 Geylang, Singapore 398277
Opening hours: Preorders can only be collected between 11am and 3pm on scheduled dates
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