At the launch of The Crema Social, a couple who had recently been to Italy told Suzan something. Her tiramisu, they said, was nicer than the ones they had eaten over there. “So that was a big compliment,” she says.
The Crema Room is Suzan's business. She started it, she developed the recipes and she keeps experimenting with new flavours. She also wants her story to reach other women: that you can build something in a food industry she describes as male dominated, and be credited for the work you put in.
The recipe she brought north
Suzan was born and raised in Sydney. In her last couple of years there, she noticed tiramisu had become a very big trending dessert, developed an interest in it and started making it herself. When she moved up to Queensland, the idea came with her.
She is clear about where she wants to take it. Her overall goal, she says, is “to be the main business that does tiramisu in Queensland,” especially for events.
The degree on hold
Suzan was also studying. She has a bachelor of arts and was completing a master's in primary education.
“I did have the hopes to sort of graduate as a primary school teacher, but I've just had to put that on hold for a bit, just to focus on the business, because it was growing so much at that time.”
She calls herself a “plan A type of person” who likes to plan ahead and stay organised. On top of that, she says, it is a lot of hard work. Her view on starting out is practical: if you dedicate the time, you do not need all of the money first. It is your ideas, and what you actually want to bring to the business, that make the difference.
Trusted with special days
Events came early. Within the first couple of months of trading, The Crema Room took its first engagement booking. From there, Suzan says, the portfolio started to grow, with more people trusting The Crema Room with their special days, especially weddings.
A dessert that will be part of someone's wedding day comes with pressure. Her answer is to stay calm and trust the work.
“I know what I make is a really good dessert, and I've taken the time to just slow down and perfect everything.”
She enjoys both sides of the business. Market days are more relaxed: small talk, nice conversations and regulars coming back. Events ask for more preparation, but she loves seeing her couples celebrate. Markets, she says, bring a different kind of community together.
Start with the traditional
If you have not tried her tiramisu before, Suzan recommends the signature: her traditional recipe. Her own favourite is the brownie-base version, a layer of brownie with the traditional tiramisu on top. “It's just really nice and chocolatey and rich,” she says. She also experiments, with coconut and Rooh Afza among the recent flavours.
The Rooh Afza tiramisu is the personal one. Suzan spent time with her best friend's family, who are of Pakistani descent, and wanted to honour that relationship and show her respect for the culture. Rooh Afza, she points out, has been used for decades to bring families together at the table. Her friend still lives in Sydney, so the dessert became a way to honour that friendship from a distance.
The trailer serves coffee too, although, as a fun fact, Suzan does not actually like coffee. Her favourite to make is a standard cappuccino, for the froth on top.
What comes next
Suzan wants to see The Crema Room grow “beyond the horizons.” Further out, she has a bigger plan.
“I would love to, at some stage, potentially own a restaurant as well, you know, start off from desserts and then work my way up.”
Her message to Brisbane is simple: keep an open mind, come out, try different things, meet new people, explore different cultures and spread love, not hate. For anyone young thinking about starting their own business, her advice is shorter still: find something you like doing, do it well, and don't give up.
The trailer moves between markets and events, so the best way to find the next stop is The Crema Room's Instagram.
“Supporting other businesses will never take away from yours.”
Suzan, The Crema Room