Nike Aroyewun 

THE best baker in Camden Town, known for creating elaborate cakes and turning her customers’ ideas into reality, has died suddenly aged 60 after three decades working at Sainsbury’s bakery.

Although you may not have seen her in store, Nike Aroyewun was busy in the bakery section of Sainsbury’s in Camden Road, where she worked part time for 30 years. At her funeral in June, the cortege passed the supermarket, with colleagues lining the streets to bid her farewell.

Ms Aroyewun was born in 1965 and spent her early childhood in Ipswich. After her parents died, she spent her teenage years in Nigeria before settling in Camden aged 21. Always passionate about baking, she decided to study baking and confectionery at South Bank University. She started working at Sainsbury’s in Camden Road in 1996, and remained there part-time until her death.

Her daughter, Shade Quadri, said: “She was constantly baking. She made cakes, that is what everyone knew her for. She made some amazing elaborate cakes, wedding and birthday cakes as well as naughty cakes like a huge Viagra pill, whatever people requested would be done. Everyone in Sainsbury’s knew her as the lady that made cakes.

“She gave a lot of her time to Sainsbury’s – she has very much grown with it from 1996 until now. A lot has changed there, the actual bakery has gone, but she still stayed and still did some of the fresh baking in store, so if anyone had ever had a cookie or a donut she had probably made it. She worked with her colleagues for many years and a lot of them started off with her and have moved up with their careers, starting off in the bakery. They basically grew up with her.”

She added: “It takes a lot of patience baking, the icing, the timing, she was a perfectionist, and would redo things over and over again until it was perfect.”

Above and below: Some of Nike Aroyewun’s cake creations

One such story involved a wedding cake Ms Aroyewun had made for a couple who were delighted with the result when they picked it up. Shortly afterwards, they dropped it, ruining the cake, and brought it back to the master baker to see if it could be salvaged. “She stayed up all night and managed to turn it around for the wedding, still making it perfect for them,” said Ms Quadri. “She was so creative, and artistic, had so many ideas, she was able to freehand a lot of drawings and the way she wanted certain cakes.”

Colleagues from the Sainsbury’s Camden store said: “Nike was truly loved and respected by those who had the pleasure of working with her. She became part of the fabric of our store. Her contribution cannot simply be measured by the years she worked here, but by the friendships she made, the colleagues she supported and trained, and the many memories she leaves behind. Nike will be deeply missed by her friends, colleagues and the entire Sainsbury’s Camden family.”

For 34 years, Ms Aroyewun lived in St Albans Road, Highgate, and was a committed member of the Brookfield Tenants and Residents Association, and helped out at the local food bank. As well as baking, she was a first-class chef. Christmases were a table of chicken, roast potatoes and jollof rice, with a plentiful supply of the delicacy always packed to the brim in the freezer.

She loved the Highgate area, and used to go on walks and take her daughter to the Hampstead Heath paddling pool or Lido when she was a child. She leaves behind her daughter Shade, her grandson Armarni, sister Yinka and Cynthia and Ashley.