They're the golden patisserie staple that sparked a young Bathurstian's dream of one day becoming a pastry chef.

A quest to find an alternative to mediating during a dialectical behavioural therapy course is when Anya Cherepanova found her love of baking; it was the key to her mindfulness.

"I'm unable to meditate, that's not my thing, and there was a huge push in this course I did for those who can't meditate to find something else. For me, that was baking," Miss Cherepanova said.

"With baking, you have to be present, you need to be grounded and know what you're doing. You can't be off in La La Land thinking about something else whilst tempering something on the stove.

"I like the control of baking. It's also a really healthy way for me to spend my time, and I like that I learn things and get an end result relatively quickly. And also, the sugar."

After discovering this undeniable love, Miss Cherepanova went on to work in various different roles in the hospitality industry, from a kitchen hand, to chef, to waitress and even café manager.

"When I was immersed in the hospitality culture, I found that I really liked it. It was really interesting for me," she said.

Not only did the hands-on experience confirm her burning desire to pursue a career in pastry, but so too did regular trips to a former local patisserie and a recent trip with her mother to Melbourne.

"My boyfriend and I would go to Legall once a week for breakfast and I loved it so much that I tried making my own croissants. I did and it failed, but I kept trying and getting a lot better," Miss Cherepanova explained.

"My mum and I recently went to Melbourne and we went to a croissanterie called Lune where you can see in the café what the pastry chefs were doing and that was it for me, I was sold.

"Once you get a really good croissant in the city, that's it. It's life changing."

Messages from friends asking if they could buy her baked goods is what inspired Miss Cherepanova's decision to put herself and her creations on public offer by making a Facebook page called Anya's Home Bakery.

"Every time I bump into someone I know, they always - because I post everything I make on my personal Facebook page - say they would love to try something of mine," she said.

"I recently made a focaccia and I posted it. I had a friend message to ask if they could buy it and I thought, 'do people not know this?' so I made a Facebook page.

"It was very intimidating to put myself out there. It was scary ... but I think I reached 150 followers in 24 hours. I didn't expect it at all, I was so happy.

"When people choose to follow my page because they want a cake or a pie or want to try something of mine, I don't know, it's really special.

"I am aware of budgetary restraints especially considering the state of our economy at the moment, so I am happy to make adjustments to suit the individual's wants and needs when placing an order. I also want to prioritise consumer customisation and choice in my foods so that they get the best of what they want."

Miss Cherepanova plans to move to Melbourne in the future to continue working in the food industry and inch herself closer to her ultimate dream.

"The big goal is to make a commercialised pastry distribution for smaller towns in the Central West so they can have city, French quality croissants at a low price and be very accessible," she said.

Miss Cherepanova gave some parting words of advice for fellow aspiring pastry chefs or bakers who, regardless of age, can get their hands on the recipe for success.

"Ignore what people think of you, that's a huge one for me," she said.

"If you're at school, get a hospitality job on the weekends then you'll learn so much and it's a huge indicator on whether it's something you really want."

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